Located in the heart of Auckland, the project is in close proximity to the city’s local universities, corporate headquarters, and commercial hubs.

Beyond its highly connected urban location, the site offers stunning visual connections to the surrounding environment, capturing panoramic views that stretch from the Waitakere Ranges to the Waitemata Harbour.

The new facility occupies half a city block and is bordered by three busy arterial roads. It brings the site to life through a public network of integrated atriums and laneways.

Inside, a vertically stacked, flexible layout allows delegates to move effortlessly between dedicated exhibition spaces, meeting rooms, and performance halls.

Known as Te Tumu, the venue features a 2,850-seat plenary hall, more than 8,000 square metres of versatile exhibition space, and 33 modular meeting rooms designed to host everything from intimate breakout sessions to massive gatherings.

Built for long-term resilience, the structure relies on an adaptable, demountable design that reduces future embodied carbon by eliminating the need for major structural renovations down the road.

The interior architecture was shaped by global design studio Woods Bagot, who brought specialist convention centre expertise to the project.

The design pairs blackened steel with silver beech hardwood, creating a striking contrast of light and shadow that reflects the dramatic natural beauty of New Zealand’s landscape.

According to Associate Principal and Project Leader Eric Buhrs, the interior design is not only highly functional, but deeply contextual to place. It embeds the stories of whenua (land) and whakapapa (ancestry) in the built form.

“Rooted in the idea of One Language, Many Voices, our design for the NZICC translates the textures, stories, and spirit of Aotearoa into a contemporary civic landmark,” says Buhrs.

“By drawing on the dynamic forms of the New Zealand landscape and the depth of Māori cultural narrative, the centre speaks with an unmistakably local voice while welcoming the world.”

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