The NZIA x Nu Wall Architecture Tour returns this November, bringing together four Auckland projects and the architects behind them for a day of guided visits.
Architecture is experienced differently when you can move through it rather than simply view it in photographs. On Friday 6 November, the NZIA x Nu Wall Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland Architecture Tour will take visitors inside four Auckland projects, with guided visits from the architects responsible for each. The day follows the 2026 Auckland Architecture Awards and offers a closer look at work recognised across housing, heritage, small projects and commercial architecture.
The first stop is Gardener’s RestbyMegan Edwards Architects, the 2026 Auckland Architecture Award winner in Heritage. The project is a renovation of a Category 2-listed Arts and Crafts house, originally an 1880s gardener’s cottage that underwent a major renovation in 1917. The design takes a light-touch approach, retaining the wraparound verandas, timber-panelled entry, formal lounge, fireplace and window seat while improving connections between the rooms and garden. A relocated kitchen and dining area now looks towards the harbour, while a new stair and vertical light well bring light through the centre of the three-level home.
Gardener's Rest by Megan Edwards Architects
Gardener's Rest by Megan Edwards Architects
45 Mount Eden Road by ASC Architects
45 Mount Eden RoadbyASC Architects takes a different approach to urban housing. The 15-apartment development sits at the top of a planned linear park linking the new Mt Eden station with Mt Eden Road. Its material palette combines red brick, exposed concrete, dark joinery and steel balustrades, with an angular timber canopy, elevated planting and cantilevered balconies adding variation to the building's solid form. A recessed upper level is finished with a penthouse roof and oculus. The project received the 2026 Auckland Architecture Award for Housing – Multi-unit.
The tour also visits St Luke’s Hospitality Centre by Andrew Barrie Lab, recognised in the Small Project Architecture category, before arriving at 137 Great North Road byRTA Studio. The latter is particularly timely following Richard Naish’s 2026 NZIA Gold Medal, awarded in recognition of his contribution to New Zealand architecture. The project itself reflects an approach that has become increasingly relevant to Auckland: rather than demolishing an existing four-level commercial building, RTA Studio retained and extended its concrete structure, adding a new floor, glazed façade and perforated aluminium screen. The result is a new workplace built around an existing structure, with reclaimed timber and other measures contributing to its environmental performance.
The tour runs from 9am to 4pm and includes transport between stops, lunch and 30 CPD points. More than a conventional project viewing, it provides an opportunity to consider how different architects respond to heritage, urban density, existing buildings and the demands of contemporary use.
