New Plymouth’s Len Lye Centre a finalist in World Architecture Festival Awards

New Plymouth’s Len Lye Centre has been named as a finalist in the prestigious World Architecture Festival Awards.

The Awards celebrate global architectural excellence and are judged by international panels of architects and critics who are experts in their fields.

Designed by Patterson Associates, the Taranaki cultural venue, which opened in July last year, is a finalist in World Architecture Festival (WAF)’s Culture category.

All category winners will compete for the title of World Building of the Year.

Described as 'a temple for art', the $18 million gallery combines an art museum with the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, featuring a curved facade of reflective stainless steel.    

Centre Director Simon Rees explained “this festival is the big league of international architecture and it’s fantastic that the Len Lye Centre has been recognised as being right up there with the best.

"We know that the building wows visitors, and now it gets the chance to wow world-leading architects and critics."

The Len Lye Centre is among nine buildings and one landscape in New Zealand to be named as category finalists.

In the Culture Category, the centre is up against 17 other buildings in Singapore, Australia, Japan, Poland, China, Spain, Norway, Denmark, Belgium, USA and Italy.

Rees added “the competition is very strong but just being a finalist will give the Len Lye Centre enormous publicity internationally.”

Category winners will be announced at the festival in Berlin, Germany on 16th and 17th November, with the World Building of the Year winner announced on 18th November.

In June, Local Government New Zealand named the Len Lye Centre as a finalist in the Creative New Zealand Excellence Awards for Best Creative Place. 

In 2013, the Auckland Art Gallery was named WAF's World Building of the Year.

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