NEVER IN THE HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE awards have so many clients thanked so many architects and so many architects thanked… everyone. Perhaps it was the sheer joy of being together after years of Covid isolation. Perhaps it was asking too much this crazy year to keep the speeches brief. The 2022 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards presentation, at the Ōtautahi Christchurch Town Hall in November, was a welcome return to a sort of normal, as well as a bit of a marathon.
Still, it was nice to be together. Although I do wonder emissions is the right thing to do. If we wanted to act responsibly, to show leadership in this most urgent existential crisis, we would cease such carbon-emitting gatherings. Despite Architects Declare and other well-intentioned initiatives to make a difference, we party on. Sure, everyone likes a party but I can’t help thinking the way we did the awards during Covid – localised branch events connected virtually – even if it’s only a drop in the bucket of reducing emissions, is what we should do.
