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Architecture students working with models in the Otago Polytechnic studio
Study architecture in New ZealandŌtepoti Dunedin

School ofArchitecture

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01The school

Design what comes
next, from here.

Learn to harness light, space, line, form and function to shape the built environment. In our studio culture, ideas move between drawing, making, technology and the realities of place.

Small classes, strong industry relationships and state-of-the-art facilities support you to become a designer, critical thinker and innovator.

Find your pathway ↘
3 + 2Bachelor and professional master pathway
02Undergraduate specialisations
01Professionally accredited architecture master in the South Island
480Hours of master-level work experience opportunity
02Student work

Work in progress.

ArchitectureInteriorTechnologyCommunity
Student spatial design proposal showing a tensile fabric pavilion beside the water
18.08.26Awards / Student success

Ten School of Architecture projects named 2026 Best Awards finalists

Ten student projects from Otago Polytechnic’s School of Architecture have been named finalists in the 2026 Best Awards.

Presented annually by the Designers Institute of New Zealand, the Best Awards are Aotearoa New Zealand’s national showcase of design excellence. They recognise outstanding work across disciplines including spatial design, and form an important national archive of contemporary New Zealand design.

Congratulations to all successful students.

View the 2026 finalists

Student & Academic Spatial finalists

  1. 01
    Hannah Winter

    Castle on the Cliff

  2. 02
    Hudson Ross

    Te Kore Te Pō Te Ao

  3. 03
    Flynn Connolly

    Pīwakawaka Landing Next to Water

  4. 04
    Patrick Ketchen

    Korowai o Aotearoa

  5. 05
    Sarah Scott

    Tipping Point

  6. 06
    Abby Taylor

    A Circular Approach

  7. 07
    Ryno Von Wielligh

    Lighthouse Entertainment Precinct

  8. 08
    Erica Morris

    Where People Go

  9. 09
    Omea Hall

    De-instituionalising Dementia Care

  10. 10
    Eden Rose-Yon

    Between Walls and Words

Selected work08 projects

Student projects, studio investigations and publications arranged as a growing archive of work from the School.

2026 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards finalist graphic for Excellence in Student and/or Alumni Engagement
01Awards / Community engagement

Atelier South: Co-producing Climate-Adaptive Futures

2026

Atelier South has been named a finalist in the 2026 Engagement Australia Excellence Awards, in the Excellence in Student and/or Alumni Engagement category.

Launched in 2024, Atelier South is a long-term collaborative initiative co-led by the School of Architecture at Otago Polytechnic, Ara Institute of Canterbury, Monash University, AUT and Unitec, alongside mana whenua, local government, community groups and professional experts. It connects research, teaching and community engagement to address complex environmental and social challenges through collaborative, place-based design research.

The 2024/25 programme focused on South Dunedin and its interconnected challenges of flooding, rising groundwater, climate change, insurance uncertainty and socioeconomic vulnerability.

In 2025/26, the programme extended to the Otago Peninsula, exploring community resilience and circular systems. The collaboration continues into 2026/27.

Reciprocity is central to Atelier South. Community and mana whenua knowledge help shape the work, while participating tertiary institutions contribute design research, spatial thinking and the exploration of alternative futures. The initiative moves beyond consultation towards collaborative inquiry and knowledge exchange.

The finalist selection provides external recognition of the School’s—and Otago Polytechnic’s—commitment to applied research, practice-based education, interdisciplinary collaboration and meaningful community engagement.

Architecture and landscape architecture students and educators gathered in a collaborative Atelier South studio
02Publication / Interdisciplinary studio

Atelier South: From the Landscape to the City

2026

Published by Landscape Architecture Aotearoa, Atelier South reflects on the School of Architecture’s international summer school and its landscape-led approach to design education. Beginning with whenua, water and ecology, students from architecture, landscape architecture and planning work across disciplines and scales to address climate resilience, housing, biodiversity and the future of settlement—learning to see place as a living system shaped through collective responsibility and kaitiakitanga.

Read the main article
hot & cold by Hudson Ross: a sunlit timber-framed space with orange cladding, stacked firewood and views to the landscape

Hudson Ross

hot & cold

Project imagery / Hudson Ross, via Dulux
Lighthouse Entertainment Precinct by Ryno von Wielligh: a red faceted building beside a public space at sunset

Ryno von Wielligh

Lighthouse Entertainment Precinct

Project imagery / Ryno von Wielligh, via Dulux
03Dulux Colour Awards / Student work

Two projects in colour: Dulux Colour Awards finalists

2026

Hudson Ross and Ryno von Wielligh represent Otago Polytechnic’s School of Architecture among the New Zealand Student finalists in the 2026 Dulux Colour Awards. Their projects, hot & cold and Lighthouse Entertainment Precinct, are recognised in a category celebrating excellence in paint specification by architecture and interior design students and recent graduates.

