Hiwa continues award-winning streak with NZ Architecture honours

The University of Auckland’s Hiwa Recreation Centre has added another significant accolade to its growing list of achievements, after being named one of the three winners in the Education category at the 2025 New Zealand Architecture Awards on 20 November.

The win marks the latest recognition for the landmark facility, which celebrates its first anniversary on 25 November.

Earlier this month, Hiwa captured international attention at the 2025 World Architecture Festival in Miami, where it won the Sport Architecture category. Just weeks earlier, the centre was honoured with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Architecture Prize, presented in partnership with the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS).

Vice-Chancellor Professor Dawn Freshwater says Hiwa represents the very best of what a university can offer its students.

“It is an inspiring and inclusive space that supports well-being, community and excellence. We are proud to see Hiwa celebrated nationally and internationally, and this latest recognition reflects the collaborative effort that brought it to life.”

Alongside its design accolades, Hiwa has also been recognised for the strength of the team behind its creation.

At the 2025 Auckland Property People Awards on 21 November, the Hiwa project team – a collaboration led by the University of Auckland with Barker & Associates, Beca, Colliers Project Leaders, Hawkins, MJMA, Rider Levett Bucknall, and Warren and Mahoney – received top honours. The team won both the Best Team Award and the Supreme Excellence Award, with judges commending their “one-team attitude, transparent communication and people-first approach”.

“This achievement is a testament to the outstanding collaboration, commitment and capability of everyone involved,” says Simon Neale, chief property officer at the University of Auckland.

“Delivering a project of this scale and complexity – particularly during a challenging period for the construction industry and global supply chains – required genuine partnership, transparent communication, and a shared focus on creating an exceptional facility for our students and wider community.”

Neale was also recognised on the night, receiving the Outstanding Leadership Award for his stewardship of one of Aotearoa’s largest and most complex property portfolios.

Designed by Warren and Mahoney in collaboration with MJMA Toronto and Haumi, Hiwa opened on 25 November 2024 and has quickly become a defining feature of the University’s City Campus.

Covering 26,000sqm across six levels, the centre brings together a wide range of an array of high-performance and recreational amenities: an aquatic hall with an eight-lane, 33-metre pool and dive tank; extensive gym and training areas; a rooftop multi-sport turf; a running track; a climbing wall; and a sports court with programmable LED markings that can transform from a basketball court into a football pitch and more at the touch of a button.

With its world-class facilities open to use by elite athletes, it has also seen the likes of the French national rugby team, the Silver Ferns and the Kiwis NZ Rugby League side using the facilities for training in 2025.

But Hiwa’s impact extends far beyond its architectural innovation. Designed to be as much a place of connection as of physical activity, the centre has quickly become integral to the student experience. It includes a range of inviting spaces for socialising, taking study breaks and gathering with friends, making it a vibrant hub for campus life and wellbeing.

That aspect of Hiwa was also celebrated on 19 November, when Hiwa was recognised by University and Tertiary Sport NZ. Hiwa won the UTSNZ Campus Impact Award, the Community Partnership Award for its sports leaders programme and associate director of Campus Environment Sean Smith was honoured for his Service to Recreation.

The next day, the centre won the Recreation Aotearoa Award for Outstanding Project (over $500,000).