Annabelle Smith has been named winner of The Graduate at the INDE.Awards 2025, in partnership with Colorbond. Her visionary project reimagines housing in Aotearoa, proposing a modular and culturally responsive model uniting people, architecture and nature.

The INDE.Awards are recognised as the leading architecture and design awards program across the Asia Pacific region. Celebrating projects and people who push the boundaries of creativity, innovation and cultural connection, the awards highlight how design shapes the way we live and work. The 2025 edition has once again brought together outstanding talent from across the region, including a new generation of voices that are redefining the future of design.

Among the most inspiring categories is The Graduate, presented in partnership with Colorbond. This award shines a spotlight on emerging designers whose work demonstrates both conceptual depth and practical potential. In 2025, the accolade was awarded to Annabelle Smith, whose project introduces a new housing typology for Northland, Aotearoa.

Smith’s project addresses one of the most urgent challenges in contemporary life: the rising cost of urban housing and the shift towards semi-rural regions in search of affordability. Her proposal responds with a flexible and sustainable residential model that looks to both indigenous knowledge and visionary design philosophies for guidance.

Drawing on synergies between te ao Māori and Hundertwasser’s radical ideas, the project sets out to restore the fractured relationship between people, architecture and the environment. Central to this vision is Hundertwasser’s “Five Skins of Man” concept, which describes the interconnected layers between humans and the earth. Smith’s design seeks to repair the break between House and Earth by aligning architecture with natural systems and cultural values.

At the heart of the project lies a modular typology consisting of twelve prefabricated units, each with a distinct function. Elevated on jack legs and mounted on trailer substructures, the modules can be rearranged to form everything from individual family dwellings to papakāinga, the Māori model of community living. This adaptability draws on customary Māori architecture and Hundertwasser’s idea of the “Dweller-Architect”, where inhabitants have an active role in shaping their homes.

Residents are encouraged to personalise the rainscreen facades, reinforcing the importance of craft and cultural expression. For Māori, this could mean incorporating mātauranga Māori techniques and natural materials, while non-Māori residents might use the same opportunity to reflect their own stories and identities. In doing so, the design becomes not only a model for sustainable housing but also a living canvas of diversity and belonging.

By weaving together indigenous knowledge, global philosophies and forward-thinking construction methods, Annabelle Smith’s project sets a new benchmark for sustainable and inclusive housing. As winner of The Graduate at the INDE.Awards 2025, she represents the next wave of architects and designers who will shape the future of the built environment.

Her work reminds us that design is most powerful when it reconnects people with nature and culture, offering solutions that are as inspiring as they are practical.

Discover the full lineup of 2025 INDE.Awards winners here. Entries to the 2026 INDE.Awards will open in early December.