2025 President's Awards
In 2025, the following people received Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects President’s Awards from Huia Reriti:
Dr Jessica Halliday
Dr Jessica Halliday is an architectural historian and the Director and Co-Founder of Te Pūtahi Centre for Architecture and City Making. She believes in the power of architecture to connect people, inspire understanding, and promote public participation. That vision is evident at Open Christchurch – the largest independent architecture festival in Aotearoa – orchestrated by Jessica and backed by a small, talented team.
In 2025 the event saw more than 50 buildings open their doors, welcoming more than 10,000 visits and supported by over 80 enthusiastic volunteers, along with many partners and sponsors.
Open Christchurch and its tours and evening events provide opportunities to engage, reflect, and understand our history and face the challenges of our future through a deeper appreciation for architectural excellence.
It enables many architects to get involved by opening the buildings they’ve been involved in, leading tours, or supporting through the Building Council.
This event could only be achieved with the expertise, independence, humility, and passion that Jessica brings. It simply wouldn’t be possible without her, and Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects wishes to demonstrate our appreciation for her efforts with this award.
Her commitment is also evident through Christchurch Conversations, contributions to media and academic debate, and advocacy for the preservation of significant buildings, including the pivotal role she played in securing the future of the Christchurch Town Hall, as portrayed beautifully in the film Maurice and I.
Jessica’s passion, vision, and dedication continue to inspire us all and influence our city, profession, and collective future.
Andrea Stevens, Folio
Like great architecture, quality writing requires structure and style, function and elegance, proportion and balance. Andrea Stevens demonstrates all these qualities in her work supporting the Institute’s Auckland branch and National Office teams, and I want to thank her for her work on behalf of the architecture profession with this President’s Award.
Andrea has architecture in the family with her great aunt, Alice Greenwood, being the first woman in Aotearoa to gain a Bachelor of Architecture in 1932, who worked for Gummer and Ford and Horace Massey.
Her values are shaped by a deep connection to her Samoan ancestry through her Mum Anna Greenwood and Grandmother Rona Prichard whose family villages were Faleasi’u, Ulutogia and Leone on Tutuila.
Andrea has an innate understanding of the nature of practice and the issues surrounding it, having previously worked as an architect at Jasmax. She is a supportive and helpful presence that enables our Auckland branch to communicate clearly to members and the public with the Kōrero newsletter, and more recently supporting me and the National Office team with Te Mātārere The Bulletin.
She founded her Folio agency in 2007 and has more than two decades of experience across the construction, manufacturing and architecture sectors to draw on in her work. She is also an accomplished author, having written five books and was a Finalist in the New Zealand Book Awards for ‘Beyond the State: New Zealand State Houses from Modest to Modern’.