The Chrystall Excellence Award celebrates the full and rich career of a female in the field of architecture. The Munro Diversity Award celebrates those who work hard to support diversity in the field of architecture. The new Tere Hunuku te Kawakawa Leadership Award celebrates a developing career for females in their mid career. With the introduction of the new named award, Architecture + Women NZ (A+W NZ) announces the retirement of the A+W Dulux Wirihana Leadership Award.

“The Wirihana Leadership Award has been an important platform for recognising leadership, advocacy and contribution to equity in architecture and the built environment,” says Architecture + Women NZ co-chair Katie Simmonds. “Architecture + Women NZ acknowledges the significance of the award and thanks past recipients, jurors and supporters for their role in shaping the profession.”

Simmonds says the newly established Tere Hunuku te Kawakawa Leadership Award will continue this legacy, “while expanding the scope of recognition to honour leadership, advocacy and impact across architecture and allied design disciplines.” The award is named in recognition of Tere Insley’s pioneering contribution, influence and leadership in architecture, design, education and Māori advocacy in Aotearoa. The Tere Hunuku te Kawakawa Award will be presented triannually from 2026 as part of the A+W Dulux Awards.

Established in 2014, the A+W NZ Dulux Awards programme focuses on celebrating ‘bodies of work’ rather than individual buildings. This way, the full breadth of an individual or practice’s contribution to the architectural environment can be considered by the jury.

2026 A+W NZ Dulux Awards are sponsored by Dulux.

Nominations close Monday 4th May 2026 and can be made here. 

Meet the jury for the 2026 A+W NZ Dulux Awards

The jury’s role is to review and deliberate on all nominations across the three award categories.

Lindley Naismith

Lindley Naismith is a celebrated New Zealand architect whose award‑winning practice, dedicated mentorship and advocacy have shaped the profession for more than three decades. After launching her own practice in 1987, she later co‑founded Aimer Naismith Architects, evolving into Scarlet Architects, known for its thoughtful, influential residential work.

A founding member of Architecture + Women NZ, Lindley played a key role in supporting the landmark publication Making Space: A History of New Zealand Women in Architecture. Her leadership includes long-standing service to Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA as Councillor, Auckland Branch Chair, and convenor of the Institute’s first all‑women awards jury. She has contributed to academia, served on major urban design and civic panels and continues to mentor emerging practitioners.

Winner of the 2017 A+W NZ Munro Diversity Award and 2025 NZIA Distinguished Fellow, Lindley is recognised for her leadership, generosity and commitment to equity in architecture.

Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei

Dr Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei (Takamōtonga and Houma, Kingdom of Tonga) is a Registered Architect (BOAQ, NZRAB), Researcher and Educator at Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland. She serves as the university’s Director of Fofonga: Platform for Pacific Research Excellence and the co-lead for the Education Committee, Commonwealth Association of Architects – Pacific Region, as the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects representative.

Charmaine has practiced in Aotearoa New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga and Australia, and led projects in other Southwestern Pacific Islands. She continues to work in industry as a consultant Senior Architect and Cultural Engagement Lead at GB-A, Australia and is the Principal Architect at Charmaine ‘Ilaiū Talei Architecture which delivers research-informed projects that are meaningful to Pacific communities.

Icao Tiseli

Icao Tiseli is an Architectural Graduate with 6 years of experience with Jasmax. She is a founding member of Jasmax’s Moana Practitioners, founded to connect, empower and inspire Pasifika practitioners within Jasmax and to advocate for deepening cultural integrity of design in the built environment.

Icao is passionate about working with and assisting her community through speaking towards the cultural depth of their thinking and helping to translate this into the design process.

Icao has worked on the Auckland War Memorial Museum Te Ao Mārama project, where she contributed to the culturally rich process, working with Pacific and Māori artists through meaningful talanoa. She also assisted in supporting these cultural pieces through documentation and onto site.

Being one of the few Pacific practitioners within the industry, the importance of visibility is an essential barrier that Icao advocates for in both architectural institutions and industry.

Huia Reriti

Huia Reriti is a Christchurch-based architect of Ngāi Tahu descent and practices at +MAP Architects in Ōtautahi Christchurch. With more than 40 years of experience, he has worked across a wide range of projects and has played a significant role in the architectural profession in Aotearoa New Zealand. In 2024 he became President (Perehitini) of New Zealand Institute of Architects (Te Kāhui Whaihanga), becoming the organisation’s first Māori president. Throughout his presidency, Huia has championed Māori and other ethnicities at every opportunity.

In his capacity as a trustee for the Matapopore Charitable Trust, Huia contributed to Shifting Foundations, Post-quake architecture of Ōtautahi Christchurch. The trust was mandated by his runanga, Ngai Tuahuriri, to provide cultural advice on the Christchurch Anchor Projects following the city’s 2010-2011 earthquakes.

Tere Insley

Tere Insley is a trailblazing architect who, in 1980, became the first wahine Māori to earn an architecture degree and, in 1984, the first to be registered in Aotearoa.

Raised in a te reo Māori-speaking whānau in Otuwhare, she has dedicated her career to embedding Māori knowledge, tikanga and identity within a profession long shaped by Eurocentric frameworks. Her work spans government, commercial, iwi-led, civic, educational and kaupapa Māori projects, always grounded in people, place and whakapapa.

A respected leader, Insley has served as a Tikanga Māori Architect, NZRAB assessor (including assessments in te reo), and Fellow of Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA, championing cultural understanding, equity and pathways for Māori practitioners.