New Zealand Institute of Architects

Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) is a membership-based professional organisation that represents approximately 90 per cent of registered architects in Aotearoa New Zealand and supports and promotes architecture in New Zealand.

The organisation was founded in 1905 and is committed to supporting members by providing ongoing professional training and material and services that are essential to their work.

The Institute has eight branches throughout the country and is headed by a President who serves a two-year term. The day-to-day functions of the Institute are undertaken by an Auckland-based team led by a chief executive.

Background
Established in 1905 the institute is changed in the 1960s due to Architects Act 1963 splitting functions split between the Institute and the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB). It became an incorporated society in 1992.

In 2019 the Institute changed its name to add a Māori Language part: Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. This process of doing this was done with the Māori design network Ngā Aho. In the process the name was gifted by Haare Williams. He said: "The name Te Kāhui Whaihanga is not only about architecture, but it's also about building a nation; building a future and building a people. It's to do with identity."

In 2019 NZIA also signed a covenant with Ngā Aho to include how the Institute could acknowledge the Treaty of Waitangi, as well as Māori. NZIA Councillor Elisapeta Heta had this to say of the convent and what it might mean: "...in your role as an architect, you would think about your role as kaitiaki, as a guardian of the places we’re making, and there would probably be an automatically shift, regardless of budget and client."

Governance of the Institute is undertaken by the NZIA Council, led by an elected President, which meets four times a year.

Current Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Board
 * President: Huia Reriti
 * Auckland director: Michael Thomson
 * Gisborne & Hawke's Bay director: Chris Ainsworth
 * Waikato & Bay of Plenty Director: Evan Mayo
 * Western director: Felicity Wallace
 * Wellington director: Angela Foster
 * Nelson & Marlborough director: Simon Hall
 * Canterbury director: Michael Smith
 * Southern director: Tim Ross
 * Co-Opted Emerge representative: Harry Platt
 * Co-Opted Ngā Aho representative: Matt Ritani

Past presidents include Judith Taylor (2022–2024) and Judi Keith-Brown (2020–2022).

New Zealand Architecture Awards
The institute also functions to celebrate outstanding architecture, in part by presenting annual awards for excellence in architecture. The awards programme consists of Local Awards, run by each of the institute's eight branches, and New Zealand Awards, a national level distinction. From 2016, the NZIA's "named awards" replaced the New Zealand Architecture Medal as the country's highest level of architectural achievement. Named awards are conferred in categories of public, commercial, educational and residential architecture, and are named for influential New Zealand architects Sir Ian Athfield, Sir Miles Warren, John Scott and Ted McCoy, each of whom has made a powerful contribution to the practice of architecture in New Zealand.

The institute is not responsible for the registration of architects, which is within the purview of the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB).

Gold Medal
The most prestigious award in New Zealand architecture is the NZIA Gold Medal, which is awarded to an individual architect. It is the highest award of the New Zealand Institute of Architects. The Gold Medal is awarded for an outstanding contribution to the practice of architecture, demonstrated through the production of a consistently high-quality body of work over a period of time.

Distinguished Fellows
The Institute honours up to 10 living Distinguished Fellows, who are recognised as being an exceptional influence on or contributor to architecture in New Zealand”. As of 2024, the distinguished fellows are Brian Aitken, Nick Bevin, Richard Harris, Maurice Mahoney, Anne Salmond, Graeme Scott, Julie Stout, John Sutherland, and Christina van Bohemen.