Two of Australia's most influential architects will share tips for integrating sustainable design, budget considerations and environmental sensitivity in Queenstown this month.
Architectural Designers New Zealand general manager Astrid Andersen said Lindsay and Kerry Clare's "Design to Inspire" New Zealand tour was "too good not to share".
Designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in improved design, including those who work within the design and construction sectors and those passionate about architecture and design, the four-stop tour would assist with ADNZ's key role - "to promote and encourage excellence in architectural design".
"This is a great way to achieve those aims, for our members, for other design and build professionals and for any person who cares about buildings and how they impact on their environment," Ms Andersen said.
Aside from the "enormous" possibilities and considerations in Canterbury, urban housing was set to grow "exponentially", she said.
Statistics indicated in Auckland alone 300,000 new houses would be constructed in the next four years.
"We all want better options for housing.Houses that are affordable to build as well as to run. That is genuine sustainability.
"This is a great way to get the conversation started on how we can achieve that, within a context that respects and represents the New Zealand urban style," she said.
The Design to Inspire tour is the first time the Clares have given a presentation in New Zealand since 2008.
The couple were awarded the Australian Institute of Architects Gold Medal for Architecture in 2010 - the first time a husband and wife team had won the top Australian architecture prize and only the second time in the 50 years of the award a woman had been awarded the top honour.
Mr and Mrs Clare established Clare Design in Mooloolaba in 1979 and had received numerous accolades for work which had made an enormous contribution to the advancement of sustainable architecture.
"We have always considered sustainability to be a design matter, not just a technical concern.
"An essential part of sustainability in architecture is creating enduring spaces.
"Our intent, simply, has been to create spaces that sustain human occupation and offer meaningful relationship to place."
Their Cotton Tree Pilot Housing project - a social housing complex built in Queensland - was one of 10 projects selected worldwide for inclusion in the "Ten Shades of Green" exhibition in New York in 1996, a showcase for architectural excellence and environmental sustainability.
They were also responsible for the acclaimed Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) in Brisbane and the No. 1 Fire Station in Sydney.
The Clares have been University of Sydney Architecture Faculty adjunct professors, founding directors of Architectus Sydney and are both University of Newcastle School of Architecture and Built Environment professors.
• Design to Inspire will be held at the Queenstown Events Centre on August 31. Tickets ($60) are available from Ticketek.
