Hiwa Recreation Center, University of Auckland
This landmark project for the University of Auckland engages both with the campus and the city, creating a new public plaza and lobby space for students and members of the public alike to gather. An ambitious program of athletics, social and wellness spaces are stacked vertically on the tight site, with the clear column-free spans required for gymnasiums and studio spaces made possible thanks to a muscular steel diagrid exoskeleton.
In section, the building is dramatically cleaved in two by a spine of vertical circulation from the pool level beneath grade to the outdoor courts and track on the rooftop level. A gradient of colours along the spine forms part of the building’s rigorous program of wayfinding and signage that is deeply inspired by cultural narratives of Māori people.
These images were shot in February 2025.
The project has won awards including from IAKS, Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects, and was category winner at the World Architecture Festival (Sports)
Architects:
Warren Mahoney Architects & MJMA
Location:
Auckland, New Zealand
“To deliver to this demanding brief and tight urban site, the design team analysed detailed user data to create a well-defined operational logic and a singular clarity to its design.
Raising the sports halls and placing the aquatic hall below grade, frees the ground plane to create a seamless connection with a new student plaza that connects interior and exterior, east and west and creates a memorable public space at the heart of the campus.”
— Warren and Mahoney Architects
