For the fourth year running, Warren and Mahoney has been honoured at the World Architecture Festival (WAF), with the University of Auckland’s Hiwa Recreation Centre winning the Sport Architecture category at the 2025 edition of the global architecture awards program held in Miami.

The award marks the latest in a series of global accolades for the facility, which was designed by Warren and Mahoney in partnership with MJMA Toronto and Haumi. Hiwa had earlier won the Architecture Prize from the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and the International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities (IAKS) and Supreme Award at the 2025 Property Council New Zealand Awards.

Designed for the University’s 40,000 students, staff and alumni, the Hiwa Recreation Centre spans an entire city block, and aims to transform the University’s City Campus by creating a world-class facility that supports student wellbeing. The project draws on research showing a clear link between access to recreation and improved academic outcomes. The study carried out by the University’s Sport and Recreation team reveals that students who visited the existing recreation centre at least once a week performed better academically, achieving higher A-grade results, with increases of 19% overall, 24% for Māori and 44% for Pacific students.

Rather than replicating a traditional facility for sport, the design response boldly reimagines what a campus recreation facility could be – a dynamic vertical village for wellbeing, connection, and belonging.

About a third of the centre is dedicated to informal social spaces that encourage community building and help counter rising isolation amongst students in higher education.

“World-class tertiary institutions are defined not only by academic excellence but also by the quality of the on-campus experience,” says Warren and Mahoney Project Principal and Head of Design Blair Johnston.

“At the heart of the student precinct, Hiwa has been designed to foster lifelong social, physical, and mental wellbeing. It’s a tangible expression of the University's commitment to student wellbeing, central to a broader strategy aimed at fostering a connected and engaged campus community – an increasingly vital role in today’s digital and socially fragmented world.”

The 26,000sqm building features a comprehensive suite of recreation and wellness spaces across six levels. These include a below-ground aquatic hall, squash courts, group fitness areas, weight and cardio facilities, dance and yoga studios, a rock-climbing wall, multipurpose sports halls, a major show court with spectator seating, and rooftop turf and relaxation spaces.

“This award acknowledges the quality of its design and the way the facility supports student wellbeing, clubs, sport, recreation and high-performance programmes,” says Simon Neale, Chief Property Officer at the University of Auckland.

“While Hiwa is a world-class recreation facility, it is also much more than that. The building is central to our student experience and is designed to be fully inclusive, supporting the success of everyone who uses it.”

In its first year alone, the facility has recorded more than one million visits, indicating that Hiwa is delivering on its intent.

Image: Supplied

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