Kaipara Foundation

Located on a historic site on the banks of the Kaipara Harbour, this proposal for complex of buildings offered accommodation for up to 30 international and national participants from all disciplines. The intention was for invitees from around the world to stay together for periods of three months, profiting from the sharing of ideas and knowledge. The complex comprised a central communal facility/gathering building, known as the “Forum” with adjacent swimming pool, 14 pavilions for accommodation, artists workshop buildings, caretaker’s cottage, music studio, auditorium for up to 200 people and an outdoor amphitheatre.

The buildings were spread around the site to take full advantage of the topography, so as to offer varying degrees of privacy, views, and ideal climatic conditions for each building. Buildings were designed to be of simple forms evocative of the archetypes and construction systems common throughout rural New Zealand, whilst being of innovative character to express the forward thinking approach the Kaipara Foundation as a whole.