Will Tatton Talking about design willtatton.co.nz

My blog break last week is because I was in Nelson at the Architectural Designers national awards where I won the award for best multi-unit dwelling.


I designed this house in Te Ngaio Rd at the Mount. I'll show more of this idea next week from the images projected recently onto the Sydney Opera House.

I was also one of four finalists for best house over 250m².

This is great recognition for me and for my design office.

It was exciting to be lined up on the stage with the other finalists and have the 'mission impossible' theme music and drum rolls before the winner is announced... and worth it all to be the one called up to talk about a project which means a lot to me.

I think talking about design and celebrating design go hand in hand.

Critic and journalist Tommy Honey spoke on art, design, and architecture at the awards.

He showed us how he questions what is art and what is design, and how this is a useful way of dealing with our environment.

He did this by juxtaposing different objects such as the almost available NZ designed YikeBike.

This folding carryable electric bike will probably revolutionise how most people move around cities. He also showed us how he sensibly doesn't try to resolve the answer, just makes sure the questioning is active.

I found after the lecture that I was encouraged and now have more tools to approach function and beauty.

Architects Pete Bossley and Miriam van Wezel spoke in inspired ways on drawing and design: First, drawing for understanding and second, drawing for creating. Hand drawing is great for making sure one we observe things fully, and two for developing a seed of an idea in a way which retains all its promise.

Separately to this, but connected in a way, in the photo here I am interested in the patterns the light makes and the idea of a building as a screen for projecting onto.