Ashburton’s library and civic building, Te Whare Whakatere, has been declared a winner in the 2025 Canterbury Architecture Awards.

The building has been described as, “a benchmark for contemporary civic architecture in Aotearoa,” and judges found that the design, “unified meaning, purpose and place.”

Ashburton District Mayor Neil Brown said he was delighted Te Whare Whakatere had been recognised in an award once again.

“I congratulate Athfield Architects on their award, and I’m pleased they have been acknowledged for their skill and effort in creating something physical from all the things the community told them were important to our district.”

Architects called on community feedback when they designed the building and so the area’s farming identity was included using materials like mass timber, pivot-inspired trusses and silo-like mesh.

Historic Pioneer Hall was restored within the children’s library, and collaboration with mana whenua brought tangata whenua’s cultural expression of Ashburton District into the building through design.

The facility’s artesian bore heating and energy strategies were also noted by Te Kāhui Whaihanga, the New Zealand Institute of Architects, who run the awards.

Mayor Brown said the community had asked for a sustainable building when Council consulted on the project back in 2019.

“Sustainability was an important part of Council’s brief to the architect and the use of timber in Te Whare Whakatere achieved a 76 percent carbon reduction compared to one of conventional design.”

“Since the building opened in January 2024, it has been a place for business, for debate, for decisions and gatherings; it has also become a communal space for the community to share, connect, or just be.”

Te Whare Whakatere combines a state-of-the-art library, Council offices, Emergency Operations Centre, public event spaces, and integrated amenities in a single building.

In June 2024, Te Whare Whakatere was awarded excellence in the Sustainable Building Property Award, and merit in the Civic, Health and Arts Property Awards, by the Property Council New Zealand.