Ōtautahi Christchurch’s Court Theatre wins judges’ choice award at 2026 Property Industry Awards

Photo credit: Simon Devitt

The Court Theatre in Ōtautahi Christchurch has received the Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Judges’ Choice Award, at this evening’s Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards.

The award, which is a new category for 2026, recognises a project with outstanding civic value: a permanent home for New Zealand’s largest professional theatre company, delivered in the heart of Christchurch’s Performing Arts Precinct.

Located at 129 Gloucester Street, The Court Theatre was delivered with Christchurch City Council as owner and developer, constructed by Hawkins and designed by Athfield Architects in collaboration with Haworth Tompkins.

Property Council New Zealand Chief Executive Leonie Freeman says the project stood out because it understands the role a cultural building can play in a city that has had to rebuild both its physical fabric and its public life.

“The Court Theatre is a building with a long memory and a very present purpose,” says Freeman.

“It carries the story of a company that has been part of Christchurch for more than 50 years, while giving the city a theatre that feels open, active and ready for the next generation.”

Founded in 1971 in the Council Chambers, The Court Theatre later spent three decades at The Shed before the Canterbury earthquakes forced the company from its former premises. The new building gives the theatre a permanent home and anchors it within a precinct shaped around performance, creativity and public gathering.

Freeman says the result shows how cultural infrastructure can support urban regeneration in a practical, daily way.

“Great civic projects earn their place in the city through use,” she says.

“This building does that. It gives performers, audiences, staff and the wider public a place to gather, move through and feel part of something. It has the confidence of a new building, but the warmth of a place people already understand and inhabit every corner of.”

The project was delivered through a significant coalition of public investment, philanthropic funding and community support. Its design places accessibility, intimacy and public engagement at the centre of the theatre experience, with street-facing windows, laneway connections and welcoming foyers drawing theatre life into the surrounding city.

Chief Judge Andy Evans says the judges were struck by the way the building sits within Christchurch.

“The Court Theatre feels established, which is a difficult thing for a new building to achieve,” says Evans.

“It has a presence in the city that feels immediate and familiar. You can see activity through the windows, feel the life of the theatre from the street, and understand very quickly that this is a place made for people.”

Evans says the project was selected for the Judges’ Choice Award because its impact extends well beyond the performance spaces themselves.

“This is a theatre, but it behaves like a community building. It has been designed around the people who use it, from performers and production teams to audiences and visitors moving through the theatre. That clarity of purpose is what makes it special.”

Accessibility was embedded from the outset, supporting the theatre’s long-standing commitment to serving a broad and diverse audience. The building brings performance spaces, rehearsal areas, hospitality and public-facing areas together under one roof, creating a venue that operates throughout the day and evening.

Freeman says The Court Theatre is a strong example of the property sector’s ability to shape places with social and cultural value.

“Cities need buildings that do more than occupy land,” she says.

“They need places that hold memory, support activity and give people a reason to come together. The Court Theatre does that with heart and soul and clear conviction. It’s a place for the community to thrive.

The wider project team included Ruamoko Solutions as structural engineer, Stantec as service and mechanical engineer, Mott MacDonald as building enclosure engineer, AECOM as quantity surveyor, Charcoal Blue for theatre services, Marshall Day Associates as acoustic engineer and Octa Associates as project manager.

Now in its 36th year, the Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards celebrate excellence in design, innovation and investment across the built environment. This year’s Awards were held at the New Zealand International Convention Centre, which was also recognised on the night as winner of the Holmes Tourism and Leisure Property Award.

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