When The Mill opened in Queenstown in 2025, it filled a long-felt gap in the Southern Lakes region: nowhere combined elite training, recovery and specialist healthcare under one roof. That vision has now earned national recognition, with The Mill winning both an Excellence and a Merit award at the 2026 Property Industry Awards.
Set within the alpine landscape of Tāhuna Queenstown, The Mill introduces a new model for integrated health, rehabilitation and performance infrastructure in New Zealand. Positioned beneath The Remarkables, with a serrated roofline that echoes the mountain peaks beyond, the building brings together elite training facilities, recovery services and specialist healthcare within a single, purpose-built environment.
Since opening in 2025, The Mill has become a hub for health and performance in the Southern Lakes, serving everyone from local residents and youth athletes through to national teams and international sporting visitors. Its 2238sqm mass-timber structure sits on a 4682sqm site and uses exposed glulam beams and columns to create large, uninterrupted training spaces alongside consultation suites and recovery facilities. The result is an environment where athletes and patients can move seamlessly between training, treatment and rehabilitation.
The project was conceived in response to a clear regional gap. While Queenstown is internationally recognised for outdoor sport and adventure, it lacked a dedicated facility capable of supporting high-performance training and integrated healthcare under one roof. The Mill addresses this by combining them in a modern shared setting. Gym-goers benefit from state-of-the-art equipment, free weights, a group cycle studio, indoor turf and a 40-metre outdoor sprint track. Within the building, there’s also physiotherapy and podiatry services, DEXA body composition scanning, infrared and traditional saunas, ice bath and plunge recovery pools, and dedicated rehabilitation spaces. This integration allows users to enjoy a 360-degree experience between clinical care, recovery and training environments.
The design by Warren and Mahoney draws on a biophilic alpine language, expressed through mass timber, generous spatial volumes and natural light. Exposed engineered timber beams define the interior, lining the ceiling and continuing to the floor in angled structural lines that bring warmth to spaces otherwise shaped by black fitness equipment and sleek, high-performance finishes. A mezzanine level overlooks the main training floor, while ample glazing fills the interior with daylight and frames views of the mountains. The design intent was to deliver infrastructure that supports elite sport, while remaining accessible and grounded in the community it serves.
The building’s structural system is formed primarily from these glulam beams, columns and purlins, which allow for the wide, open spaces ideal for group fitness, while significantly reducing embodied carbon compared to conventional steel construction. Due to limited domestic manufacturing capacity, the timber structure was sourced offshore, requiring close coordination across digital modelling, fabrication, logistics and onsite assembly.
Global supply chain disruption post-Covid also introduced delays to freight routes. In response, Cook Brothers Construction led an all-trades programming workshop to identify efficiencies and restructure sequencing across the build.
Seismic resilience was a core consideration from the outset. The building is designed to 100 per cent NBS for new buildings and incorporates regular bracing frames across both structure and façade systems, ensuring performance in a high seismic-risk environment.
Sustainability is key to the project. Lifecycle carbon modelling informed material selection, with the mass-timber structure significantly reducing embodied carbon, while contributing to a warm, natural interior environment. Passive design strategies maximise daylight and reduce reliance on mechanical systems, supported by high-performance insulation, thermally broken glazing and moisture control suited to Queenstown’s alpine climate.
Together, these measures deliver a facility that balances performance, resilience and sustainability, establishing The Mill as a long-term asset for both elite sport and community wellbeing in the Southern Lakes region.
THE MILL
5 Tulip Lane, Remarkables Park, Queenstown
OWNER 0TO60 PROPERTIES
DEVELOPER 0TO60 PROPERTIES
CONSTRUCTION COOK BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION
ARCHITECT WARREN AND MAHONEY
SERVICE ENGINEER POWELL FENWICK
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER HOLMES
MECHANICAL ENGINEER POWELL FENWICK
QUANTITY SURVEYOR COOK BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION
PROJECT MANAGER 0TO60 PROPERTIES, COOK BROTHERS CONSTRUCTION
PHOTOGRAPHER IAN HUTCHINSON
Photo credits: Photography by Ian Hutchinson