Robert Cunningham has been appointed Senior Associate of Urban Design, Architecture, and Planning at Woods as the firm looks to further strengthen its team. 

Hailing originally from Canada, the new appointee brings with him extensive experience in architecture, engineering, and urban design spaces, as well as experience in building teams and developing business and cross-discipline collaboration. 

“I have worked for a number of firms, and all those have contributed to who I am today.” 

Robert, who has worked with Kainga Ora and the Ministry of Education, is particularly passionate and excited about the prospect of growing, developing, and mentoring the team at Woods. 

Driven by the holistic nature of urban planning, Robert reflects on his career and says he is fascinated by how the work they do intertwines with society.  

“I feel over the last 10-12 years it’s been a natural segway to go from strictly architecture into more about how the whole site works, and how it works with the community.”  

He is not only looking forward to adding value to his role at Woods but has ambitions to set up an in-house knowledge hub. 

“I love solving problems and mentoring individuals on their career journeys. I’m keen to set up a knowledge hub where people can come and ask anything they’re unsure of or isn’t working and be able to walk away perfectly happy.” 

On his appointment, Mark Williams, General Manager of Major Projects – Land Development and a Woods’ Director, says, “Woods are very fortunate to have someone of Robert’s experience and broad depth of knowledge join us. For a business predominately populated by the younger generation, Robert’s acumen and experience will be invaluable in building teams and making our people aware of how everything we do interacts with all the other parts of our business. Robert provides real depth and strength to our growing Urban Design team and is a sounding board for all our staff’s career development.”