Held at three venues across the country to celebrate excellence in the field, the New Zealand Institute of Building’s annual awards ceremony saw a record number of entries this year.

With ‘in-person’ attendance also growing by 30 per cent, NZIOB Chief Executive Malcolm Fleming says these numbers show that the industry remains resilient in the face of COVID-19. Simon Barnes, convenor of the judging panel was equally warm about what this year’s awards show about the health of the sector, remarking that “this year we have seen an increased number of entries in each category. Once again, the calibre of the people being judged by their peers is outstanding”.

The top prize, in the form of the GIB® Supreme Award, went to James Reed of Dominion Constructors for his work on the University of Auckland’s new 786-bedroom Waiparuru Hall. Over the three years the project took to complete, Reed made use of innovative technology such as Building Information Modelling to streamline the process, which was complicated by Waiparuru’s location in the heart of the city.

Meanwhile, Rhys McKenzie of Hawkins won the BCITO Young Achievers Award, having successfully transitioned from labourer to project manager by the age of 24. Currently running a Hawkins project worth more than $100 million, McKenzie was awarded the prize by the judges, who described him as an exceptional candidate.

The James Hardie Innovation Award was taken by Barbara Balaban from Spiral Drillers Civil Limited for their ‘Team Workshop’ approach. Described by the judges as a ‘win-win’ for its combination of production savings with streamlined health and safety, the Team Workshop brings together employees of different backgrounds to develop specialised equipment that reduces labour-intensity by promoting innovation.

Kelly Haora from Griffiths and Associates Limited picked up the Dahua Technology Consultants Award for their work on the Otangarie Papakainga project in Whangarei, a local Māori social services trust which offers six two-bedroom units for transitional housing. 

The Hays Interdisciplinary Collaboration Award was awarded to Neville McAnnalley of Leighs Construction, Neville Clarke of WSP Opus, James Bones of Beca, Patrick Dowle of the Department of Corrections and Brett Zeiler from White Construction for their joint completion of a 7,770m2 multi-storey accommodation block in Mt Eden Corrections Facility.

The Site Safety & CHASNZ Safety Excellent Award went to Teck Khing Yong and Daniel Chang Liu of Livefirm Construction (North Island) Limited for their Livefirm Mitre Saw Dust Control Station, an innovative new method which is able to collect more than 90 percent of dust produced by construction, providing significant health benefits while also reducing cleaning time as well as maintenance and energy costs.

Winners of the project cost categories awards are:

Resene: Projects under $5M Award

Kane Blank, Aspec Construction Limited

Project: St Peter’s Chapel, Auckland. 

NZIOB Charitable Trust: Projects $5M-$10 Award

Nigel Bannan, Cook Brothers Construction

Project: Dark Sky Project, Takapō (Tekapo)

Steel Construction NZ: Projects $10M-$20M Award

Craig Harris, Naylor Love Canterbury

Project: New World Durham Street, Christchurch

Carters: Projects $20M-$35M Award

James Sutherland, CMP Construction

Project: Life Apartments, 42 Liverpool Street, Auckland

GIB®: Projects $35M-$100M Award

Carl Bohnen, Naylor Love Wellington

Project: Wellington Girls’ East College Major Redevelopment, Wellington