What we do
Ostend Road House by Bull O’Sullivan Architects.
Photo by Simon Devitt
Through many activities and initiatives, the Institute makes a positive contribution to place-making and city-shaping in New Zealand.
In designing the places and spaces in which New Zealanders live, work and play the members of Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) cooperate and collaborate with local and national government to improve the quality of New Zealand’s built environment. Te Kāhui Whaihanga interacts with local and central government, and its members have prepared substantial submissions on civic planning exercises, such as the proposed Auckland Plan.
Te Kāhui Whaihanga members serve on the Urban Design Panels which, in Auckland and around the country, are having a discernible effect on building quality. The Institute facilitates design competitions, believing they are a means to raise the standard of the country’s architecture and foster a stronger design culture. New Zealand’s cities and towns all face their own particular problems. Te Kāhui Whaihanga wants to be part of the solution.
Te Kāhui Whaihanga is governed by a Board comprising the Institute’s President, Chief Executive and Councillors elected by the Institute’s branches. The organisation’s office staff are based in Auckland.
Te Kāhui Whaihanga administers an extensive Continuing Professional Development programme to educate and upskill its members. It prepares graduates for registration and runs a peer-reviewed awards programme that sets the benchmark for New Zealand architecture. It stages local events, such as the Aotearoa Festival of Architecture, to promote public awareness of architecture and urban design. Te Kāhui Whaihanga maintains close relationships with the country’s schools of architecture and related professions and professional organisations, in New Zealand and abroad.