The Critics

Critics

Sarah Treadwell is an Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Planning at The University of Auckland. Her research investigates the representation of architecture in colonial and contemporary images and proceeds with both writing and image-making. She has written on representations of motels, gender, suburbs and volcanic conditions of ground, publishing in various books and journals including Architectural Theory Review, Architectural Design, Space and Culture and Interstices. Her book Revisiting Rangiatea was the outcome of participation in the Gordon H Brown Lecture Series in 2008.

Greg Simon

Greg Simon has practised as a commercial property lawyer for almost 30 years in London and New Zealand including as a partner and national head of commercial property at a New Zealand top 6 law firm. He acts for institutions, corporations, developers, charitable organisations, financiers and investors in both the public and private sectors. He has a particular interest in housing developments and is acting on some of the largest and most complex land developments, some of which involve affordable housing in Special Housing Areas, in and around Auckland and Christchurch. He is studying at Auckland for an LLM in Environmental Law which involves an understanding od Sustainable Development and he is keen to see how that can be incorporated into land development, particularly in the context of the draft Unitary Plan  and the Accord.

Patrick Clifford

Patrick Clifford has been responsible for the design leadership of all major projects by Architectus Auckland. Patrick’s design skills have been recognised in competitions and in his selection for a number of juries and award panels. He has maintained an association with both schools of architecture in Auckland over many years as a critic and tutor, including
a two year Adjunct Professorship at Unitec. He has lectured widely on the work of Architectus both nationally and internationally. The work of Architectus has been recognised for its clarity of intent and resolution, its careful reading of context and content and ability to advance a broad cultural agenda. There is a real commitment to research both programmatically and technically.
The ongoing success of projects like the Mathematics and Statistics and Computer Sciences Building from
both a human and material resource perspective attests to this. International benchmarking of both user responses and empirical measurement of energy use place this project in the highest international company. Over recent years Architectus has become increasingly involved in large scale urban (and campus) studies and works to the public realm. This work builds on a commitment to architecture as place making.

Garth Falconer

Garth graduated in landscape architecture from Lincoln University,  completed a Masters in urban design from Oxford Brookes (UK) and is fellow of the NZILA.  He is founder and director of Reset Urban Design, a specialised design practise focused on taking strategic projects into a realised form. Previously Garth was a founder and director of Isthmus Group from 1988 to 2008. Garth is foremost a designer and has over 24 years’ experience leading design teams on large scale urban projects around New Zealand,   Garth has been at the forefront of the development of urban public realm projects such as waterfronts, river edges, parks, streets, plazas and  central city environments. He believes landscape architecture has a critical responsibility in improving the quality and sustainability of life for our people and the wider ecology.

Garth has received national and international recognition.  He has won numerous  national design awards and lectures at the landscape architecture schools at Lincoln, Victoria and Unitec . Garth has presented at conferences and universities in Australia, USA,UK, Greece and Italy.

Omar Barragan

As an urban designer/urban planner with more than 15 years experience, Omar is driving the design review service for Auckland council. His experience both in New Zealand and internationally, give Omar a strong background in Urban regeneration and design, Regional Planning , Policy making and implementation and design review.

Omar have been leading the design review process at Auckland Council since 2011, managing the portfolio from policy to implementation. The service includes major infrastructure projects, public realm and private developments. Auckland is proud of successful urban transformation where design quality is at the top of the agenda. Omar has also leaded other large regenerations projects in the UK, Spain and South America. His energy is focused on achieving quality urban environments that are inclusive and liveable.

Edith Amituanai

Edith Amituanai’s photography is informed by her Samoan heritage and upbringing in Auckland. Since graduating from Unitec with a Bachelor of Design (Photography) in 2005, Edith has achieved much success and public recognition. Announced as the inaugural winner of the Marti Friedlander Photography Award at the end of 2007, Edith was also the youngest artist to feature in Contemporary New Zealand Photographers, a major survey of art photography published in 2005.

Edith’s process of selecting and constructing images moves beyond a snapshot or private view to a study of custom, place, and identity within a broader cultural context. Paying close attention to the interior and exterior views that frame her subjects, Edith’s portraits are intrinsically linked with their surroundings. Many of her works focus on special occasions. Her camera becomes a tool to settle her curiosity by capturing moments which tell not only about celebrations but about the relationships, engagements, and emotions that transpire during special occasions, such as Mrs Amituanai (Anna Miles Gallery in 2005). While others communicate the tensions that exist within family relationships, between older and younger generations, traditional customs, religion, and the roles we play within these various contexts.

