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

A young woman cycles on a pink cycle path past a park bench, in the background are people walking on the footpath, with an Auckland transport bus stopped at a bus stop. Behind this are big, green trees, framing a six storey apartment block. The Auckland skyline is in the background framed by blue skies as seagulls soar overhead.

Welcome to the new 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 Auckland. 

Over the next months we will add content from the old Auckland Design Manual, as well as new sections and features.

The ‘big three’ for 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 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 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 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, 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

  • 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 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? As well as things to think about when developing or buying a home, this section provides information on the Auckland Urban Design Panel process, resource consents checklists, and ‘how to’ guidance on landscape assessments and design statements.

  • Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) Hub

    The Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) is the ‘rulebook’ that shapes the way Auckland grows. It guides the use of Auckland’s natural and physical resources, including land development, by determining what can be built and where, and what activities may be undertaken.

  • 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.

A black field with a futuristic white logo with the words "Auckland plan 2050".

Auckland Plan 2050

The Auckland Plan 2050 provides the 30 year vision for 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