Fifteen finalists in the 2020 Architecture + Women NZ (A+W NZ) Dulux Awards have been announced by the organisation on 30 June.

This year’s jury was made up of Professor Lori Brown of Syracuse Architecture, University of Auckland associate professor Dr Julia Gatley, and architects Raukura Turei and Andrew Tu’inukuafe. They selected five finalists in each of the programme’s three categories.

The shortlist for the Wirihana Leadership Award – which A+W NZ notes aims to “highlight female leaders in their second decade (+) beyond graduation, an important stage that research shows is most highly-impacted for females in terms of career-progression” – includes: Natalie Allen (The Urban Advisory), Felicity Brenchley (Felicity Brenchley Architects + ĀKAU), Ilona Haghshenas (Warren and Mahoney), Fiona Short (Warren and Mahoney) and Louise Wright (Assembly Architects).

The Munro Diversity Award celebrates individuals and groups working to make architecture more inclusive. The five finalists for this category are: ĀKAU, Jasmax, Jade Kake (Matakohe Architecture + Urbanism), Katherine Skipper (Warren and Mahoney) and Julie Wilson.

Finally, the five finalists for the Chrystall Excellence Award are Robin Allison (Earthsong Eco-Neighbourhood), Fiona Christeller (architecture FCA), Deborah Cranko (Cranko Architects), Anne Salmond (Salmond Architecture) and Christina van Bohemen (Sills van Bohemen Architects). This award “recognises excellence in a body of work, leadership and contribution to the community through mentorship,” A+W NZ says.

The organisation notes that “it is wonderful to see the generosity of the wider profession in putting forward their colleagues in the nomination process”.

All 15 finalists will be honoured in an online event that will be held on 15 August 2020 from 7-10pm. Register for this Zoom event here.

To find out more about the Architecture + Women NZ Dulux Awards programme and each of the finalists, visit architecturewomen.org.nz.