Biography:

Bill McKay teaches at Masters level and runs the MArch (Prof) Professional Studies courses in the School of Architecture and Planning.
He writes extensively on New Zealand architecture and urban design issues in books, journals and magazines such as Architecture New Zealand. His commentary and criticism over the last decade have been recognised by the NZ Institute of Architects with a President’s Award, and Urbis magazine named him Best Architectural Writer.
He recently published Worship: A History of New Zealand Church Design, illustrated by award winning photographer Jane Ussher. His previous book Beyond the State: NZ State Houses from Modest to Modern (with Andrea Stevens and Simon Devitt) was a 2014 NZ Post Book Awards finalist and a Listener 100 Best Books selection and he speaks extensively on the subject of social housing. He has also made extensive contributions to recent books Long Live the Modern and Group Architects: Towards a New Zealand Architecture.
His PhD research is focused on the war memorial halls of the First Labour Government and their contribution to modernism in post-war New Zealand.He is also working on a design history of Auckland entitled Awkward City, a history of the country’s built environment, Making New Zealand, and (with Jason Mann) a field guide and website dedicated to South Pacific architecture.