Air New Zealand’s Hangar 4, entered by Studio Pacific Architecture, has won the Resene Supreme Award at the 51st Timber Design Awards Gala Dinner held in Auckland recently.
Timber professionals from across the country had gathered for a full day dedicated to learning, collaboration and celebrating excellence in New Zealand timber design and construction.
Despite severe weather grounding flights around the country, architects, engineers, contractors, suppliers, manufacturers and clients were determined to be there — with some even driving from Wellington after their flights were cancelled.
The day began with Timber Delivered, a seminar that brought together the teams behind five leading mass timber projects to share the lessons that don’t often make it into case studies.
Rather than focusing solely on technical details, presenters spoke candidly about the decisions, collaboration and problem-solving that underpin the successful delivery of timber buildings. One important message stood out from the seminars — the best innovation isn’t kept within project teams; it is shared, refined and built upon.
The day concluded with the gala dinner, celebrating the people and projects demonstrating the very best of New Zealand’s timber design and construction industry. The evening recognised Category Award Winners and Highly Commended projects from a field of 132 entries spanning 52 projects.
‘Benchmark achievement’
The judging panel described the Hangar 4 project as “a benchmark achievement, demonstrating both innovation and exceptional engineering elegance in timber design and construction”.
Combining Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) and Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), the project demonstrated timber’s environmental benefits, seismic resilience, corrosion resistance and structural efficiency, delivering a lighter solution for a building type traditionally dominated by steel.
The Simpson Strong-Tie People’s Choice Award was awarded to 211 High Street, submitted by Ignite Architects.
More than 700 people cast their vote over the 48-hour voting period, highlighting the strong interest and enthusiasm for timber projects across the wider industry and community.
The breadth and quality of this year’s entries reflected the continued growth and maturity of New Zealand’s timber sector, with projects showcasing outstanding innovation across residential, commercial, education, community and civic buildings.
“What stood out wasn’t just the quality of the winning projects, but the willingness of our industry to share knowledge so openly throughout the day,” Timber Unlimited chair Daniel Scheibmair says. “That’s how we continue to grow confidence in timber and deliver even better outcomes for clients and communities.”
Another highlight of the evening was the native seedling table centrepieces, generously sponsored by PEFC New Zealand, which attendees were invited to take home at the end of the night. Every seedling found a new home before the evening was over.
Timber Unlimited extended its sincere thanks to the judges — Tom Webster, Katie Symons, Huia Reriti and David Carradine — for their expertise and dedication, and to every individual and organisation that submitted a project.
Collaboration and innovation recognised
The organisation also acknowledged the generous support of its sponsors, whose commitment makes the awards and the wider promotion of timber design possible, including Resene, Simpson Strong-Tie, Red Stag, XLAM, Techlam, Prolam, Rothoblaas, Build Anatomy, Nelson Pine, Abodo, Spec Toolbox, Eurotec, Te Kahui Whaihanga NZIA, and the Timber Design Society for their continued investment in the industry.
From the ideas shared during the Timber Delivered seminar to the projects recognised at the Timber Design Awards, the day reflected an industry committed to collaboration, knowledge sharing and innovation.
• All winners can be viewed at https://timberunlimited.co.nz/get-involved/timber-design-awards/2026-tda-winners.
