Architectural Award (1937)

In April of 1937 the New Zealand Institute of Architects awarded their Gold Medal for 1936 to Kenneth Walter Aimer (1891-1960) for his design of the Marino Gardens flats.

Aimer had been an associate of the NZIA since 1918, and in partnership with Hugh Grierson was noted for a number of projects in Auckland and elsewhere in the North Island. In 1922 Grierson & Aimer worked jointly with M. K. Draffin, and were associated with the winning design for the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

In fact more than one architect worked on Marino Gardens, as according to Peter Shaw in his book A History of New Zealand Architecture (1997, 2003), Aimer said on receiving his award that he gave full credit to Vernon Akitt Brown (1905-1965) as "the man who should have got the medal" (p144). It is uncertain how much input Brown had, but he was a talented draughtsman and architect in his own right.