Isthmus

You're invited to join us! Learning Environments New Zealand (LENZ) are holding two face-to-face events—hosted in our Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Whanganui-a-Tara studios—to celebrate excellence in design learning, salute the end of the year, and to announce the winners of the 2024 Awards. To register to attend, and for more details: Te Whanganui-a-Tara https://lnkd.in/gBBQksfE Tāmaki Makaurau https://lnkd.in/gXfCvfSe

We're happy to share that the Te Āhuru Mōwai Vision Framework has been shortlisted in the New Zealand Architecture Awards in the Planning & Urban Design category. Te Āhuru Mōwai was established by Ngāti Toa to deliver whānau-focused social housing in the Porirua/Tawa area. The Framework is centred on Kaupapa Māori, grounded in Te Ao Māori, and built around Te Whare Tapa Whā. The participatory design process included Wellington City Council, Porirua City Council, Kāinga Ora - Homes and Communities, Community Housing Aotearoa Ngā Wharerau o Aotearoa, Te Matapihi - National Māori Housing Advocate, Te Puni Kōkiri, Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira Incorporated, Te Tūāpapa Kura Kāinga - Ministry of Housing and Urban Development NZ and New Zealand Police. James Te Puni, James Goodhue, James Pattullo, Celia Goldsmith, Iris Gramegna, Ivy B. Llanera, ralph johns.

Planning & Urban Design | New Zealand Architecture Awards 2024 Shortlist 📐 The shortlist includes a newspaper press turned vibrant precinct, a collaborative living document for future development, and a civic centre with community at its heart. • Tribune by RTA Studio Ltd • Te Āhuru Mōwai Vision Framework by Isthmus • Te Iwitahi – Whangarei Civic Centre by TEAM ARCHITECTS The winners will be revealed on Friday 22 November. Get your tickets now: https://lnkd.in/diZHUZr6 #nzia #nzarchitecture #nzarchitectureawards2024 #planning #urbandesign

Our Tāmaki Makaurau studio was absolutely buzzing for Play Week.    We hosted an urban design workshop to explore the idea of a Playful City through games and activities; alongside Pecha kucha style presentations from Matt Johnson, Gemma Sandford, Roxie Haines, Jacquelyn Collins, Damian Powley, Haylea Muir, and Hugo Harvey.    We want to extend a huge thank you to those who presented, participated, and came to play with us. It was a truly invigorating session... ...and a lot of fun. Video by Emme Trenchard-Mole

Welcome to the Playful City Urban Design Workshop! Haramai tātou for an open studio invite celebrating Play Week Aotearoa 2024. Join us at our Tāmaki Makaurau studio to explore, test and engage with what a Playful City could look like. The event will be bookend'ed with Pecha Kucha talks by innovators from Auckland Council, Eke Panuku Development Auckland, Sport Auckland and Isthmus, working towards creating a Playful City here in Tāmaki Makaurau. Whether you're a designer, developer, student, planner, or simply passionate about creating vibrant cities, this workshop is for you! Register here: https://lnkd.in/gyqex-p6

Whangārei, Aotearoa’s northernmost city, is growing and changing—the central city needs to adapt in order to thrive. The Complete Streets Masterplan and Streetscape Design Manual sets out a design framework for the delivery of safe, attractive and welcoming streets over the next three decades that will contribute to a healthy economy and healthy environment. Read more on this project on our website https://lnkd.in/gNWQ-TdV Client and collaborators: Whangarei District Council Matakohe Architecture + Urbanism Flow Transportation Specialists GRIT Engineering Ltd Stephenson & Turner Dr Benjamin Pittman (Te Parawhau, Ngāti Hao/Te Popoto, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hau)

Helen Kerr, principal landscape architect and urban designer, spoke at the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024 about the regenerative role of green infrastructure in helping communities grow, change and adapt. We have just published the comparative stories she shared about three Aotearoa towns—Northcote, Westport and Timaru—and how design processes have helped communities adapt to a changing landscape. You can read "Adapting with nature" on our website. https://lnkd.in/gXaMPDTh

Te Ara o Te Ata is a new 6km route that avoids the existing steep, narrow and winding road over Parininihi, Mt Messenger in North Taranaki. In partnership with Ngāti Tama and the Mt Messenger Alliance, the project is a landscape-led response to enhance safety, resilience and journey time and, through pest control and restoration, deliver lasting improvements to the surrounding natural environment. Isthmus’ involvement over 8 years has touched all scales and disciplines, including design-planning, landscape architecture and architecture; identifying the preferred alignment as part of the expert consent team, setting out the integrated design framework for the new route and support for the mahi toi elements, and uplifting the narrative of this unique landscape. We have followed this mahi through resource consent, detailed design and construction MSQA services. Read more here:

This week marks Mental Health Awareness Week—and this year’s theme, “Community is what we create together” has got us thinking. Community is at the centre of every project we work on. For a moment, we are invited to be visitors, observers, advocates within these communities as we aim to align their needs and priorities to the spaces we design. But what of the communities we have at home? And within our studio? It can be easy to feel tired, distracted, disconnected. Creating time for connectedness in our daily lives—to define, build, and celebrate our communities—is critical for our mental health. Moments to gather, kōrero, and connect internally are a regular part of the way we work at Isthmus, and this Mental Health Awareness Week is a great reminder of the purpose of this. Mental Health Awareness Week is run annually by the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand and has been since 1993. MHAW is endorsed by the World Federation for Mental Health and is marked in over 150 countries at different times of the year. While MHAW is an annual campaign, it is also a gentle reminder to actively prioritise and nurture our mental health beyond the week itself. We believe that people should connect with and tautoko/support each other, while continuing the kōrero about mental health and wellbeing year-round.

Construction is well-underway at 30 Hospital Road with Latham Construction 2004 ltd.    The Hospital Road Apartments present the opportunity for local people to live in a kaumātua community where people can age in place with dignity. Developed by Te Whānau O Waipareira Trust, who value a partnership based on manaakitanga—hospitality, fairness and respect. As the architects on this project, our design work reflects these values and aspirations to address positive social, cultural, environmental and economic outcomes.