The jury - comprised of architects Sharon Jansen, John Hardwick-Smith, Gary Lawson and Grant Edwards - visited 52 projects across the country, from Queenstown to north Auckland, before deciding on a final list of the best new architecture in Aotearoa.

Visit our Awards page to see photos of all the winning projects, or scroll down for a full list and photo gallery. 

“It was a privilege to visit these projects in reality,” said jury convenor Sharon Jansen. “As jurors, we aim to assess the essence of each project - its siting, its expression and function, its place in the built environment, and how it contributes to the life of its occupants and community.

“This year we saw many excellent entries in the Housing - Multi Unit category, which is significant as our property market changes and adapts to new residential living models.

“In this time of urgent need for housing across the spectrum of our society, we found ourselves needing to break our own rules by adding a fourth winner to this category, where two vying for a place were inseparable,” Jansen said.

Read a press release about the 2021 New Zealand Architecture Awards. 

On 9 December, an additional three 'supreme' Named Awards winners will be announced online, from among this year’s New Zealand Architecture Awards winners.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors Resene and APL. 

The winners

Commercial Architecture

• The Hotel Britomart by Cheshire Architects, Auckland

• Commercial Bay by Warren and Mahoney Architects, Woods Bagot and NH Architecture in association, Auckland

• SCION Innovation Hub - Te Whare Nui o Tuteata by RTA Studio and Irving Smith Architects, Rotorua

Education

• Te Hohepa Kōhanga Reo by Bull O'Sullivan Architecture, Christchurch

• New Shoots Early Childhood Education Centre by Copeland Associates Architects, Auckland

Enduring Architecture

• Christchurch Town Hall (1972) by Warren and Mahoney Architects, Christchurch

Heritage

• Christchurch Town Hall by Warren and Mahoney Architects, Christchurch

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Te Ao Mārama and Cenotaph Galleries by Jasmax, FJMT, designTRIBE and Salmond Reed Architects, Auckland

Hospitality

• Tuitui by Jack McKinney Architects, Auckland

Housing

• Our House by studio LWA, Auckland

• Threepwood Passive House by Team Green Architects, Arrowtown

• Light Mine by Crosson Architects, Coromandel

• Te Arai by Fearon Hay Architects, Mangawhai

• Awaawaroa by Cheshire Architects, Waiheke Island

Housing - Alterations and Additions

• Oxford Terrace by Dalman Architects, Christchurch

• Recrafted Art House by Crosson Architects, Auckland

Housing - Multi Unit

• Kāinga Ora - Social Housing Redevelopment by Rohan Collett Architects, Rangiora

• Kāinga Ora - Waterview Court by Ashton Mitchell Architects, Auckland

• Waipārūrū Hall by Warren and Mahoney Architects, Auckland 

• One Central - Bedford Apartments & Bedford Terraces by Architectus, Christchurch 

Interior Architecture

• The Hotel Britomart by Cheshire Architects, Auckland

• Whare Koa - Māngere Community House by Burgess Treep & Knight Architects, Auckland

International Architecture

• Costa Street by Anthony Hoete – WHAT_architecture, Auckland

Planning & Urban Design

• One Central - Bedford Apartments and Bedford Terraces by Architectus, Christchurch

• Commercial Bay by Warren and Mahoney Architects, Woods Bagot and NH Architecture in association, Auckland

Public Architecture

• Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira, Te Ao Mārama and Cenotaph Galleries by Jasmax, FJMT and designTRIBE architects, Auckland

• Gisborne Airport by Tennent Brown Architects and Architects 44 in association, Gisborne

• Tiaho Mai Acute Mental Health Inpatient Unit, Middlemore Hospital by Klein, Auckland

Small Project Architecture

• Elegant Sheds by Common Space, Te Puke

• The Cube by First Light Studio, Petone

• My Whare by SGA - Strachan Group Architects, Auckland