Ivan Mercep (22 February 1930 – 8 April 2014) was a New Zealand

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Early life and family

Born in

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

in 1930 to a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n family, Mercep was educated at

Sacred Heart College, Auckland , motto_translation = Take Courage And Act Manfully , type = State-integrated Day & boarding Secondary school , religion = Roman Catholic Marist , gender = Boys-only , patr ...

and

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Architecture in 1954. He married Halina Eva Trusz, and one of their sons is broadcaster

Simon Mercep Simon Mercep is a New Zealand television and radio journalist. Mercep is the son of noted architect Ivan Mercep, and is of mixed Croatian and Polish descent.

Architectural practice

Following university, Mercep spent six years working and travelling overseas, before returning to New Zealand in 1960. After working with KRTA, he entered into partnership in 1963 with Rodney Davies, Stephen Jelicich and Graham Smith to form what would become JASMaD (later Jasmax, one of the largest architectural firms in New Zealand). In 1964, he became a registered architect in New Zealand. He helped design Hoani Waititi Marae in West Auckland and Waipapa Marae at the University of Auckland. Mercep was project architect for Samoa House / Maota Samoa on Auckland's

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

, designed to house the Samoan consulate-general, and completed in 1978. The building won a

New Zealand Institute of Architects Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents 90 per cent of all registered architects in New Zealand, and promotes architecture that enhances the New Zealand livi ...

national award in 1980. File:WaipapaMarae.jpg, Waipapa Marae, University of Auckland File:K Road 2016-01-22-4.jpg, Karangahape Road elevation of Samoa House (centre left)

Honours and awards

In the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours, Mercep was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to architecture. He was awarded the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

of the New Zealand Institute of Architects in 2008.

References

1930 births 2014 deaths People from Taumarunui New Zealand people of Croatian descent University of Auckland alumni New Zealand architects Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit Recipients of the NZIA Gold Medal {{NewZealand-architect-stub