New Zealand Architecture, March/April 2003

Chow:Hill Architects’ idea for a novel noel prompted interesting responses from the people on their Christmas card list, and brought good cheer to one family. The Auckland practice invited recipients of the (largish) card to draw Santa’s dream home on it, and submit it for judging by, among others, the editor of this magazine (further proof that there is no such thing as a free lunch). A $2,000 travel prize was at stake.

On the evidence of the entries, the Tudor-style house has a hard-core constituency, and there are fans, too, of Lord of the Rings-style monumentality. Some entries were heavily conceptual, others rather tentative.

The winning entry stood out for its sheer vibrancy – as one judge was hear to remark: “I wouldn’t mind some of those drugs.” Actually, the winning drawing (below), was the product of youth, not hallucinogens. Congratulations to Cherrie James, and to runners-up David Timmins and Jordan Guilford.

And congratulations also to Rachel Dodd, who is the 2003 recipient of the annual Chow:Hill travel grant, awarded annually to a UNITEC architecture student.