Lindley Rae Naismith is a New Zealand architect. She established Scarlet Architects and went on to co-create the Scarlet Prize in Architecture. Naismith has performed the role of judge for the New Zealand Home of the Year Award as well as the Te Kahui Wahaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects awards. She is a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and in 2017 won the Munro Diversity Award at the Architecture + Women NZ Dulux Awards.

Early life and education

Naismith grew up in Whangārei with three siblings. Her father was a mariner at Northport and her mother had been a nurse before her marriage. Naismith studied architecture at the University of Auckland, graduating in 1982.

Career

Her first job was at the

Auckland Regional Authority The Auckland Regional Council (ARC) was the regional council (one of the former local government authorities) of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority (ARA) was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989. The ARC ...

, followed by positions in small architectural firms. In 1987, she opened her own practice, Lindley Naismith: Naismith Architects. Naismith shared an office with fellow architect

Jane Aimer Jane Elizabeth Aimer is a New Zealand architect. Biography Aimer attended the University of Auckland’s School of Architecture and Planning and then transferred to Victoria University in Wellington for two years. After graduating, she return ...

and in 2000 the pair joined their businesses and established Aimer Naismith Architects. Mike Dowsett joined the company shortly afterwards and it was renamed Scarlet Architects. In 2018, Naismith and Aimer created the Scarlet Prize in Architecture, awarded annually to a high-achieving female student at the University of Auckland. Naismith has been judge for the New Zealand Home of the Year Award and several Te Kahui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects awards. From 2019 to 2021, Naismith was co-chair of Architecture + Women NZ. She is a fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Architects and has been chair of the institute's Auckland branch.

Awards and honours

In 2017, Naismith won the Munro Diversity Award at the Architecture + Women NZ Dulux Awards.

Twin House

In 2009, Aimer and Naismith designed and built identical townhouses, with shared common areas, in Newmarket for themselves and their extended families to live in. Dubbed "a social experiment", the design allowed for experimentation of community, intensification, and intergenerational living.

Select Projects

Scarlet Architects

* Twin House, Newmarket, Auckland (2009) * Pahi Bach, Auckland (2012) ''DINZ Best Design Awards 2014 Silver'' ''2012 NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards - Housing Winner'' * Freeman's Bay House, Auckland (2015) ''Alterations and Additions'' * Ridge House, Onetangi, Waiheke Island (2018) * Hot Water Beach House (2020) ''DINZ Best Design Awards 2021 Bronze '' ''2020 NZIA Waikato/Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards - Housing Winner'' * Skinny House, Waiheke Island (2021) ''DINZ Best Design Awards 2021 Finalist'' * Leigh Bach, Leigh ''DINZ Best Design Awards 2016 Bronze'' * Villa 2014 ''Alterations and Additions''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naismith, Lindley Living people 20th-century New Zealand architects 21st-century New Zealand architects New Zealand women architects Year of birth missing (living people) University of Auckland alumni Fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Architects People from Whangārei