Felicity Brenchley

{{Short description|New Zealand architect}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2024}}

{{Infobox architect

| name = Felicity Brenchley

| image = File:A+W NZ 2023 Dulux Awards C3.jpg

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| caption = Brenchley (second from the right) at the 2023 A+W NZ Awards

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| birth_place = New Zealand

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| alma_mater =University of Auckland
RMIT University

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| practice = ĀKAU Studio
Felicity Brenchley Architects

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Felicity Brenchley is a New Zealand registered architect, with practices based in Kaikohe and Auckland. Her work is noted for its engagement with local communities and involving them in the design process.{{Cite web |title=NZRAB - Architect Details |url=https://www.nzrab.nz/Search/ArchitectDetail.aspx?r=5103 |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=www.nzrab.nz}}

Brenchley graduated from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies in 2003, and later gained a Master of Architecture from the RMIT University in 2009. She co-founded, along with two other architects, ĀKAU Studio in Kaikohe, with the practice placing a focus on community engagement. It runs a design studio alongside an education foundation for local youth. In 2013, she founded a sole practice, Felicity Brenchley Architects, and has worked on several residential projects in Auckland.{{Cite book |title=Architecture + Women NZ Dulux Awards 2020 |publisher=Architecture + Women NZ |isbn=978-0-473-53497-4}} In 2016, Felicity became a member of the Foundation North Catalyst for Change programme.

In 2020, Brenchley was shortlisted for that year's Architecture + Women NZ Leadership Award. In 2022, Brenchley won an interior design award for the renovation of her personal home, a Mid-century modern bungalow. In 2023, the ĀKAU Studio was awarded the John Sutherland Practice Award by the New Zealand Institute of Architects, in recognition of the collaboration and engagement the practice has with local communities. In 2023, ĀKAU was a finalist in the A+W NZ Dulux Awards for the Munro Diversity Award.{{Cite web |title=Winners: A+W•NZ Dulux Awards 2023 |url=https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/winners-awnz-dulux-awards-2023/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=Architecture Now |language=en-AU}}

A domestic residence, designed by Brenchley for herself and her family, was the subject of Grand Designs New Zealand Season 8, Episode 5. The episode, broadcast on 21 November 2023, chartered the build of a single-level brick-clad three-bedroom house, sited at Mahurangi Harbour, near Warkworth.

References

{{reflist|refs=

{{cite web |title=ĀKAU Studio has won the 2023 John Sutherland Practice Award |url=https://www.nzia.co.nz/explore/news/2023/akau-studio-has-won-the-2023-john-sutherland-practice-award/|website=New Zealand Institute of Architects |access-date=11 February 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231130173837/https://www.nzia.co.nz/explore/news/2023/akau-studio-has-won-the-2023-john-sutherland-practice-award/ |archive-date=30 November 2023 |date=16 November 2023}}

{{cite web |title=Architecture + Women NZ and Dulux announce finalists for 2020 Awards |url=https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/architecture-women-nz-and-dulux-announce-finalists-for-2020-awards/|website=ArchitectureNow |access-date=11 February 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230521042523/https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/architecture-women-nz-and-dulux-announce-finalists-for-2020-awards/|archive-date=21 May 2023 |date=20 July 2020}}

{{cite web |title=Colour Collab: Felicity Brenchley |url=https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/resene-colour-collab-felicity-brenchley/|website=ArchitectureNow |access-date=11 February 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826072224/https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/resene-colour-collab-felicity-brenchley/ |archive-date=26 August 2023 |date=23 August 2023}}

{{Cite book |last=Cox |first=Elizabeth |author-link=Elizabeth Cox (historian)|title=Making Space: A History of New Zealand Women in Architecture |publisher=Massey University Press |year=2022 |isbn=9781991016348 |location=Auckland, New Zealand|pages=259, 270, 284}}

{{cite web |title=Titirangi Mid-century by Felicity Brenchley, Felicity Brenchley Architects |url=https://www.resene.co.nz/total-colour-awards/winners-2022-colour-awards.htm#residential-interior-maestro-a|website=Resene |access-date=11 February 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119104257/https://www.resene.co.nz/total-colour-awards/winners-2022-colour-awards.htm |archive-date=19 January 2023}}

{{cite web |last1=Hawkes |first1=Colleen |title=Grand Designs NZ: Architect's own build blow-out in Mahurangi|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/grand-designs/133317974/grand-designs-nz-architects-own-build-blowout-in-mahurangi |website=Stuff |access-date=11 February 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231122093914/https://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/homed/grand-designs/133317974/grand-designs-nz-architects-own-build-blowout-in-mahurangid |archive-date=22 November 2023 |date=22 November 2023}}

{{cite web |title=Grand Designs New Zealand – Season 8, Episode 5 |url=https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/grand-designs-nz/episodes/s8-e5 |website=tvnz+ |access-date=11 February 2024 }}

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