Sixty-eight projects from across Aotearoa will compete for the nation’s highest architectural honours.

The full range of Aotearoa’s architectural talents are on display in the shortlist for the 2026 New Zealand Architecture Awards announced today.

Each year the New Zealand Architecture Awards recognise the top projects from across the motu, with the shortlist and ultimate winners selected from projects that have won a Regional Architecture Award during the past three years.

The 68 total projects shortlisted this year is an increase on 2025 and includes a wide range of projects from large commercial buildings to a humble 17 square-metre chapel.

“Housing is always a strong category in the National Architecture Awards, and this year we have a great range of projects, from substantial projects to those shaped by more modest briefs and budgets,” says National Jury Convenor Andrea Bell from bell + co architecture. “Another consistently interesting category is Small Project Architecture, where invention and creativity come to the fore within a set of tighter constraints. It is also heartening to see such a strong field of contenders in the Heritage category again this year.”

All shortlisted projects will be visited by the jury, headed by Andrea and including Jane Rooney from Architectus, Daniel Smith from Edwards White Architects, and Jon Clements from Jackson Clements Burrows Architects in Australia. The tour begins 17 August.

The winners of the New Zealand Architecture Awards will be announced at the annual award ceremony on 5 November at Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland War Memorial Museum.

The Shortlist

Commercial Architecture

• 90 Devonport Road by Warren and Mahoney

• Air New Zealand – Hangar 4 by Studio Pacific Architecture

• Horizon by SkyCity by Warren and Mahoney and Moller Architects in association

• Mount Cardrona Station - Homestead by Leuschke Group Architects

• Ōtepoti Building by Warren and Mahoney and Aukaha

• Pūtahi Teia by Falk Tapsell and Beca in association

• The Chief Post Office Refurbishment by Cheshire Architects

• Wynyard Quayside by Warren and Mahoney

Education

• St Patrick's Chapel, Dilworth School by Jasmax

• Tāwhaki Nui-a-Hema / Motueka High School Maths and Horticulture Block by Arthouse Architects and Sheppard & Rout Architects

• Toi Manawa by Patterson Associates

Enduring Architecture

• Gibbs House - Eastbourne (1998) by Gerald Parsonson Architect

• The Point (2000) by Moller Architects

• The Princess Margaret Hospital (1959) by Manson, Seward & Stanton

Heritage

• Auckland Art Gallery Kia Whakahou, Kia Whakaora by Ignite Architects and DPA Architects in association

• Ayrburn Precinct by SA Studio

• Christchurch Boys' High School Main Block Restoration & Refurbishment by Athfield Architects, Paul Cummack Conservation and Clare Kelly Heritage Architect in association

• Diocesan School for Girls’ Chapel of our Glorified Lord and St Barnabas’ Chapel by Salmond Reed Architects and Creative Arch in association

• Gardener's Rest by Megan Edwards Architects

• Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui by Athfield Architects and Tihei in association

• The Chief Post Office Refurbishment by Cheshire Architects and Salmond Reed in association

Hospitality

• Ayrburn Precinct by SA Studio

• Bunker Bar by Studio John Irving

• Huka Lodge Gym, Spa and Wellness by Christian Anderson Architects

• Te Arai Links North Clubhouse by Cheshire Architects

• The Loft and Kitchen Refurbishment – Craggy Range by RTA Studio

Housing

• Chamberlain Tower by EADA Architects

• Courtyard House by Anna-Marie Chin Architects

• Double Courtyard House by Roberts Gray Architects

• Ember by Monk Mackenzie

• Jack's House by W3 and Cede in association

• Orchard House by Fearon Hay Architects

• Parenga House by Tennent Brown Architects

• Rare Earth by Assembly Architects

• Roseman Whare by Sunday Architects and Burgess Treep & Knight Architects in association

• Sand Boxes by Herbst Maxcey Metropolitan Architects

• Tahi House by Patterson Associates

• Textured Bach by Nic Owen Architects

• Two Sheds by RTA Studio

Housing – Alterations and Additions

• Sergeant's Cottage by Guy Tarrant Architects

• Chapter Street by Warren and Mahoney

• Dolly by Studio John Irving

• Onetangi Pavilions by Lynda Simmons Architect and Sayes Jackson Architects

• Red Threads by Pac Studio

• Waka Huia by Pac Studio

• Yansané McMillan House by Bonnifait + Associates Architects (Atelierworkshop)

Housing – Multi-unit

• Aro Living Townhouse Development by architecture +

• Our Whare Our Fale by First Light Studio and Central Pacific Collective in association

• Exhibit by Monk Mackenzie

• Oxford Terrace Baptist Church Stage 2 by Andrew Barrie Lab

• Rongo Te Ata by Ashton Mitchell

Interior Architecture

• Beca House – Te Paeroa o Te Kawau by Warren and Mahoney

• Precinct Flex – Pipiri Lane by Warren and Mahoney

• Te Tumu – New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) by Warren and Mahoney, Moller Architects and Woods Bagot in association

• TRA by Jose Gutierrez

Planning and Urban Design

• Dallington Bridge by Isthmus

Public Architecture

• BNZ Theatre by Jasmax and Charcoalblue in association

• Chapel of St Thérèse of Lisieux by Bull O'Sullivan Architecture

• MTG – Hawke’s Bay Museum Research & Archives Centre by RTA Studio

• Te Rua Archives New Zealand by Warren and Mahoney and Tihei in association

• Te Tumu – New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC) by Warren and Mahoney, Moller Architects and Woods Bagot in association

• The Court Theatre by Haworth Tompkins and Athfield Architects in association

• Whakamaru by Three Line Studio

Small Project Architecture

• Aluume Spa by Hyndman Taylor Architects

• Kererū Corner by Shaw & Shaw Architects

• Living House by RTA Studio

• St Luke’s Hospitality Centre by Andrew Barrie Lab

• Summerhill ’23 & ‘24 by Andrew Barrie Lab, Gregory Mann and Billy Pengelly in association