Hawke’s Bay projects win national honours at ADNZ Resene architecture awards
Two Hawke’s Bay builds have won national honours for their architecture after taking out regional awards earlier in the year.
Bledisloe Social Housing in Marewa, Napier and a Havelock North home won the National Award for Multi-Unit Housing and the National Award for New Home over 300sq m, respectively, at the 2026 Architectural Designers of New Zealand (ADNZ) Resene Architectural Design Awards in Auckland on Friday night.
Both also won awards at the Regional ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards in August.
Nic Curragh of Objects in Christchurch won the National and Regional Awards for New Home over 300sq m for the house he designed for a retired farming couple on a site overlooking Havelock North.
Curragh took on the property’s topography, stepping the home towards the northern edge with two interlinked volumes optimised for light, views and shade.
The home’s detailing combined local stone, Accoya modified wood and render, with floor-to-ceiling glazing and deep soffits, bringing a mid-century, Californian-inspired design adapted for Hawke’s Bay living.
Bledisloe Social Housing in Maraenui, Napier, designed by Nick Chibnall-West from DCA Architects, won the National and Regional Award for Multi-Unit Housing.
The project comprised three two-level buildings: a freestanding accessible home designed for multigenerational living and two walk-up apartment blocks, each containing four two-bedroom units.
Developed in collaboration with Ngāti Kahungunu, the project was shaped by a cultural narrative recalling the historic seabed and fishing ground before the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake, informing the architecture and landscape, embedding identity and meaning into the development.
Big winners on the night included a $125,000 compact strawbale cabin in Wānaka, a reno job on a 1970s brick-and-fibro home in Mount Maunganui and a self-guided Māori cultural and historical experience centre in Greymouth.
A full list of winners is available on ADNZ’s website.