Papakura District Courthouse

Client:
Ministry of Justice

Location:
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Completion:
2026

Size:
1,960m²

Project Value:
Approx. $20m

Mahi Toi by:
Maaka Potini (Ngāti Tamaoho) and Dean Flavell (Ngāti Te Ata)

Contact:
Melanie Lochore

Papakura District Court is an ageing wrapped leaky building that has reached the end of its economic life and presents ongoing issues relating to security, air quality, and occupant wellbeing. To ensure justice services can continue to be delivered in Papakura while longer-term solutions are considered, the Ministry of Justice is developing a new courthouse facility at 40 Elliot Street, Papakura.

The development will provide approximately 1,825 m² of floor area and include three courtrooms, hearing rooms, public waiting areas, registry services, judges’ chambers, custody facilities, and dedicated spaces for vulnerable witnesses.

The project is being delivered under a design-and-build contract by Southbase Construction. The facility has been designed to provide modern, functional and healthy courthouse services with an anticipated economic life of more than 20 years. The building incorporates modular and prefabricated construction methods, with a significant proportion of the structure manufactured offsite before being installed on site. This approach enables efficient delivery while allowing key components of the building to be reused or repurposed in the future.

While modular in construction, the building has been designed to avoid the appearance of a temporary structure and to reflect the importance and dignity of the justice system. The design also acknowledges Aotearoa New Zealand’s bicultural foundations and multicultural society, recognising, as Judge Heemi Taumaunu has stated, that “modern day Aotearoa New Zealand is a multi-cultural and vibrant society with two founding cultures bound together by the principle of partnership based on the Treaty of Waitangi.”

Architectus has worked in collaboration with mana whenua artists Maaka Potini (Ngāti Tamaoho) and Dean Flavell (Ngāti Te Ata) on the design development of the entry forecourt and verandah.

Construction is currently underway, with the modular units installed on site. The courthouse is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

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