We are thrilled to be involved with a new national event celebrating the role of design in Aotearoa, launching on the 16th of October this year.
Named Festival of Design Aotearoa, the 10-day festival will be anchored in Whanganui – Aotearoa’s UNESCO City of Design – and extend across the wider Whanganui-Manawatū region bringing together designers, technologists, businesses and communities.
As a practice we have three different events on the program.
Firstly, the Whanganui Mūmū: Whanganui by Design Exhibition has a curator talk at 10am from the 16th to the 25th of October, a chance to hear about the city’s historic and contemporary contributions to design in innumerable and varied forms. The exhibition was the winner of a Te Kahui Whaihanga NZIA 2023 Western Public Architecture award and is a celebration of the past, present and future of Whanganui Design.
The festival programme also includes the HERE magazine + Dulux open home tour, which is a unique opportunity to see inside architecturally designed buildings that would otherwise only ever be seen inside the pages of a magazine. On Friday the 23rd of October Te Ruamātatoru – He Whata Kai will be open to attendees alongside the Hatrick House (Don Wilson) and Strip Mall (Spacecraft Architects) in Palmerston North. Tickets are $30 and bookings are essential. Find out more at the event page here.
Te Ruamātatoru – He Whata Kai won a Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects National award in 2025 in the Heritage category, and is described by the jurors as a “powerful tribute to the preservation of history and culture”. It is thought to be the first pātaka to be built on Te Whanganui Awa in 100 years and is an important focal point for the Ngāti Ruaka hapū. Inspired by a now-derelict pātaka kai at Rānana, the small building forms part of a broader kaupapa to restore the whenua and indigenous flora along the river.
Lastly, for the first time we are opening our office studio space to the public, inviting design-curious people, architects, designers and creatives to experience our working environment and get a glimpse of the design process from concept to completion.
Come in and meet some of our team and discover the breadth of work being designed right here in Whanganui — from quality residential architecture and renovations to commercial, healthcare and community spaces. Explore a display of past and current projects, browse our extensive and inspiring architecture library, and discover behind-the-scenes material revealing the design and construction journey of selected projects.
Happening on Friday the 23rd of October at 2pm, the studio tour leads directly into the HERE Magazine Open Home Whanganui series, including Te Ruamātatoru – offering a unique opportunity to explore the practice and its design process before experiencing one of its projects in person.
The studio will have recently relocated downstairs to better accommodate the team and allow for more accessibility, so whether you have visited us before or have never set foot inside an architecture office, you are warmly invited to come and have a look around our new space.
Check out the event page on the festival of design website.
