Adam Dwen

The brutalist beauty of Peter Zumthor’s thermal baths at Vals and, closer to home, a staggered stone-and-timber clifftop house that framed views of Rangitoto, brought Adam to an appreciation of how a minimal material palette can articulate space poetically.
A graduate of the Unitec School of Architecture, Adam has been a key member of the RTA Studio team since 2008 and became a shareholder of the company in 2023. His broad experience of projects across all spectrums, from education to institutional and commercial, has given him a thorough understanding of design that works within context.
Adam balances a fundamental passion for innovative construction methodologies with an eye for detail and the pragmatism that holds complex projects together. His interest in the power of materiality is amplified in buildings such as Scion, a world-leading, carbon-zero exemplar where mass timber was used in a pivotal way.
He finds crafting human-centric spaces in various typologies hugely rewarding in that it exposes him to adjacent worlds: different ways of working and living. As an integral part of RTA Studio’s in-house design group, he offers senior-level support to foster the design skills of less-experienced team members, a role that allows him to convey the critical thinking behind each architectural idea.
Environmental sustainability is a cornerstone of his vocation, but also his after-hours. When he’s not spending time with his young family, he’ll be out boating or on the golf course, where his shot average sometimes takes a hit as he contemplates the interplay between nature and the manmade.

“Architecture has the ability to change the way we experience our environment and, when well-designed, adds a richness to our daily lives.”