Staff design projects attract national honours

Six projects have been shortlisted for the NZIA National Awards programme, placing them alongside some of the country’s most important new buildings, including Auckland’s new International Conference Centre and Air New Zealand’s groundbreaking timber aircraft hangar.

The projects are among a growing list of recent honours for design work by University staff in the School of Architecture and Planning, spanning everything from experimental timber structures to a heritage church precinct enhanced with community housing.

Professor Andrew Barrie’s St Luke’s Hospitality Centre in Auckland and Oxford Terrace Baptist Church Housing in Christchurch were among the projects recognised in the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) local awards.

Surrounded by mature trees, a heritage church and historic stone walls, St Luke’s Hospitality Centre created a space the jury described as "rich, welcoming and emotionally engaging", despite its modest budget.

Oxford Terrace Baptist Church Housing reimagines the site of a heritage building as an urban monastery, bringing together church, social services and housing. It was praised by the jury as "an inspiring example of thoughtful inner-city community design".

Two Auckland projects by senior lecturers Dr Sarosh Mulla and Aaron Paterson, through their design office PAC Studio, also received Housing awards.

Red Threads, in Grey Lynn, transforms a traditional villa into a vibrant, sustainable home and integrated studio. The NZIA jury described it as "architecture with a smile".

Waka Huia renovates a character villa on Auckland’s harbour edge, combining vibrant materials with a dramatic belvedere and bold use of colour, while responding to the character of the neighbourhood.

Onetangi Pavilions, the project of Lynda Simmons, is inspired by traditional Japaese courtyard architecture, with a lush green courtyard cantered around a mature tōtara tree and sliding screens that allow the spaces to open or close at ease.

The jury lauded the project for using light and shadow "with great control and restraint".

Experimental timber research recognised

Barrie has also received recognition for his ongoing series of timber research structures, with Timber Monogamy winning the Exterior Structure category at the 2026 Timber Design Awards.

Led by then Master of Architecture (Professional) student Gregory Mann, with structural advice from Batchelar McDougall Consulting, Timber Monogamy began as a fifth-year thesis project and was constructed in the School’s workshops with the help of fourth-year Master’s students in the Timber Technology course.

It is a low-carbon architectural project at Summerhill Recreational Park in Pāpāmoa, also shortlisted for the NZIA National Awards.

Two other projects from Barrie’s ongoing series of timber structures, Y-Shelter and Wedge Series Research Structures, were also shortlisted for the Timber Design Awards, as was Professor Anthony Hōete's Whare Mīmirū: a seismically resilient timber structure utilising Māori post-tensioning.

Hōete's project was Highly Commended in the Innovative Timber Manufacturing & Technology category.