Otago Polytechnic School of Architecture Adjunct Professor Jeremy Smith (pictured above on the right) was among the contributors to the book, alongside his Nelson colleague Andrew Irving and editor Aaron Betsky (renowned architecture critic and Professor at Virginia Tech).

Unfinished & Far Far Away, The Architecture of Irving Smith Architects came about after Jeremy Smith was invited to give a lecture series in 2019, across eight American universities and at the New York League of Architects.

Director of the School of Architecture at Taliesin in Arizona at that time - Aaron Betsky - was impressed with Smith's talk and "asked some tricky questions".

"He liked the answers, and suggested there was a book in our participatory approach to architecture; what we call Soft Architecture," says Jeremy Smith.

Aaron Betsky later travelled to New Zealand to explore the country and its architects, alongside the Nelson-based duo.

"Essays by architects, critics and educators from Africa, America, Europe, Asia and Aoteaora then further a discussion on global peripheries and to how architecture benefits from the continued study and interpretation of multiple contexts."

(From Unfinished & Far Far Away, the Architecture of Irving Smith Architects. Image: Altrim Publishers)

Tobias Danielmeier, Head of Architecture at Otago Polytechnic, says Jeremy Smith’s practice (Irving Smith Architects) is at the forefront of contemporary architecture discourse, nationally and globally.  

"The publication features the office’s architecture, and contextualizes the work with insightful essays by architects, critics, and educators."

Jeremy Smith has thanked a team of friends who contributed to the project "from here and afar", and is grateful to have the book recognised at the global awards.

"In collating our work, teaching and research with Aaron, we hoped to demonstrate a growing understanding of the importance of the periphery. In this climate emergency, everyone and everywhere really does count."