A graduates’ guide to the Aotearoa Festival of Architecture 2025

Right here’s a information to key occasions in Tāmaki Makaurau that graduates gained’t need to miss:

Frances Kéré, Futuna Lecture Sequence 2025 Sunday 14 September, from 6:30pm to eight:15pm | St Mary’s-in-Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Auckland.

The competition opens with the famend Futuna Lecture Sequence, that includes Pritzker Prize-winning architect Francis Kéré from Gando, Burkina Faso. Celebrated for his socially accountable and neighborhood centered structure, Kéré’s human-centred method underscores the transformative energy of design. Utilising native supplies, conventional methods and fascinating communities within the course of, his tasks handle advanced social, cultural and environmental challenges. For graduates, this lecture probes reflection on the sort of contribution we hope to make to the career, and contemplate classes that may be utilized right here in Aotearoa.

Sarah Allan, UK Authorities’s Chief Architect Lecture Wednesday 17 September, from 6:00pm | Neon Theatre, College of Auckland, Auckland.

Sarah Allan, the UK Authorities’s Chief Architect and Head of Structure and City Design inside the Chief Planner’s Directorate, will focus on how structure and planning intersect with coverage and governance to form design outcomes throughout housing, infrastructure and tradition at each native and nationwide scales. For graduates, this lecture extends studying past the studio, revealing the interaction between coverage and design, and the broader forces that affect structure. This can stand us in good stead to navigate the realities of the trade, encourage vital excited about the position of structure in shaping cities and communities, whereas providing perspective on profession paths outdoors non-public apply.

Open Studio Saturday twentieth September, from 10:00am to 2:00pm | See NZIA web site for collaborating studios and their places.

Open Studio is persistently a competition spotlight – and for good cause. The day provides a uncommon likelihood to step inside a few of the metropolis’s main architectural practices, offering perception into mission work, values that form design outcomes and studio tradition. As a graduate, I do know the transition from college to apply can really feel daunting, and this occasion is useful for each college students and graduates to grasp how completely different studios function and what to anticipate in apply. The relaxed setting encourages questions and gives perception into the kind of apply you may see your self working in, whether or not that’s a small, design-led studio or a bigger multidisciplinary agency. 

A + W Pecha Kucha Friday nineteenth September, from 5:30pm to eight:00pm | UnserHaus Kitchen Equipment Showroom, 65 Parnell Rise, Auckland.

Asia, Aotearoa and the Structure of Disaster Saturday twenty seventh September, from 5:00pm to six:00pm | Neon Theatre, 22 Symonds Road, Auckland.

The Structure + Ladies NZ Pecha Kucha celebrates the voices and contributions of girls in structure. This 12 months’s theme: “Good public Structure – and How Ladies Form Communities,” brings collectively inspiring audio system who’re reshaping the best way we design. Per week later, the Asia, Aotearoa and Structure of Disaster Pecha Kucha will flip the highlight to international points, from displacement and migration to local weather and id in structure. The Pecha Kucha format, 20 slides at 20 seconds every, is a speedy hearth construction that depends on the synergy and simultaneous supply of visible and verbal presentation components, difficult presenters to speak their concepts with effectivity. Given the client-facing nature of structure, presentation expertise are vital in apply, and occasions like these are the right place for us to see how professionals articulate advanced concepts with readability to interact audiences.

Weaving Connections Thursday twenty fifth September, from 6:00pm to eight:15pm | Wynyard Pavillion, Auckland.

Weaving Connections brings collectively architects, city designers, planners and extra within the trade to attach and share concepts. Hosted by Structure+Ladies NZ, Ladies in Urbanism Aotearoa and the NZIA, this occasion is ideal for college kids and graduates seeking to have interaction with others within the career in a casual and welcoming setting. Networking is a crucial ability in any profession, and this occasion gives us with the possibility to develop connections, search mentorship and discover alternatives for skilled progress. Its relaxed construction encourages genuine dialog, facilitating significant relationships that can help our transition from college to apply.

The Nice Debate Friday twenty sixth September, time to be launched | Q Theatre, Queen Road, Auckland.

A competition staple, The Nice Debate sees two groups of architects, engineers and social commentators sort out a urgent trade subject. Final 12 months’s debate thought of whether or not Auckland’s iconic Queen Road ought to evolve or devolve. For graduates, it’s a chance to listen to numerous views on present points within the career. Following the talk, the mixer gives a chance to debate these concepts additional and socialise with friends and professionals.

These highlights are only a snapshot of the nationwide programme. From talks and exhibitions to open studios and strolling excursions, there’s something for everybody. The Aotearoa Pageant of Structure runs from 14th to twenty eighth September 2025, and provides graduates a novel likelihood to step into the trade, broaden our views and be impressed by the folks shaping New Zealand’s constructed setting. Go to the NZIA web site for the total schedule.