The University of Waikato is proud to announce its landmark Hamilton campus complex, The Pā, has won the Ted McCoy Award for Education at the 2024 New Zealand Architecture Awards.
The New Zealand Architecture Awards honour the country’s top architecture projects each year and the Ted McCoy Award acknowledges the importance of high-quality learning spaces. Alongside the Ted McCoy Award, The Pā was also a general award recipient in the Education category.
These two awards bring the number of accolades for the groundbreaking project this year to six, with recognition being received both nationally and internationally.
“The significance of this project cannot be underestimated,” wrote the jury panel. “Under the guidance of the late Māori King Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, the University of Waikato - Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato has put a wharenui (communal house) at the heart of its campus and brought together the student hub, the Vice-Chancellor executive team and Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies all under one roof.
“The strength from the massive timber beams and posts, the warmth and generosity of the many gathering and studying spaces, the overall clarity of circulation and response to environmental issues make The Pā a clear recipient of this year’s Ted McCoy Award for Education.”
“The Pā exemplifies our commitment to creating an inclusive, innovative space that reflects our unique cultural heritage and supports our diverse student body,” says University of Waikato Vice-Chancellor, Professor Neil Quigley.
The University’s Director of Property Development and Infrastructure, Tony Kavanagh, says the recognition at this level is a huge achievement for the project team.
“This award is a testament to the degree of thought and design that went into the project. We are incredibly proud of the success The Pā has achieved this year in the architecture industry both nationally and internationally. It has also proven its value within the University community, where we have hosted multiple graduation ceremonies, international conferences, and student open days as well as seeing it used as a gathering space every day by our student and staff community.”
The Pā forms the most ambitious project in the University’s 60-year history and reinforces the University’s distinctiveness being unique in concept, functionality and architectural design: there is nothing else like it nationally or internationally.
The complex includes a student hub, wharenui and ātea, event space, and home for Te Pua Wānanga ki te Ao, the University’s Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies.
Through a co-design process, more than 30 carvers and weavers were commissioned in partnership with the Kīngitanga to deliver a clear and powerful narrative throughout the complex that draws on history, heritage, and cultural identity to create an inspirational and inclusive learning environment for all.
The Pā also received highly commended in the 2024 World Architecture Festival this month, won the Best Team Award at the Property People Central Awards in October, and was awarded Excellence and Best in Category in the Colliers Project Leaders Education category of the Property Awards in June.
The complex was constructed by Hawkins and architecturally designed by Architectus, Jasmax, and DesignTribe. The project also involved Beca, Wraight and Associates, Mott MacDonald, Rider Levett Bucknall, Colliers Project Leaders and Boffa Miskell.
The awards are hosted by the New Zealand Institute of Architects and winners were chosen from a shortlist of 48 outstanding projects and are spread across 11 different categories. The Institute has operated an awards programme, in some form, since 1927 to recognise excellent achievement and encourage architects to produce high-quality work that benefits their clients and their communities.
