A tribute to Pip Cheshire's legacy. Director Dajiang 'DJ' Tai of Cheshire Architects led us through Britomart's remarkable story: from a derelict downtown site, to one of Aotearoa's most beloved urban district.

The site was transformed when Cooper & Company acquired the leasehold and partnered closely with Cheshire Architects to ask a bold question: what could truly Kiwi architecture and urbanism look and feel like?

The answer lives in the details - a deep respect for historical context, a careful breath of new life woven into heritage fabric, and a precinct designed to invite the city in. To play by day, and to fall in love with the city by night
Photography: Masano Kawana, Ben Everitt 

An intimate site visit, and a small act of archival repair.

With thanks to Choice Backpackers, we were given rare access to Choice Plaza / formerly known as Orient Towers - Ron Sang's postmodern pagoda tower on Wellesley St, and the most distinctive of its kind in Aotearoa. A tiered crown layering Chinese architectural vocabulary onto a downtown high-rise, it is visually unmistakable yet almost entirely absent from New Zealand's formal architectural record.

So we decided to change that by capturing the building as it currently exists. We leave with archival content, photography, and an article published in Architecture NZ (Mar/Apr 2026)
Photography: Pat Diswat, Oliver Ray Chaudhuri

 Asia Kiwi Architects presents: Asia, Aotearoa, and the Architecture of Crisis | Pop-up Exhibition & Pecha Kucha talks for the Festival of Architecture 2025

A pop-up exhibition and Pecha Kucha night exploring architecture at the intersections of Asia-Pacific, Aotearoa, climate, and refuge 

Read Sahil Tiku's Architecture Now review here

Thank you to the NZIA for sponsoring this event.

Photography: Sahil Tiku

10 years since the passing of prominent 70s architect Rossano Fan, Asia Kiwi Architects were pleased to host a re-screening of the 2011 documentary by Richard Riddiford, commissioned by the late Ian Athfield.

What was it like to be an emerging Architect of Asian Heritage in a quiet little town of Levin, New Zealand during the 1960s? In this documentary, we learn of Rossano’s journey from Hong Kong to Levin, offering a reflection on his tumultuous life, including his grievances and struggles as an apprentice architect.

“Richard Riddiford’s documentary takes us deep into the ambitions and disappointments of painter, erstwhile architect, reluctant market gardener and voluble non-conformist Rossano Fan.” - New Zealand International Film Festival

You can now watch the full documentary on YouTube

Thank you to NZIA for sponsoring this event and Rialto Newmarket for the venue space.

Atlas Concrete, after 70 years of shaping the SuperCity, commissioned JWA Architects to design their legacy headquarters, a testament to their enduring impact and future.

Lead designer Joanne Cheng, and architect Jonathan Walker guide us through their design, unveiling the meticulous process and the nuanced artistry of reimagining concrete.

Flickering, swooshing curved forms, elegant vertical louvres, fluted surfaces, and folding, faceted formwork blend seamlessly. It is monumental, with an illusion of lightness — all achieved through the mastery of concrete.

Thank you to JWA for sponsoring this event and National Steel ltd. for providing PPE and merch.