Arcadia has crossed the Tasman to open a studio in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland. Arcadia New Zealand will be led by renowned landscape architect, Mike Thomas, who will work closely with Arcadia’s Managing Director and Lincoln University alumni, Michael Barnett.
Auckland will be Arcadia’s seventh studio location and the first outside Australia for the design firm. Known for their award-winning projects and First Nations design approach in Australia, Arcadia is eager to incorporate this approach into New Zealand’s bi-cultural design tradition.
“Many of our collaborators were founded in New Zealand or have presence here, and with an increasing number of opportunities to work together on projects, we recognised that the time was right to launch Arcadia in Auckland, with industry expert Mike Thomas leading the new studio,” says Michael Barnett, Managing Director of Arcadia.
Mike Thomas joins Arcadia with nearly 30 years practice experience in New Zealand, Hong Kong and China. For the last 20 years Mike led a leading design practice in New Zealand, earning a reputation as one of the country’s leading designers specialising in public realm, infrastructure, and regenerative design.
“The chance to establish a new design studio in New Zealand is a once-in-a-career opportunity for me to leverage my accumulated experience and my alignment with the cultural design approach that is embedded in Arcadia’s DNA. Arcadia is a design practice with an innovative approach to landscape architecture which complements the way I approach my own work, pursuing the opportunities that unlock great projects for our clients and communities,” says Mike Thomas, Principal, Arcadia Auckland.
We have some of the best landscape architects in the world practicing in New Zealand, and with the establishment of an international studio, our local team can draw on the diverse thinking and experience of 80 plus landscape architects and urban designers. Drawing on the resources of Arcadia’s other studios we have the capacity to deliver projects of any size or scale, led by a NZ-based team with the local knowledge needed to balance a solid understanding of regulatory frameworks with intricate cultural and community nuance.”
Arcadia’s studio is located in Britomart in central Auckland.