A joint response to complex planning and technical challenges following the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011 in parts of the Waimakariri District north of Christchurch received the supreme accolade at this year’s New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) awards The draft Waimakariri Residential Red Zone Recovery Plan – developed by Waimakariri District Council, Greater Christchurch Group (within the Department of the prime minister and cabinet), Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu and Te Ngāi Tū Ahuriri Rūnanga – won both the award for Best Practice Strategic Planning and Guidance and the Nancy Northcroft Award, which is the NZPI’s supreme award. Continue →

Resource Management Act reforms, urban development and natural hazards will be the top three planning issues affecting New Zealand in 2017, according to the New Zealand Planning Institute (NZPI) These challenges will be among those addressed at NZPI’s annual conference in Wellington from 4-7 April this week, although water management, living-roof urbanism, Māori participation in Resource Management processes, compact cities, transport and rural issues will also be on the agenda. Continue →

New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering (NZSEE) President Peter Smith says every earthquake provides new information on how to improve building design “Investigations like this are crucial to making our buildings safer. Continue →

New Zealand’s main political parties and their planning reform policies will be challenged at the New Zealand Planning Institute’s (NZPI) Annual Conference next month Chaired by conference MC business journalist Bernard Hickey, the political forum on Thursday, 6 April has invited presentations by the National, Labour, Green, NZ First and Maori parties. Continue →

ForestPlus Oils scooped the Scion-sponsored Novel Application of (wood) Fibre category in the NZ Wood Resene Timber Design Awards The ForestPlus Oils team won the prize for their ‘essential oils from pines’ product, an essential oil distilled from New Zealand Douglas fir. Continue →

Wood is no longer “just” a framing option for bungalows, as the NZ Wood-Resene Timber Design Award winners are proving Nine winners in categories ranging from architectural excellence and engineered innovation to novel applications of fibre and student design were announced at a gala function in Auckland on March 9th. Continue →

Artificial intelligence, driverless cars, the shared economy and climate change are disrupting the future of New Zealand cities, according to internationally renowned planning experts The challenge for local authorities and citizens is adapting to these advancements, claim urban futurist and former Lord Mayor of Adelaide Stephen Yarwood, and highly respected landscape architect Professor Elizabeth Mossop. Continue →

NZ Wood has announced the Stage One Finalists for the Resene Timber Design Awards 2017. Continue →