Hopkins brings his expertise in “city-shaping” to the practice after leading the Sylvia Park Galleria and LynnMall Brickworks redevelopments, as well as Lion Breweries’ ‘The Pride’ greenfield development.

Auckland studio chair Andy Gentry says Hopkins’ technical eye and managerial strength will add to the leadership team. “Craig has a passion for the technical details of architecture as well as a knack for fostering long-lasting, reciprocal relationships with clients and collaborators,” says Gentry. “Assuredly leading multi-disciplinary teams as you simultaneously push at the limits of technical design is a rare talent and Craig creates end results that make the complexity of the process all but invisible.”

Hopkins says he has followed Woods Bagot’s work for a number of years, “but it was after seeing SAHMRI (the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute) and the ‘pushing the envelope’ technology used to design it that made me think it would be an amazing team to be a part of.”

The Auckland studio is the youngest of Woods Bagot’s 17 global studios and Hopkins says this was part of the attraction. “It’s a small, close-knit group that feels like a family but then you feel this huge connection to a global network of design and technical expertise,” he says.

Woods Bagot opened its Auckland office in January 2021 after the practice relocated from Christchurch where it had worked on several city rebuilding projects over the past decade. Since starting business in New Zealand, Woods Bagot has been involved in local projects to the value of approximately $1.9 billion.