Designed to evoke emotion, reflection or delight, a folly is a structure that occupies a space between sculpture and shelter, providing a pause in the landscape where form takes precedence over function.

Environmental, cultural and social issues prevail in this year’s selection of finalists, with sustainability and recycling a necessary consideration in both material selection and end-of-life deconstruction.

Equilibrium takes its form from the language of scars: both geological and human made. Drawing inspiration from the deep cuts left by industrial extraction and the natural scars sustained through erosion and earthquakes across Aotearoa’s landscapes, the monolithic structure is both a physical and a symbolic incision in the terrain. The scar reveals itself as a narrow artificial canyon for visitors to walk through: the spatial compression evoking the feeling of being within a mined trench, road channel or fault line, drawing attention to the way we exploit and, ultimately, leave marks upon the land. Largely constructed from reused timber pallets, the folly’s circular design principles would see the timber pallets and packers easily dismantled and recycled into mulch for landscaping or composting, to biodegrade naturally.

A playful interpretation of kaitiakitanga, the Māori concept of guardianship and mutual care between humans and the natural world, the design of Te Kaitiaki comprises three kaitiaki or caretakers: pīwakawaka, tuatara and tuna. Each of them watches over a distinct ecological realm: the first, sky; the second, land; and, the third, water. The three elevations realise the forms and perspectives of the guardians, each one discrete but balanced within the structure itself. As the whakataukī says: “Toitū te marae a Tāne, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, toitū te iwi”: if the land is well and the sea is well, the people will thrive. The perspectives of the caretakers remind us that all life exists not within a hierarchy, but within balance. As visitors move around the folly, each guardian is revealed in turn: sometimes hidden, sometimes clear, reminding us that perspective shapes understanding, echoing the layered, shifting relationships within whakapapa.

Inspired by Aotearoa’s vivid landscapes, Framing Tāwharanui is a 7.5-metre-tall viewing device, designed to invite pause, contemplation and imagination. Its design draws from the traditional Māori pā gateway, where a narrowing access marks a clear point of entry to the fortified settlement. A onemetre- wide path threads through eight recycled native hardwood portals, which choreograph movement and sight lines, while, overhead, a corrugated-iron arch forms the canopy, referencing the agricultural setting and contrasting with the soft, tactile rope. The path leads to a cantilevered end point where the enclosure dissolves, opening entirely to the landscape and an uninterrupted view of Brick Bay.

Within the wings of the kāruhiruhi is inspired by its namesake, the pied shag, and designed to reflect the transient nature of both a folly and the ever-changing landscape within which it sits. It begins in autumn, its skin formed from preserved fallen leaves woven into coir netting, rustling with the wind and weathering with time. As the leaves dry, curl and eventually fall away, the folly changes with them, revealing a fossillike, timber structure — a quiet acknowledgment of impermanence. Inside, dappled light filters through the degrading shell, casting ever-changing patterns on the ground — a slow performance of time’s passage. The folly becomes not only a space to inhabit but a theatre for observing the world, and life, move by.

Built with recycled fence battens, telephone poles and corrugated iron, Te Pō, Wherō and The World of Light is sparked by the transcendental experience of witnessing Matariki. It is an intricate narrative themed around the Māori creation myth, weaving together three unique, multifaceted architectural entities, represented by a korowai (cloak), mauri (life force) and wairua (soul). With its secrets concealed, Te Pō beckons the witness forward, where Wherō appears, a life force guiding the witness under the threshold and, once inside, the witness looks up to the heavens and is bathed in The World of Light.

“Previous years’ follies have set a high bar for entrants and it’s a treat to see the many ways in which this year’s finalists have accepted the challenge of proposing designs that create that special mix of a sense of place, aesthetic provocation and spatial organisation that is the essence of the Brick Bay project,” says Folly judge Pip Cheshire.

The winning folly will be selected later this year and officially opened at Brick Bay in May 2026. This year’s judges are Pip Cheshire from Cheshire Architects, Steve Cassidy from Cassidy Construction, Peter McPherson from Unitec, Karmen Hoare from Resene, Gabriela Tufare from Structure Design, Chris Barton from Architecture NZ, Richard and Anna Didsbury from Brick Bay, and Oliver Prisk from last year’s winning folly team, who created Yellow Post.

Brick Bay Folly is sponsored by Resene, Cassidy Construction, Cheshire Architects, Structure Design, Unitec, Brick Bay, Sam Hartnett Photography and Architecture NZ/ArchitectureNow.