Nau mai, kia mahi, ngatāhi ai! Your guide to designing and building a better Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

Welcome to the new Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland Design Manual, where you get easy access to all the information you need to design and build well in Tāmaki Makaurau, including regulations, resources, advice and inspiration for your project.

This free resource supports everyone from designers to developers to do-it-yourself’ers to build a better, more sustainable Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

The ‘big three’ for Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland’s future

The quality compact city has well-designed, high density/high amenity neighbourhoods where people can move from place to place and access local services and jobs with ease. This type of urban form brings environmental, social and economic benefits.

Both the Auckland Plan 2050 and Unitary Plan have adopted a ‘quality compact urban form’ approach to accommodating growth in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. Key goals are to provide quality homes and places for residents and support a low carbon future as the city grows.

The ADM provides information and inspiration on how to achieve these outcomes in your project.

Our goal for Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland as “a place of wellbeing for all, that welcomes all” requires us to design with health, safety, accessibility and inclusivity in mind. We can wrap those up into a single term – ‘liveability’. Improved liveability is an outcome we can aim for in everything we design and build, from the internal layouts of our houses to masterplanning new neighbourhoods. It’s critical to the future success of our city and people that we keep moving towards this goal.

The ADM contains a wealth of information on this broad topic. For example, you’ll find guidance on how to incorporate Māori design principles into your project; how to design housing for people’s everyday needs; how to create a sense of place and strengthen communities; how to cater to people with a range of abilities and make the everyday easier for caregivers, and much more.

Changes to the Unitary Plan are underway to help ensure that Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland grows in a way that lessens the impacts of climate change. These changes align with The National Policy Statement on Urban Development which says our cities must be made resilient to the effects of climate change. Guidance on how to implement climate resilient measures is woven throughout the ADM. We’re all obligated to play our part. The Case Studies, Urban Design Guidance, Places and Spaces and Developing Infrastructure sections are great places to start understanding how you can contribute to a more resilient city.

Design resources for your project

Urban design guidance

Join the effort to build a better Tāmaki Makaurau and ensure that our buildings and neighbourhoods deliver the quality, liveable, compact and resilient city that Aucklanders need. In this popular section, you’ll find clear and comprehensive urban design guidance, lots of visual examples of best practice and a wealth of user-friendly and up-to-date info.
Places and spaces

From climate resilience to Māori design, spatial and centre planning to parks, open spaces, and public art, this section shows you how your project can contribute to Tāmaki Makaurau’s sense of place and identity, community cohesion, and mental wellbeing.
Design and consenting processes

Need a helping hand to guide you through the design and consenting processes? This section provides information on the Auckland Urban Design Panel process, ‘how to’ guidance on Landscape assessments and Design statements, and checklists to ensure that your resource consent application has everything it needs.
Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) Hub

The Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) is the ‘rulebook’ that shapes the way Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland grows. This hub includes Unitary Plan practice and guidance notes, Resource consent conditions, Resource consent checklists, and how to interpret the Auckland Unitary Plan Mana Whenua provisions, including the rules that trigger the need to consider effects on mana whenua values.
Developing infrastructure

Thinking about water, streets, earthworks or coastal hazards? Find guides, codes of practice, specs and checklists to assist with the development of your infrastructure projects here.
Case studies

Keen to future-proof your project? Find info and inspiration on how to build well-designed, resilient and sustainable buildings that generate strong liveability outcomes for our people, create a sense of place and identity for our communities, and meet the demands of our changing city.

Spotlight on…

Māori design in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

This is the world’s leading resource on Māori design where you’ll find insights, resources and examples of Māori design best practice in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

Neighbourhood and subdivision design

This section provides guidance on how to create well-designed neighbourhoods and subdivisions to ensure that quality residential growth and sustainability outcomes are delivered for Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

Mixed use developments

Mixed use developments combine residential and commercial uses within a building, site or block, and place more people within easy walking distance of services. This guidance shows you how to combine different uses, ensure vibrancy of the neighbourhood, and achieve good liveability outcomes.

Design statement guidance

Our new Design Statement Guidance explains how to undertake a detailed site analysis and develop an effective design proposal to communicate your project.

Universal Design

All you need to know about Universal design in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland; making our homes, places of work and recreation spaces easier, safer, healthier and friendlier for everyone.

Auckland Urban Design Panel

The Auckland Urban Design Panel (AUDP) provides you with independent, best-practice advice so that your significant project contributes to better outcomes for Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland.

Terraced homes design guidance

Read our guidance on how to design terraced homes that make vibrant, safe streets and neighbourhoods with good liveability outcomes for residents.

Apartment design guidance

In this section you’ll find guidance on how to design apartments that contribute to the identity of a street and neighbourhood, create a sense of community, and provide for the day-to-day lives of residents.

