Roger Walker (architect)

Roger Walker ONZM
Born	Roger Neville Walker 1942 Hamilton, New Zealand
Alma mater	University of Auckland
Occupation	Architect
Practice	Calder, Fowler & Styles Walker Architecture and Design
Buildings	Whakatāne Airport Thorndon School

Roger Neville Walker ONZM (born 1942) is a New Zealand architect based in Wellington.

Career

After graduating in architecture from the University of Auckland in the 1960s, Walker worked for the architecture firm Calder, Fowler & Styles, until he established his own practice in the early 1970s. He now runs Walker Architecture & Design in Wellington.

Like his compatriot Ian Athfield, Walker is notable for his unconventional design approach, which came out of a reaction against the then-dominant modernist architecture in the 1960s and 1970s.

Walker appeared in the 2021 TV series Designing Dreams, hosted by Matthew Ridge, in which he visited his favourite houses. ^[1]

Honours and awards

In the 1998 Queen's Birthday Honours, Walker was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to architecture. ^[2] He was awarded the New Zealand Institute of Architects' highest honour, the Gold Medal, in 2016. ^[3]

Selected designs

• Mansell House (1st house designed in 1966), Highbury, Wellington (1968)
• Link Building, Wellington Waterfront (1969)
• Sotiri House, Highbury, Wellington (1969)
• Coleshill, (Homeworld '81) Milton Keynes (1981)
• Wellington Club (1969–72, demolished c. 1986)

Queen Street, Masterton, in 1974, with the tower of Centrepoint Arcade

• Centrepoint Arcade, Masterton (1972, demolished 1997) ^[4]

Whakatāne airport terminal

• Whakatāne Airport (1973–74)
• Cuttance House, Tirohanga, Lower Hutt
• Park Mews, Hataitai, Wellington (1974)
• Rainbow Springs Tourism Complex, Rotorua (1976–81)
• Britten House, Seatoun, Wellington (1977) ^[5]
• Willis Street Village, Wellington (1979–80) ^[6]
• Ainsworth House, Korokoro, Wellington (1970s) ^[7]
• Waitomo Caves Visitor Centre
• Centre City Shopping Centre, New Plymouth (1985)
• Novotel Gardens Park Royal Hotel, Queenstown (1988, formerly the THC Queenstown) ^[5]
• Ropata Lodge, Lower Hutt (1990)
• Chesterman Group Offices, Hamilton (1992–93)
• Pirie St Townhouses, Mount Victoria, Wellington
• Margrain Winery and Conference Centre, Martinborough (1990s)
• Sirocco Apartments, Wellington (1999)
• Thorndon School, Wellington (c. early 2000s)
• New World Supermarket, Thorndon, Wellington
• Century City Apartments (completed mid-2009)
• The Boundary townhouse complex, Wellington
• Redevelopment of Cuba Mall & Victoria Street at the Wayback Machine (archived 4 February 2010) (cancelled after the bankruptcy of developer Terry Serepisos)
• Harris House, Lake Rotoroa
• St Patrick’s Church, Taumarunui
• Solitaire Lodge, Tarawera
• Wairakei Hotel Villas and recreational facilities, Taupō
• 164 The Esplanade, Island Bay
• 62 The Parade Paekakariki

See also

• Ian Athfield
• Miles Warren

References

1. Hawkes, Colleen (3 November 2021). "Designing Dreams: Matthew Ridge's new show kicks off with architect Roger Walker". Stuff. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
2. "Queen's Birthday honours list 1998". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 1 June 1998. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
3. Harvey, Justine (12 November 2016). "2016 Gold Medal winner: Roger Walker" . Retrieved 14 November 2016.
4. Morrell, Vivienne (2 December 2016). "Centrepoint to centrepointless: Roger Walker's Masterton shopping arcade (1972 to 1997)". In McCarthy, Christine (ed.). All the appearances of being innovative. Wellington: Centre for Building Performance Research. pp. 60–67. ISBN   978-0-473-38229-2.
5. University of Auckland - NZIA Regional Awards
6. WellUrban - Willis Street Village
7. NZIA Wellington Awards - Saturday, 14 November 2009

Further reading

• Positively Architecture! New Zealand's Roger Walker by Gerald Melling, 1985.
• Roger Walker, architect: a thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Art History in the University of Canterbury by Abdel-moniem M. El-shorbagy.

External links

• Roger Walker Architecture and Design Ltd