Thirty-six architectural projects across the Auckland region will be deemed the very best in Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Local Awards this year, spanning a range of projects from a carwash business to large apartment complexes and schools.
In the Housing category, the Onetangi Cliff House by Herbst Architects won an award for responding to the site limitations of an unstable cliff face and overlooking a public beachfront promenade with a house that judges found “effortlessly addresses issues of context and resilience.”
Meanwhile the Catalina Bay Apartments by Architectus won a Housing – Multi Unit Award for using the protected view shaft of a nearby trig station as the catalyst for a fragmented, stepped form that engages its waterfront setting in a particularly elegant manner.
“This year's awards highlight the value architects bring to projects in response to constraints of site, size and budget. These were all drivers for exceptional outcomes and a testament to the ability of architects to turn challenges into opportunities,” says jury convenor and architect Guy Tarrant.
In the Auckland CBD, the Horizon by SkyCity hotel by Warren and Mahoney and Moller Architects adopted a dynamic elliptical plan in response to a covenanted microwave signal corridor from the neighbouring TVNZ building in claiming a Commercial Architecture Award.
In the Small Project category, Lloyd Hartley Architects transformed a leftover sliver of land at a 24-hour carwash business into a sculptural bookend while also creating a storage room and staff amenities.
Projects this year also highlights architects' continued commitment to exploring affordable housing solutions, featuring intelligent planning and innovative uses of new and sustainable materials. “With their Pocket Houses at Avenue Road, Dorrington Atcheson Architects have come up with a viable backyard housing model that challenges accepted norms of multi-unit housing design,” says Tarrant.
He was joined on the jury by Andrea Bell from bell + co in Dunedin, Katrina Keshaw from Keshaw McArthur, Elspeth Gray from Roberts Gray Architects, and Jasper van der Lingen from Sheppard & Rout in Christchurch.
The winners received their awards at an event at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell on 30 April.
Full list of 2025 Auckland Architecture Awards winners by category:
Commercial Architecture
• RTA Studio – Studio by RTA Studio and Jack McKinney Architects in association (Auckland)
• SeaLink Wynyard Ferry Terminal by Architectus (Auckland)
• 303 Remuera Road by Fearon Hay Architects (Auckland)
• Horizon by SkyCity by Warren and Mahoney Architects and Moller Architects (Auckland)
Education
• Pukekohe High School Learning Block by DCA Architects of Transformation (Pukekohe)
• AUT Tukutuku by Jasmax (Auckland)
• Manutara – Murrays Bay Primary School by Warren and Mahoney Architects (Auckland)
• Hiwa – University of Auckland Recreation and Wellness Centre by Warren and Mahoney Architects and MJMA Architecture & Design Toronto (Auckland)
Heritage
• St Mary's Old Convent Chapel Restoration by Salmond Reed Architects (Auckland)
• Grey Lynn Public Conveniences by Matthews & Matthews Architects (Auckland)
Housing
• Onetangi Cliff House by Herbst Architects (Waiheke Island)
• Palimpsest House by Monk MacKenzie (Te Arai)
• Sand Boxes by Herbst Maxcey Metropolitan Architects (Piha)
• Palmers Beach House Aotea Great Barrier by Leuschke Group Architects (Great Barrier Island)
• Kawau Island House by Novak+Middleton (Kawau Island)
• Muriwai Farmhouse by Mercer and Mercer Architects (Muriwai)
• Sefton House by Ashton Mitchell (Auckland)
• Prospect House by MAUD (Auckland)
• Bush Block by Patchwork Architecture (Auckland)
Housing – Alterations & Additions
• Light Catcher by Jose Gutierrez (Auckland)
• Wainamu by Bureaux (Bethells Beach)
• Lava Flow by Pac Studio (Auckland)
• St Heliers House by Stevens Lawson Architects (Auckland)
• 19Q by SGA – Strachan Group Architects (Waiheke Island)
• Alberon by Jack McKinney Architects (Auckland)
Housing – Multi Unit
• Catalina Bay Apartments by Architectus (Auckland)
• One Saint Stephens by MAP (Auckland)
• Pocket Houses at Avenue Road by Dorrington Atcheson Architects (Auckland)
• Lightbox by Novak+Middleton (Auckland)
Interior Architecture
• InterContinental Hotel Auckland by Warren and Mahoney Architects (Auckland)
• Horizon by SkyCity by Warren and Mahoney Architects and Moller Architects (Auckland)
• Deloitte Auckland by Fisher Partners and Custance Associates (Auckland)
Small Project Architecture
• Washworld by Lloyd Hartley Architects (Auckland)
• Karanga Changing Sheds by Pac Studio (Auckland)
• So Fresh, So Clean by W3 (Auckland)
Enduring Architecture
• The Point (2000) by Moller Architects (Auckland)
