National plaudits for renovated home
25 Jan 2012, News by Imagine Building Design
A transformation of a modest cottage into a two-storeyed modern home has earned a New Plymouth architectural designer national honours.
Tony Biesiek, director of Imagine Building Design, won the residential alterations and additions category at the ADNZ/Resene Design competition in Wellington.
It was one of nine awards handed out at a black-tie event run as part of the national Architectural Designers New Zealand contest, held at the weekend.
Yesterday Mr Biesiek said the win was a great accolade because it meant his peers believed he was on the right track.
"To be judged by some of New Zealand's best designers and architects – it means a whole lot."
"For me it's also testing my product in the market for the benefit of my clients," Mr Biesiek said.
"It gives my clients confidence, it gives me confidence."
Pepper Construction completed the building work on the renovated house in New Plymouth's west. Judges said the interior had "great clarity" and noted that the relationship with the outside was achieved by a delightful roofed veranda on the first floor.
It was notable for its "unobtrusive commitment to sustainable design."
Mr Biesiek said sustainability was an important aspect of the home with features like solar hot water and electricity panels, locally-milled timber, bamboo flooring and reusing existing parts of the house adding to the overall design.
As well as scooping first place in the alterations and additions category, Mr Biesiek's designs were placed second in two new home categories.
Mr Biesiek said he'd wanted to design houses from a young age but in his late teens toyed with the idea of becoming a cabinetmaker before opting for architectural design.
That led to study at Witt where he completed his NZ architectural draughting certificate before working locally and setting up his own firm in about 2002.
He's achieved success at the ADNZ competition before when he picked up second place in a new entrant category.
Among his current projects are a new coastal home in New Plymouth's Hamblyn St, a Chapman-Taylor-inspired house in Nelson and a multi-million dollar property in Brisbane. Word of mouth has helped him secure the contracts, he said.
One hundred entries were received nationwide for seven categories in the ADNZ/Resene Design competition, with entries then eligible for the Resene colour design award and the supreme design award.
Source: Taranaki Daily News
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