Pip Cheshire

Pip Cheshire studied at Christ's College, Christchurch and University of Canterbury. Annika Andresen is recorded as having studied under Pip Cheshire. The recorded working language is English. Residence is recorded at Auckland. Employment is recorded with New Zealand Institute of Architects. Works named in the authority record are Q Theatre and Leigh Marine Laboratory. Distinctions recorded are NZIA Gold Medal and Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

• Office — President of the New Zealand Institute of Architects • Predecessor — David Sheppard • Successor — Christina van Bohemen • Term Start — 2014 • Term End — 2016 • Name — Pip Cheshire • Honorific Suffix — CNZM • Birth Name — Philip Maxwell Cheshire • Born — 28 July 1950 • Birthplace — Christchurch, New Zealand • Died — 11 February 2026 • Place of death — Auckland, New Zealand • Children — 3

Cheshire was born in Christchurch on 28 July 1950, the son of Gwynneth and Max Cheshire. Born with the lower half of his right leg missing, Cheshire grew up in the seaside suburb of Sumner and became a keen surfer. He was educated at Sumner School and Christ's College, and went on to study political science at the University of Canterbury, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1974. While at Canterbury, he wrote for the student newspaper, Canta. As a 16-year-old, Cheshire expressed a desire to become either an engineer or architect. In 1976, he began studying architecture at the University of Auckland, where his classmates included Mark Wigley, Jane Aimer, John Leijh, Lindley Naismith, Diane Brand, and Gill Matthewson.

While still an architecture student, Cheshire designed Auckland restaurant, The Melba, which led to his obtaining a number of commissions for residential dwellings after he graduated. He first set up architectural collective, Artifice, with fellow young graduates, and later joined with Pete Bossley to form Bossley Cheshire Architects in 1984. In 1989, Bossley Cheshire merged with JASMaD and Gibbs Harris to form Jasmax, of which Cheshire was a director from 1989 to 2003, the final three years managing director. From 2003, he was in practice as Cheshire Architects, alongside his son Nat. Cheshire served as president of the Auckland Architecture Association in 2007 and chair of the Auckland branch of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) between 1998 and 2000. In 2003, Cheshire was appointed adjunct professor of architecture at the University of Auckland. From 2014 to 2016, he was the national president of the NZIA. During his tenure, he worked with Ngā Aho, the society of Māori design professionals, including Haare Williams, Rau Hoskins and Elisapeta Heta, to formulate Te Kawenata o Rata, a covenant to formalise and invigorate the relationship between the NZIA and Ngā Aho. Cheshire also served as a member of the Auckland urban design panel. In 2008, Cheshire collaborated with photographer Patrick Reynolds to produce a book on the New Zealand bach, Architecture uncooked: the New Zealand holiday house through an architect's eye.

Cheshire died in Auckland on 11 February 2026, at the age of 75.

• Congreve House, North Shore • Q Theatre, Auckland • Leigh Marine Laboratory redevelopment • Britomart precinct, Auckland • Conservation of Discovery Hut and Scott's Hut, Antarctica