View the New Zealand Student finalists at Dulux
03Study

Build your path.

From a first studio brief to professional registration, study is organised around real projects, critical enquiry and the skills to put ideas into practice.

01

Undergraduate / Level 7

Bachelor of Architectural Studies

Develop skills in design, drawing, computer-aided design, building science, construction and communication. Choose Architectural Technology or Interior Architecture—and keep the pathway to registered practice open.

Duration
3 years full-time / 5 years part-time
Location
Dunedin / On campus
Intake
February
Programme details ↗
02

Postgraduate / Level 9 / NZRAB accredited

Master of Architecture (Professional)

Advance your architectural practice through complex design, heritage, a major research project and ethical, ecologically sustainable ways of working. The programme is the final academic step toward registration in New Zealand.

Duration
2 years full-time / 4 years part-time
Location
Dunedin / On campus
Intakes
February and July
Programme details ↗
01Bachelor3 years
02Professional master2 years
03Practice3+ years
04NZRAB registrationRegistered architect
Detail of a crafted timber structural system with curved beams and articulated connectionsImage / Mila Makasini
04Rangahau / Research

Questions with consequence.

Research across the school connects architecture discourse to the industry and communities around us—locally, nationally and globally.

  1. 01Natural Building Materials
  2. 02Digital Technologies & Tectonics
  3. 03Conservation & Heritage Architecture
  4. 04Environment & Planetary Systems
  5. 05Te Hononga & Māori housing
  6. 06Urban Fabric
  7. 07Architecture Pedagogy
Explore architecture research ↗
05People

Learn with practitioners.

Architects, designers, technologists, researchers and makers bring current practice into every studio conversation.

01

Tobias Danielmeier

Head of School | Associate Professor

02

Sarah McCallum

Bachelor of Architectural Studies Coordinator | Senior Lecturer

03

Leana Scheffer

Master of Architecture (Professional) Coordinator | Senior Lecturer

04

J. Antonio Lara-Hernandez

School of Architecture Research Coordinator

Meet the whole school ↗Explore our alumni ↗
06News + events

What’s happening.

Atmospheric detail of a disco ball and warm golden lights
Upcoming / Student event

SAANZ Ball

Join us for the SAANZ Ball on 17 October 2026. For tickets, get in touch with the School of Architecture.

architecture@op.ac.nz
Ted McCoy Lecture poster featuring Architecture and Memory with Joseph Hampton
Ted McCoy Lecture

Architecture and Memory — Joseph Hampton

Warren and Mahoney Principal Joseph Hampton drew on the new Christchurch Catholic Cathedral and Waimarie to ask how our cities can remain relevant, retain their identity and create places future generations will value.

School of Architecture, Ōwheo Gallery5.30pm
Public lecture poster for architect Brendan MacFarlane
Public lecture

Form / Void / Adaptation — Brendan MacFarlane

New Zealand-born, Paris-based architect Brendan MacFarlane joined the School to discuss Jakob+MacFarlane’s work across adaptive reuse, cultural infrastructure and experimental civic form, and the practice’s response to environmental and social urgency.

School of Architecture, Ōwheo Gallery5.30pm
Aotearoa Festival of Architecture Pecha Kucha 20 by 20 event poster
Festival event

Pecha Kucha 20×20 — Manaakitanga in the built environment

Architects, urban designers, community groups, practitioners and industry experts shared perspectives on manaakitanga — hospitality, kindness, generosity and care for people, communities and the natural environment.

Dunedin Public Art Gallery5.30pm
18.08.26

Ten School of Architecture projects named 2026 Best Awards finalists

Awards / Student success29.05.26

Hudson Ross takes New Zealand student honours at the Dulux Colour Awards

Student success15.04.26

Architecture pair recognised for bold Dunedin visions

Awards2025

Master of Architecture (Professional) earns full NZRAB accreditation

School news
Applications / Portfolio / 2027

Your first project is the application.

Show us how you see the world. Your application includes an online form, a cover letter and a portfolio of 6–12 pieces of your own creative work.

  • Finished work and works in progress
  • Drawing, photography, models, sculpture or digital work
  • Evidence of ideas, composition and range
How to apply ↗architecture@op.ac.nz