2024 Auckland Architecture Awards Winner - University of Auckland B201 Building

Read full article: University of Auckland B201 Building (nzia.co.nz)

Of the many architectural attributes that this 100-word citation tries to bestow on B201, such as New Zealand's highest six-star green rating, the most important is how a repurposed structure has elevated the mana of the adjoining Waipapa Marae and Fale Pasifika, and recentred the Ngāti Whatu whenua on which the university stands. Once hidden from view by the blocked hulk that was the former School of Social Sciences, B201 brings the university's key indigenous spaces into view. The Ranginui stairwell unites fale, whare and museum in a single post-colonial vista. To cite Professor Marsh’s poem from the opening: Our B201 landing ramp Forged in Waipapa's back-yard, Flows to our Marae and our Fale Linking Symonds Street to Wyn-yard