We work with clients, communities, consultants, and creative partners in an open and inclusive dialogue.

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Black and white still of LandLAB design studio in Auckland, New Zealand
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STUDIO Papamahi

About

We are an award wining, design-led and studio-based practice operating at the intersection of ecology, landscape and urban design. Founded in 2013 our studios now have 18 talented urbanists, landscape architects, makers and doers, devoted to creating meaningful places and spaces.

Landscape as Operating System

Landscape is our operating system. It organises how cities move, adapt, and endure - shaping landform, water systems, public life, and infrastructure into connected, resilient environments. We use landscape as the framework that aligns ecological performance, cultural identity, and urban form.

Land + LAB

Land is how we understand place. We listen, analyse, and navigate the physical, cultural, and civic systems that define each site. By reading land, water, and community together, we establish clear strategic foundations that guide design, investment, and long-term performance.

LAB is how we make it real.  We lead, align, and build through a rigorous and inventive design process — resolving ideas into precise, buildable, and enduring public outcomes. Craft, material intelligence, and technical rigour underpin everything we deliver.

Urbanism + Landscape + Place

Urbanism aligns infrastructure, development, and public life into coherent systems that support long-term resilience. We shape urban systems - movement networks, public realm frameworks, and civic form - to create connected, legible, and adaptable environments

Landscape is both form and process. We design performative public environments that integrate ecology, topography, materiality, and climate responsiveness - delivering robust, buildable landscapes that work as infrastructure, not ornament.

Place is where systems meet experience. Through programming, activation, and co-design, we create inclusive and memorable environments that foster belonging, identity, and everyday social life.

Land + Water + People

Land. We reveal the underlying landform, ecological systems, and spatial structures that shape each site. Land provides the foundation for resilience, adaptation, and long-term environmental performance.

Water is infrastructure, ecology, and culture. We integrate catchment thinking, blue–green systems, and coastal resilience to enhance biodiversity, improve environmental performance, and reconnect communities to water.

People. We design with people at the centre. Through listening, collaboration, and stewardship, we create environments that empower communities and reflect the diverse narratives of place..

Services

Integrated Urbanism + Landscape + Place
Design Leadership + Management
Landscape Led Urbanism for Communities + Precincts + Campus’s
Public Spaces + Streets + Open Spaces
Waterfronts + Marine Ecology + Coastal Resilience
Green Infrastructure + WSUD + Climate Adaption
Transport Infrastructure + Bridges + Structures
Project Visualisation + Communication
Co-Design + Collaboration + Engagement

Affiliations

New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA)                        
Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA)
Urban Design Forum (UDF) New Zealand                  
Urban Design Forum (UDF) Australia
Urban Design Forum (UDF) NYC
Infrastructure NZ (INZ)
Living Futures Institute (AU)                                                  
New Zealand Green Building Council (NZGBC) 
Regenesis Institute (USA)                                                                
Sustainable Business Network (SBN) New Zealand 
Toitu Carbon Zero

Awards

  • A+ Architizer Award - Karanga Plaza Jump Platform

    A+ Architizer Award - Te Ara Tuktuku Headland Park

    NZIA Award - University of Auckland Recreation Centre Plaza

  • 2024 NZILA Civic + Urban Landscapes, Putahi Whakatetonga - South Frame (Category Winner)

    2024 NZILA Civic + Urban Landscapes, Putahi Whakatetonga - South Frame

    2024 DINZ Best Awards ‘Quay Street Upgrade’ (GOLD)

    2024 DINZ Best Awards ‘Queen Street Tactical Urbanism’

    2024 DINZ Best Awards ‘Microsoft Plaza’

  • 2023 South Island Property Awards - Urban Design, Putahi Whakatetonga - South Frame

    Wakatu Quay Masterplan World Architecture Festival - Future Project Civic - Finalist

  • BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Tank Park

    Monocle Magazine International Design Awards - Tank Park

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Quay Street Upgrade

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Amey Daldy Park

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Daldy Street Linear Park

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Tank Park

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Auckland Downtown Program

    Sirius Waterfront International Design Competition - Winner

    WAN Awards - Tank Park

  • BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Westhaven Promenade

    BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Karangahape Road

    BEST Awards Spatial - Commercial Bay Sky Terraces

    BEST Awards Spatial - Te Mata Topaki

    BEST Awards Spatial - Amey Daldy Park

    NZIA Award Urban Design - Long Bay Village

    NZIA Auckland Architecture Award - Tank Park

    Dezeen Awards, Landscape Project Award – Amey Daldy Park

  • BEST Awards Product - Commercial Bay Sculptural Seat

    BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Lombard Lane + Denton Park

    BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Viaduct Activation Interventions

    WAN Awards Spatial - Tank Park

    Dezeen Awards, Infrastructure Project – Vaughans Stream Corridor

    Gelendzhik Botanical Park International Competition - Winner

  • NZILA Supreme Award - Te Papa Ōtākaro Avon River Park

    NZILA Category Winner - Te Papa Ōtākaro Avon River Park

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Viaduct Promenade Interventions

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Ponsonby PARK+

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Vaughans Stream Corridor, Long Bay

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Queenstown Town Centre Masterplan

    NZILA Award of Excellence - Access to Water, Tauranga Waterfront

    BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Vaughans Stream Corridor

    BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Avon River Park + Promenade

    WLA Award - 'Islands - Motutere'

  • WAN Award - Ponsonby PARK+ (Civic Project)

    WAF Awards - Ponsonby PARK+ (shortlisted)

    WAF Awards - 'Islands - Motutere' (shortlisted)

    WAF Awards - Queenstown Masterplan (shortlisted)

    IPWEA Award - Queenstown Masterplan

    Bay of Plenty Property Council Award - Tauranga Waterfront

    BEST Awards - Te Papa Ōtākaro/Avon River Precinct Literary Trail

    BEST Awards Ngā Aho Award – Avon River Park Nga Whāriki Manaaki

    BEST Awards Environmental – Avon River Park Nga Whāriki Manaaki

  • LABC Tripartite Award - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    NZILA Award Infrastructure - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    NZILA Award Public Space - Westhaven Promenade

    Denizen Heroes Award - LandLAB

    WLA Award - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

  • NZILA Award for Public Architecture - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    NZILA National Public Architecture Award - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    WAF Infrastructure Category Winner - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    WAF Infrastructure Award - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    BEST Awards Supreme Spatial Winner - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    BEST Awards Public GOLD - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    BEST Awards Spatial GOLD - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    BEST Awards Public Good GOLD - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    IPWEA NZ Excellence Awards - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    Architizer A+ Awards - Te Ara I Whiti, Light Path

    Phaidon, 30:30 Landscape Architecture – Emerging Design Practice

  • NZILA Award Sustainability - Daldy Street Linear Park

    NZILA Award Urban Spaces - Karanga Plaza

    NZIA Award Urban Design - Karanga Plaza

    NZIA Award Urban Design - Wynyard Quarter Masterplan

    2014

    NZIA Planning + Urban Design Winner – Karanga Plaza + Halsey Wharf

    NZILA Urban Design Award – Karanga Plaza and Halsey Wharf

Acknowledgements

LandLAB acknowledges the multi-cultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand and the partnership between Tāngata Whenua (indigenous / iwi Māori) and Tāngata Tiriti (people of the Treaty) through the signing of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tino Rangatiratanga (Māori political independence) and the status of Tāngata Whenua as Treaty partners. We acknowledge that we live and work within the lands of tāngata whenua who hold the mana, and deep ancestral relationship with the taiao (natural environment) which is intrinsically linked to their wellbeing and cultural identity.

LandLAB acknowledges and respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Elders, past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, tradition and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of this land. We recognise the continuing connection First Nations people have to their lands and waters in which we work.