Record numbers celebrate the people behind the construction industry

Record numbers celebrate the people behind construction industry

More than 600 guests gathered in Auckland for the 2026 Building People Awards, with a record number of entries recognising the people making a difference across Aotearoa New Zealand’s building and construction industry.

Hosted by Building Institute Aotearoa, the awards celebrate everyone from students, apprentices and emerging leaders to the people and teams delivering major construction projects, driving innovation and finding new ways to improve how the industry performs. This year’s entry numbers reflect the depth and breadth of talent across the sector, with particularly strong interest in the Collaboration and Project categories.

The evening’s highest honour, the Supreme Building People Award, went to Brian Hayes of BESIX Watpac, recognising his leadership in delivering one of the most complex and significant construction projects undertaken in Christchurch – One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha.

Leading BESIX Watpac’s first project in New Zealand, Hayes established a high-performing delivery team from the ground up, earning the trust of the local construction sector, project partners and the wider Canterbury community.

Throughout the delivery of the stadium, Hayes led with calm assurance, discipline and an unwavering commitment to his team, uniting more than 110 subcontractors behind a shared vision and creating a culture where people were able to contribute and succeed.

The project was delivered on time and below budget, but the judges recognised that Hayes’ contribution extended well beyond that. Through partnerships with local universities and the establishment of cadet and apprenticeship programmes, more than 90 trainees developed their skills on the project, creating pathways into the industry and building capability for the future.

“Reading through the nominations, what stood out to me was the range of contributions being recognised. The finalists come from different disciplines, career stages and backgrounds, but all have made a positive contribution to their organisations, their colleagues and the wider industry,” says Kirsten Magnusson, Chief Executive of Building Institute Aotearoa. “There is no single path to making a difference, and that is one of the strengths of our profession.”

Gerasimos Christoforatos, who is completing a PhD in engineering at the University of Waikato, won the Supreme Next Gen Award. He also shared the Next Gen Award with Ivy Peng and Tyron Oldroyd, both studying architecture at Victoria University of Wellington.

Hayes also won the Over $100m Projects category for Te Kaha. Will Mattison of Southbase Construction took out the Emerging Leader award for his work on the Airport Check-In Integration Project in Auckland, with Nicholas Rowe of BPM Ltd highly commended in the same category. Kalmar Construction picked up two awards, with Greg Bailey, the company’s health and safety manager, winning Health, Safety and Wellbeing, and Nick Watson named Site Manager for Foundation Building 2 in Auckland.

The Collaboration awards went to the team behind the new classroom block and whare at Tauraroa Area School in Whangārei for projects under $20m, and to the group delivering the seismic upgrade and refurbishment of the University of Auckland’s B104 Old Choral Hall for projects over $20m.

Old Choral Hall was a double winner on the night, with Aspec Construction’s Jeff Robertson, Lucian Lacob and Evan Forde also taking the $50m to $100m Projects award. Peter Lalin, Zach Duncan-Shepherd and Reynold Cai of Cook Brothers Construction won the under $7.5m category for Target Road School in Auckland, and Steve Lindley of LT McGuinness won the $7.5m to $50m category for the Shrewsbury Building at Diocesan School for Girls.

Dan Bradley of BPM Ltd won the Consultants award for the Heriot Commercial seismic strengthening project in Porirua. Kristy Jones of Cook Brothers Construction took the Innovation award for a waste case study, and Hanna Hawke of LT McGuinness won Digital Technology for her work on Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga (Archives New Zealand) in Wellington. Michael De Fazio of Naylor Love Wellington was highly commended for his work on Hnry Stadium.

Highly commended awards were presented across most categories, and the full list of winners and judges’ citations is available on the Building Institute Aotearoa website.

Building Institute Aotearoa thanks all its sponsors and partners for their support of the 2026 Building People Awards.