Sir Ian Charles Athfield (known as Ath) KNZM (15 July 1940 – 16 January 2015) was a New Zealand architect who designed distinctive and innovative houses that challenged suburban norms, as well as celebrated commercial, public and institutional projects.

His early projects were constructed with a broad palette of materials including corrugated iron, plaster, stainless steel and fibre glass.

As a reaction to much of the bland "Modern" architecture of the period, Athfield built in a deliberately vernacular style using features harking back to colonial buildings.

His designs incorporated finials, steeply pitched roofs, timber weatherboards, verandahs and double hung windows.

During the 1970s Athfield built and renovated numerous domestic houses and buildings, developing a distinctive and highly personal design approach based on the repetition of small scale elements and complex massing.

As well as continuing to work on small-scale projects, his portfolio includes churches, pubs, council flats, stadiums and commercial high-rise buildings.

[1] Clare, an interior designer, played an important role in many projects at Athfield Architects and her work was a significant reason for the firm's success.

[1] Athfield died in 2015 due to complications from a routine procedure which resulted in pneumonia, at the Wellington Hospital, where he was being treated for prostate cancer.