Brian Hayes wins top Building People award in Auckland

Building Institute Aotearoa has named Brian Hayes of BESIX Watpac the Supreme Building People Awards winner. The award was presented at the 2026 Building People Awards in Auckland.

Hayes was recognised for his leadership on One New Zealand Stadium in Christchurch, which organisers described as one of the most complex and significant construction projects undertaken in the city. He also led BESIX Watpac's first project in New Zealand and built the delivery team.

More than 600 guests attended the awards, which drew a record number of entries from across Aotearoa New Zealand's building and construction sector. Collaboration and project categories attracted particularly strong interest.

Hayes' citation highlighted both project delivery and workforce development. Organisers said he united more than 110 subcontractors on the stadium project and helped establish partnerships with local universities, cadet programmes and apprenticeships.

Those initiatives gave more than 90 trainees the opportunity to develop skills through the project, creating pathways into the industry and adding to local capability. The stadium was also delivered on time and below budget.

Range of winners

The awards covered students, apprentices, emerging leaders and construction teams, alongside specialists in health and safety, digital technology, innovation and site management. The winners reflected the breadth of work being recognised across the sector, from university research to major commercial and public projects.

In the Next Gen Award, the judges named joint winners Ivy Peng, a Doctor of Philosophy in Architecture student at Victoria University of Wellington, Tyron Oldroyd, a Bachelor of Architectural Studies student at the same university, and Gerasimos Christoforatos, a PhD in Engineering candidate at the University of Waikato. Christoforatos also received the Supreme Next Gen Award.

Nicholas Rowe of BPM won the Emerging Leader category for the Heriot Drive Limited Project in Porirua. Michael Worsfold of Hawkins received a special mention for Site 6 in Auckland, as did Will Mattison of Southbase Construction for the Airport Check-In Integration Project, also in Auckland.

In Health, Safety & Wellbeing, Rebecca Hunter, HSSQ Coordinator at Cook Brothers Construction, won. Greg Bailey, Health and Safety Manager at Kalmar Construction, was highly commended.

Project categories

Collaboration awards were split between projects under and over AUD $20 million. In the lower-value category, the winning team was Josh Gibbons of Cook Brothers Construction, Ian Adamson of Warren and Mahoney, Tony Galavaz of Holmes Group and Ed McDonald of Powell Fenwick for The Mill Queenstown project. Bruce Tizard of Scope Projects, Damian Thompson of NPM Construction, Louise Jelicich of the Ministry of Education and Simon Mandeno of Mandeno Design were highly commended for the Tauraroa Area School classroom block and whare project in Whangārei.

For projects over AUD $20 million, the winning team was Brendan Raj of Argon Construction, Robbie Richmond of AECOM, Riaan Van der Merwe of Health NZ, Sandee Stanley of Jasmax, Dylan Karamaena of Rider Levett Bucknall and Jeremy Evans of Health NZ Consultants for the Whangārei Radiation Oncology Project. The University of Auckland's B104 Old Choral Hall seismic upgrade and refurbishment was highly commended.

The Consultants category was won by John McDowell of TSA Riley for Hangar 4 at Auckland Airport. Dan Bradley of BPM was highly commended for the Heriot Commercial Seismic Strengthening project in Porirua.

In the under AUD $7.5 million projects category, Richard Wheeler and Robert Davis of Aspec Construction won for the Chapel of Our Glorified Lord & St Barnabas seismic upgrade at Diocesan School for Girls in Auckland. Peter Lalin, Zach Duncan-Shepherd and Reynold Cai of Cook Brothers Construction were highly commended for Target Road School.

The AUD $7.5 million to AUD $50 million category went to Kurt Sickler of LT McGuinness for 68 Jervois Quay in Wellington. Highly commended entries were Cade Scott of Southbase for the Koawa Post Production Building in Christchurch and Steve Lindley of LT McGuinness for the Shrewsbury Building at Diocesan School for Girls.

In the AUD $50 million to AUD $100 million category, Guillem Ferrer of Hawkins won for Manaaki Hōhonu in Auckland. Darren Mead of Summerset was highly commended for Summerset Waikanae Village Centre, while Jeff Robertson, Lucian Lacob and Evan Forde of Aspec Construction were also highly commended for the University of Auckland B104 project.

The over AUD $100 million category also went to Hayes for One New Zealand Stadium. Dylan Kane and Jimmy Corric of NZ Strong Group were highly commended for Air New Zealand Hangar 4 in Auckland.

Specialist awards

Atie Ahmadi of Victoria University of Wellington won the Innovation category, while Kristy Jones of Cook Brothers Construction was highly commended for a waste case study. In Digital Technology, Michael De Fazio of Naylor Love Wellington won for Hnry Stadium, and Hanna Hawke of LT McGuinness was highly commended for work on Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga, Archives New Zealand.

The Site Manager award went to Daniel Browan of Hawkins for HIWA. Adam Baxter of Fletcher Living received a highly commended award for Superlot 2 in Christchurch, and Nick Watson of Kalmar Construction was highly commended for Foundation Building 2 in Auckland.

Kirsten Magnusson, Chief Executive, Building Institute Aotearoa, said: "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. There is no single path to making a difference, and that is one of the strengths of our profession."