Clocktower wins top award

The recently refurbished clocktower in the Square has won a major New Zealand architectural award.

The New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) will award the clocktower the highest accolade in the Community and Cultural category in New Zealand for 2008.

The national recognition follows on from a regional NZIA award received by the City Council in November last year.

Project Manager for the redeveloped Square and refurbished clocktower, Mohamed Imtiaz, says the award, which will be presented at the NZIA Resene Awards in Auckland in May, says the national recognition is a great achievement for the city.

Consultant Guy Cleverley, a director of the Wellington architectural firm, CCM Architects, says he’s “absolutely delighted for Palmerston North to receive that recognition.”

“The city should feel that the recognition from the architectural profession is an extremely high honour,” he says.

The recognition concludes a 50 year involvement by CCM Architects, formerly CraigCraigMoller, with Palmerston North’s clocktower.

An original partner of the firm, James Craig, was the architect for the clocktower when it was originally erected back in the late 1950s.