BRICK BAY FOLLY 2020/21: Genealogy of the pacific
Designed by Daniel Ho, Rita Cai and Raymond Yoo.
The 6th and most recent Folly winner has now been officially announced and opened to the public.
The winning team consists of Daniel Ho, Rita Cai and Raymond Yoo - three third year students of Auckland University's School of Architecture who submitted their entry Genealogy of the Pacific. Delayed due to Covid-19 restrictions, completion has been pushed into this year, but it was worth the wait, with an awe-inspiring result.
Drawing inspiration from the curvilinear form of DNA strands, the structure is an imposing sight from the hilltop. Appearing monolithic and monochrome from afar, the viewer’s relationship to the tower morphs upon closer inspection, revealing its brick-like modular form in a variety of twists and turns and allowing a glimpse of the timber beneath the paint layers. However the tower is not as seamless as it suggests; its labour intensive construction consists of 885 timber bricks, meticulously pieced together in horizontal layers. Team leader Daniel reflects:
“We particularly enjoyed the opportunity of constructing our design. By going beyond our status quo of drawings and scale models, we were introduced to many challenges we had never encountered in architecture school. From monitoring a budget, to proper construction sequencing and project management. It was all new to us, and at times, it almost overwhelmed us. However, that magical moment seeing everything come together, and realising we just finished our first built project, is something none of us will forget. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supported us on this journey.”
The competition attracts a number of high calibre entries which are blind judged by a panel of industry experts who then mentor the team through the process. This year’s panel was chaired by renowned architect Pip Cheshire who recalls:
“We commentators identified issues as basic as the logistics of machining four and a half thousand individual parts, the bolt-tightening methodology, and the health and safety implications of the delivery, unloading and assembly sequence of the partially assembled elements...The Folly programme is a great challenge, the growth in the designers’ knowledge, ability and confidence has been enormous, and the result is a beautiful piece of work that easily realises the potential of the original renders and offers a work that is both enigmatic and suggestive.”
Architectural follies are found around the world and their purpose is to inspire and delight audiences. The Brick Bay Folly project provides a fantastic opportunity for emerging architects to test their ideas on a real life project, manage construction, solve contingencies and participate in physical construction.
The winning team is not only provided with a financial budget but professional workshop space, equipment, and many hours of donated time from the project mentors. The major financial sponsors are Resene and Naylor Love. The project is also supported by Unitec, Cheshire Architects and Brick Bay, with professional photography by Sam Hartnett and publicity from media partner Architecture New Zealand. Click here to read the article written by Pip Cheshire online at Architecture NOW.
Genealogy of the Pacific is now open at Brick Bay, to be enjoyed by all visitors.
BRICK BAY FOLLY 2020/21 opening celebration
BRICK BAY FOLLY 2020/21 top 5
The Top five finalists for the Brick Bay Folly 2019 were:
The Sentimental Piece by Rosemary Li, Jennifer Rong and Muqi Chen.
Ascent into Limbo by Daniel Fennell and Robinson Yang.
Bird in Cloud by Morgan Evans.
Tūāhu by Jesse Ewart, Jason Tan, Callum Leslie and Tyler Harlen.
Genealogy of the Pacific (the winning entry) by Daniel Ho, Rita Cai and Raymond Yoo.
The Top 5 finalists were announced in the September 2020 print issue of Architecture NZ and online platform Architecture NOW. Click here to link to the article.
In 2020 the Folly jury consisted of Pip Cheshire from Cheshire Architects, Philip Haycock from Naylor Love, Karen Warman from Resene (represented by Karmen Dumper), Yusef Patel from the School of Architecture Unitec, Chris Barton from Architecture New Zealand, Richard Didsbury and Anna Didsbury from Brick Bay and Leo Zhu from the 2019 winning team The Wood Pavilion.
With special thanks to the generosity of the 2020/21 Brick Bay Folly sponsors and supporters.
