A bach at Palmers Beach has taken home a major prize at the 2025 Auckland Architecture Awards, with judges praising its sensitive integration into the Barrier landscape and its clever response to sun, wind and holiday life.
Designed by Leuschke Group Architects, the home was recognised in the Housing category for its “pavilion-style” design and strong connection to place. Judges said the building handled the challenge of sun and sea being in opposite directions with elegance and restraint.
“Glazed galleries afford views through the house from a sheltered courtyard carved out of the centre of the pinwheel plan form,” the jury wrote. “Separate bedroom wings at opposite sides of the central living space see the house expand and contract as holiday numbers flux. Mindfully chosen materials reduce the house’s visual presence and landscape disturbance within this special island setting.”
The house’s win underscores the ongoing influence of Great Barrier Island on New Zealand’s residential architecture. One of the other major winners, the Onetangi Cliff House by Herbst Architects, carries a deep Barrier connection too. The Herbst family have been based on Aotea for decades, designing and building dozens of homes across the motu, and arguably developing their now-famous architectural style through their work on the island.
Their latest award recognises a Waiheke property set against a precarious clifftop and busy public beach, which the judges said “effortlessly addresses issues of context and resilience.” Earlier this year, the firm was profiled by the Financial Times for their acclaimed off-grid bach design in Awana.
Other Hauraki Gulf properties also stood out this year. On Kawau Island, a clifftop retreat at Little Vivian Bay won for its mid-century inspired, prefabricated build that blends into mature kānuka forest. Clad in sustainable Abodo timber and featuring sliding glass walls, engineered pine framing, and bronze-coloured mesh curtains, the home was praised for its minimalist footprint and low carbon impact.
Meanwhile, the new SeaLink ferry terminal at Wynyard Quarter—gateway to the Hauraki Gulf—was recognised in the Commercial Architecture category. Designed by Architectus, the building features folded perforated metal cladding inspired by containers and port structures, with patterning created by local mana whenua artists Maaka Potini and Ted Ngataki (Ngāti Tamaoho).
Judges described it as “a clearly laid out economical building that expresses its purpose, context and cultural narrative in an elegant, strong manner.”
The 2025 NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards confirm what many Barrier locals already know: this island—and the wider Hauraki Gulf—isn’t just a destination. It’s a proving ground for some of the country’s best and boldest architectural thinking.
