We are delighted to announce that AUT’s A1 Health Sciences and Student Hub building is shortlisted in the 2021 World Architecture Festival Awards. Selected from over 1000 projects, from 70 countries around the world, the project has been shortlisted in the Education - Future Project category.

A vibrant campus hub that sets a new benchmark for sustainable design, the A1 building will create a social and academic heart for the AUT North Campus in Auckland. The project combines an innovative new timber structure, designed to be dismantled at the end of its life, with the adaptive reuse of an existing building, and achieves industry-leading low carbon performance.

AUT is one of New Zealand’s largest health science tertiary education providers and the A1 Building also embodies the university’s focus on wellbeing. A new timber framed atrium, with informal learning areas, a café and student services hub will connect the new four storey academic building to existing lecture theatres, library and AF building, reconfigured into academic offices. The whole complex will form a heart to the campus where students and staff connect on a daily basis.

The new A1 building will include an energy efficient façade to dramatically reduce campus energy use. Solid panels in a sawtooth arrangement will block direct sunlight from the north and west, interspersed with south facing glazing, which brings diffuse light into the office and teaching spaces while minimising overheating. The projects targets 60kW.hr/m²/yr for operational energy, and with embodied carbon under 2030 targets, this will be AUT’s most low carbon and energy efficient new development.

Read more about the shortlisted projects here. Judging will take place in Lisbon 1-3 December.