Ōtautahi Christchurch screen facility ‘Kōawa’ wins national education property award

Photo credit: Neil McBeth

The University of Canterbury’s Kōawa Post-Production Building in Ōtautahi Christchurch has been named winner of the Colliers Project Leaders Education Property Award at this evening’s Property Council New Zealand Rider Levett Bucknall Property Industry Awards.

The purpose-built state-of-the-art digital screen facility brings commercial-grade production infrastructure into an education setting, giving students direct access to the tools, spaces and workflows used by industry.

Located within the University of Canterbury’s Kōawa Creative Technologies Precinct, the building was developed by the University of Canterbury, constructed by Southbase Construction and designed by Ignite Architects. The wider project team included Holmes as structural engineer, Powell Fenwick as service and mechanical engineer, BG&E as building enclosure engineer, Rider Levett Bucknall as quantity surveyor, Rubix as project manager and Marshall Day Acoustics for acoustics.

Property Council New Zealand Chief Executive Leonie Freeman says Kōawa stood out because it treats education as part of a wider industry ecosystem.

“Education buildings have a powerful role to play in how regions build capability,” says Freeman.

“Kōawa gives students access to the kind of production environment they will encounter beyond university, while giving industry a facility that supports commercial work, research and experimentation. That connection between learning and practice is what makes the project so valuable.”

The building brings together the University of Canterbury’s Bachelor of Digital Screen with specialist post-production, gaming and mixed reality capability. It has been designed to support capstone projects, commercial production, research and collaboration with industry partners.

Freeman says the project is especially timely as New Zealand looks to strengthen its screen and creative technology sectors.

“The screen sector is a significant part of New Zealand’s creative economy, and it relies on infrastructure as much as talent,” she says.

“Kōawa invests in both. It gives emerging practitioners a place to learn on current technology, and it gives Canterbury a stronger platform to attract and support production activity.”

MBIE data shows New Zealand’s screen sector generates $3.5 billion in gross revenue, with production expenditure reaching $1 billion and around 14,000 people employed across the sector.

Chief Judge Andy Evans says the judges were impressed by the way Kōawa bridges academic learning and professional production.

“Kōawa is a serious piece of education infrastructure because it is also a serious piece of industry infrastructure,” says Evans.

“The facility operates at a commercial standard, while giving students structured access to the latest production environments. That is an important shift. Students are not learning at a distance from the industry; they are learning in the same kind of setting they will work in.”

Positioned as a key South Island production hub, Kōawa supports film, television, gaming and immersive media. Judges noted the facility provides rare production and sound capability in New Zealand, with commercial operators already responding strongly to the quality of the space.

Evans says the building’s value lies in its ability to support the full creative pipeline.

“Kōawa gives students exposure to high-end facilities, supports industry collaboration, and helps build the skills base needed for Canterbury’s growing screen and creative technology sectors.”

The building carries a strong design identity. Its exterior façade can be illuminated and animated, giving the facility a visible presence within the campus and reflecting the digital, screen-based work taking place inside. Māori narrative is woven through the project, grounding the building in place while pointing to the future of creative practice.

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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