In a nation where land and place hold deep cultural, environmental and historical meaning, architecture must rise to a wide range of tasks. The discipline is called upon to build and, in doing so, to tell stories, address regional specificities and problems, and create places that honour people and whenua. The establishment of a new School of Architecture at Otago Polytechnic in Dunedin is, thus, not merely the opening of another academic institution. It is a strategically necessary and symbolically powerful move for Aotearoa New Zealand. It marks a recalibration of where and how we nurture future architects, reflecting demographic shifts as well as emerging educational and cultural needs.

Gordon Holden, Foundation Head of Architecture at Griffith University, made a salient observation: “for each one million residents, there should be an architecture school”. With a population of more than five million, New Zealand has, until recently, had schools of architecture only in Auckland and in Wellington. The launch of the Dunedin school aligns us more closely with the aforesaid benchmark. More importantly, the geographic distribution of these schools has been notably skewed towards the North Island and the main urban centres. Dunedin, located in the South Island, which is home to about 1.2 million New Zealanders, thus offers a critical point of difference on two counts.

The South Island is distinct, not just in geography but in scale, climate, and regional priorities and specificities. Its population is more dispersed, with smaller towns and rural communities spread across a vast landmass. Per capita, the South Island has higher relative wealth in some regions, and it holds some of the country’s fastest-growing regional hubs. These regions have long lacked proximate access to architectural education tailored to their unique contexts. The opening of a school in Dunedin, the southernmost school of architecture in the world, directly addresses this gap.

Furthermore, there is a strong demographic and professional rationale for expansion. According to data from the New Zealand Registered Architects Board (NZRAB), 17 per cent of its registered architects are 65 or older, and 51 per cent are over the age of 50. This impending generational turnover cannot be adequately addressed by the existing schools alone. As the older cohort retires, we face the twin challenge of replacing experienced professionals and ensuring that the next generation brings new perspectives, especially in areas like sustainability, housing equity and cultural inclusion.

Anthony Hōete, Professor of Architecture at the University of Auckland, has pointed out that New Zealand has approximately one architect per 2200 people (compared to one per 1600 in the UK and one per 1400 in the Netherlands). This under-representation hints at an opportunity; not only do we have capacity to train more architects but we may indeed need to do so if we are to meet future demands in housing, infrastructure, climate-resilient design and urban development.

Notably, 18–25 per cent of the students enrolled in the Dunedin School of Architecture identify as Māori or Pasifika. The new school thus serves another critical purpose: diversity and cultural representation in architectural education. These numbers are significantly higher than those in other architecture schools in the country. This matters. For too long, Māori and Pasifika have been under-represented in the architectural profession, despite the existing and growing centrality of indigenous concepts in shaping a uniquely Aotearoa architectural identity. A school that supports, attracts and reflects these communities can foster a richer, more-inclusive design culture nationwide.

The imperative to integrate architectural education in applied settings is self-evident and, as the initiator and coordinator of Victoria University of Wellington’s First Light House project, I witnessed firsthand the transformative value of integrated learning in real-world contexts. The curriculum at Otago Polytechnic is distinctive in its industry-oriented focus. This ethos underpins the Dunedin programme: over 92 per cent of academic staff members either have spent significant time in professional practice or continue to lead their own firms. The result is a learning environment deeply connected to the realities of architectural production and the shifting demands of the industry in Otago, across the South Island and beyond.

The establishment of Otago Polytechnic’s School of Architecture is more than a numbers game, although the numbers alone make a compelling case. It is a move towards geographical equity, cultural inclusion and forward-looking professional development.