Of quadrangles, cloisters and corbels
Ian Lochhead examines the blending of the new with the old in Athfield Architects’ strengthening, conservation and refurbishment of Christchurch Boys’ High School’s Main Block.
Meet your 2026 Interior Awards jury
Providing extensive experience across a wide range of markets and disciplines, including residential, hospitality, commercial, civic and education, meet this year’s Interior Awards jury.
Essay from India: 2
Five years after his first Essay from India, Jeremy Smith continues the conversation about the country’s reductive approach to architecture, seemingly coming full circle to life and building as it was before tech and WiFi.
To draw is to err
Karamia Müller considers how drawing is more than proof. It is a practice of negotiation: wrestling with ideas, with clients, with materials, with time.
Commonwealth Association of Architects celebrate 60th year in New Zealand.
The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) is marking its 60th anniversary in 2026 with a programme of events and digital initiatives.
News
Commonwealth Association of Architects celebrate 60th year in New Zealand.
The Commonwealth Association of Architects (CAA) is marking its 60th anniversary in 2026 with a programme of events and digital initiatives.
Cohousing + passive housing at Peachgrove East
A new development in the Waikato, designed by Smith Architects in collaboration with Greenbridge, promises to make home ownership possible with low deposits and sustainable payments.
2026 Outlook: Stabilisation arrives, but architects face harder feasibility tests
New Zealand’s construction pipeline is entering 2026 with its first signs of stability in two years.
Making Menopause Work
Making Menopause Work by the Ministry for Women is a free, flexible and practical guide for workplaces to support their people through peri/menopause.
Projects
Houses Revisited: Forest Pavilion
A linear pavilion pays homage to California modernism: an oasis of calm on the edge of a forested enclave in Titirangi. First published in 2018.
Houses Revisited: The Pines
From the new book, Patterson: Houses of Aotearoa: we celebrate a beautiful beachside bach by Andrew Patterson. First published in 2018.
Protecting Canterbury’s taonga
A cornerstone of the Ōtautahi Christchurch cultural precinct and wider Canterbury region, Canterbury Museum houses 25 per cent of Aotearoa’s taonga.
Review
Darklight: The Edge of Light
Riding the success of Darklight: A Descent into Colour, Angus Muir and Dan Move returned with a new sensory experience on Auckland’s waterfront.
Itinerary City Guide: Porirua
In this Itinerary, supported by Dulux Colours of New Zealand, Andrew Barrie and Maya Haydock highlight 14 Porirua buildings.
Book:Olveston: Portrait of a home
Graeme Burgess discusses the book Olveston: Portrait of a home, a collaboration between photographer Jane Ussher and writer John Walsh.
Practice
Essay from India: 2
Five years after his first Essay from India, Jeremy Smith continues the conversation about the country’s reductive approach to architecture, seemingly coming full circle to life and building as it was before tech and WiFi.
After the rain: Preserving timber
In the third of a six-part series, Andrew Barrie examines the recovery and re-use of native timber and its implications for our wider circular economy.
Conversation creates
In the latest instalment of Practice in Profile, supported by Resene, Dave Morgan reflects on 85 years of architecture, spatial design and virtual reality at CPRW, and the new direction the studio is embracing.
Awards
Meet your 2026 Interior Awards jury
Providing extensive experience across a wide range of markets and disciplines, including residential, hospitality, commercial, civic and education, meet this year’s Interior Awards jury.
Reset wins international award for Waitematā Harbour Crossings designs
Urban design studio Reset has received the International Federation of Landscape Architects – Asia Pacific Region (IFLA-APR) Award of Excellence for its Waitematā Harbour Crossings proposal.
People
Taking notes from Japan
The New Zealand government’s Minister of Housing, Chris Bishop, has very publicly professed admiration for the Japanese urban planning system. Matthew Paetz looks at what might be lost in translation.
To draw is to err
Karamia Müller considers how drawing is more than proof. It is a practice of negotiation: wrestling with ideas, with clients, with materials, with time.
On storage and stuff
Anthony Vile discusses spatial minimums, consumerism and life in medium-density housing.
Burn the house down
Editor of Architecture NZ Chris Barton discusses a bonkers idea about ownership of New Zealand’s social housing assets.