Featured case studies

kotuitui-terraces

Looking across the street at the orange tiled facade of the townhouses.

Kotuitui II

Kōtuitui Courtyards and Terraces are two rows of two and three level terraced housing located in Manukau.

Looking at the homes from the street in the evening light; there are people walking around.

Buckley terraces

Good terraced house development that creates an excellent edge to the street while accommodating the car via rear lane access.

On a sunny day looking down on the apartments and terraces with the Auckland skyline in the background.

Beaumont quarter

High density development in an Auckland central city environment that utilises a wide range of typologies.

Example of best practice sustainable building design – uses current best practice passive solar design, low impact storm water design, low energy use building systems and onsite energy generation to have zero net overall energy use.

Zero Energy house

Zero Energy house showcases passive solar design, low impact storm water design, low energy use building systems.

A bird's eye view of the apartment block; there is a patch of lawn with cushions and plants where people can sit and relax.

The Isaac

The Isaac in Grey Lynn demonstrates that high density and high amenity can go hand in hand.

Cohaus

Cohaus is a twenty-unit housing development in Grey Lynn.

Vinegar Lane

A beautifully designed and environmentally thoughtful neighbourhood of town houses, terrace houses, boutique apartments and office space.

Tōia

Toia is a multi-purpose community facility located in central Otahuhu.

We see Kāinga tuatahi three-storey walk-ups arranged around a communal garden. It is a sunny day and the wooden planter boxes contain mulch with food plants about to grow up to the sun. The paths between the beds are white chip. The walk-ups each have a large single pitched roof, with a mix of corrugated iron and timber cladding.

Kainga Tuatahi

30 townhouses, with a range of two, three and four bedroom configurations aituated in Ōrākei on Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei ancestral whenua.

Architecturally beautifull in wood panelling at various angles along the frontage, this Music and Arts centre expresses place and Māori culture

Te Oro

Te Oro comprises of three two-storey pavilions linked by a naturally lit circulation space.

Te Wananga designers perspective aerial view

Te Wānanga

Te Wānanga integrates public space with upgraded ferry infrastructure to revitalise the City Centre’s interface with Te Waitematā (Waitematā harbour).

Ukutoia

Ukutoia Kāinga Hou is a housing solution that enables Māori whanau to live and thrive together, as Māori.

Commercial Bay

Demonstrating the value that meaningful engagement with Mana Whenua and application of the Te Aranga Māori design principles.

Three quarter view of a development with two buildings with three storeys each, arranged around a communal space.

Tuakana/Teina

This design concept modifies a typical suburban site to create extended Māori intergenerational living, with enough housing for up to 8 family units.

The papakainga design provides a mix of communal and private spaces across 3 dwellings.

Tuatahi

This papakainga example is situated on a typical large suburban site.

The papakainga is centred around a communal green space, which provides space for dining, fruittrees, a vegetable patch and an open green play area.

Tuarua

Suburban papakāinga / multi-generational housing solutions can be developed on suburban sites.

Photograph taken from outside Toi o Tāmaki - Auckland Art Gallery

Toi o Tamaki - Auckland Art Gallery

Demonstrating how Mana Whenua engagement can lead to unique, meaningful and beautiful design outcomes.

Canadian Museum for Human Rights

The Canadian Museum for Human Rights (CMHR) sets new international benchmarks for universal design.

St Paul Street

A Tactical Urbanism Initiative (TUI) design collaboration between AUT and Auckland Council to improve the street, making it better and safer.

Lorne St traffic calming with red carpet, benches and planters outside Auckland Library

Lorne Street

A Tactical Urbanism Initiative (TUI) place-making and traffic-calming collaboration to enable Library activities to spill out into the street.

People having lunch at the table leaners created for Elliot St. Image credit - Simone Rinke

Elliott Street

A Tactical Urbanism Initiative (TUI) project designed to support the local food and beverage businesses on Elliott Street.

Shortland Street polka dots with lunchtime foot traffic crossing the road

Shortland Street and the Polka Dot Projects

A Tactical Urbanism initiative (TUI) for Shortland Street.

People walking along Queen Street and the Waihorotiu Path.

Waihorotiu Queen Street

The evolution of Queen Street from a traffic corridor to a vibrant city destination.

Auckland Plan 2050

The Auckland Plan 2050 provides the 30 year vision for Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland. Key outcomes of importance to the ADM are for our people to live in secure, healthy, and affordable homes and have access to a range of inclusive public places; to preserve, protect and care for our natural environment; and to have a thriving Māori identity that is Auckland’s point of difference in the world.

Go to the Auckland Plan 2050 website