Edith has been finalised for a number of Awards including the Trust Waikato National Contemporary Art Award, The Martin Hughes Contemporary Pacific Art Award, Auckland,and the KLM Paul Huf Award, Amsterdam.  Her work was included in the 2004/05 Break/Shift exhibition at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery.  Her first solo exhibition was held at the Anna Miles Gallery in Auckland in 2005 and later that year she was the youngest artist to have work included in the publication Contemporary New Zealand Photographers.  She has participated in a number of high profile group exhibitions including Le Folauga (2007), Auckland Museum and Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan; Samoa Contemporary, Pataka, Porirua (2008) and The Sarjeant Gallery (2008); and Dateline: Contemporary Art from the Pacific, NBK, Berlin, Germany (2007-2008).

Richard Mann

Richard is of Tongan, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāi Tūhoe descent.  He is a principal policy analyst for open space with Auckland Council, having previously been in a role of senior landscape architect with Auckland City.  Richard’s area of responsibility covers the west and north-west of Auckland and he is currently working on development projects at Hobsonville, New Lynn, Oratia and Waikumete Cemetery.  Prior to his role in local government, Richard worked in a private practise based in New Plymouth, primarily on coastal foreshore projects.  Richard also lectures onto the BLA programme at Unitec, coordinating the level 6 ‘Landscape of Aotearoa’ paper.  Richard undertakes private work in his capacity as principal of mann landscape architecture ltd, and has a particular interest in notions of indigeneity and a developing landscape aesthetic borne out of this place, Aotearoa New Zealand.

Sally Peake

Sally Peake is President of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects .Sally has over 30 years experience as a practicing landscape architect and urban designer with a wide professional background in landscape architecture, landscape planning, and urban design. She has worked for public and private practices, large and small in the UK, New Zealand, and Fiji, and has also worked on projects in the Middle East.

Currently she is principal and director Peake Design Ltd, with a focus on landscape planning and urban design. The company was formed in 2002 and provides services to a range of clients including national, regional and local government, private developers and individuals, other professional disciplines and landscape architecture companies. While the majority of the practice work involves policy reports and assessments of effects for urban and rural developments, she retains a special interest in urban design  of residential areas and streets, and undertook a Master by Design at Unitec researching streets design with Space Syntax. She also enjoys working collaboratively on design projects.

Lucas  Epp

Lucas  Epp is a structural engineer with six years of experience working in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand.  He has a BASc from the University of British Columbia, Canada, and spent several years working there before moving to London.  During this time he worked for a prominent timber design-builder on several world class complex timber structures.  While in the UK, he completed a range of projects and sculptures with some of the world’s top architects and designers, as well as teaching at the Architectural Association.  Luke’s expertise with complex geometry and challenging structures has led him to be involved in several projects where the close interaction of architecture and structure is critical to the success of the project, and this is where his passion lies.  After spending four years in London, he moved to New Zealand this year to do some exploring and learn more about seismic engineering.  He brings a broad skill base in complex geometry, design and manufacturing with timber, and parametric modelling.

Yun Kong Sung

Yun Kong sung graduated with a Masters of Architecture(Prof) at the University of Auckland. He manages the Open Media Lab which employs research assistants from the School of Architecture and Planning. His current research encompasses archaeology and conservation using 3d scanning, automation of prefabricated single living units, and building visualisation through augmented reality. His interest has led him to the field of human interface technology at HITLAB where he intend to further extend the practice of Architecture in the digital discipline.

Lisa Reihana

Ngapuhi, Ngati Hine, Ngai Tu Heritage. She currently lives in Auckland. Lisa Reihana is a Maori artist who has played a leading role in the development of film and multimedia art in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Lisa Reihana explores a contemporary reflection based on an experimental cinematographic model. Lisa Reihana had solo exhibitions in Auckland, Christchurch and Sydney. Her work has been featured in exhibitions in the US, France, New Caledonia, Malaysia, Germany and Australia. Her work is being held in Collections at Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington, Staatlich Museen of Berlin in Germany and Susan O'Connor Foundation in Texas in USA. She has received grants, qualifications and awards of the Trustbank Canterbury artist-in-residence in Christchurch in 1992, artist-in-residence at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney in 1988 and received her BFA Intermediate at the Elam School of Fine Arts in Auckland in 1987.