Senior experience, independent advice.

AX1 is a specialist advisory practice for transport, infrastructure and urban development projects in Aotearoa New Zealand, founded by Peter Engstrom.

Puhinui Station, a two-level rail and bus interchange with a sculptural roof, at dusk Puhinui Station — Jasmax for Auckland Transport. Peter Engstrom was Principal / Design Lead for the project.

Who we are

AX1 exists to help clients get the big decisions right, early.

The strategic front end of a civic project, where direction, business case logic and stakeholder alignment are set, is where the most value can be created and the most risk removed. It is also where independent, senior advice is hardest to find.

Large engineering and architecture firms are usually engaged once direction is already set. AX1 works before and alongside them, on the client’s side of the table. We help project owners, boards, agencies and developers turn uncertainty into a clear, deliverable vision, and then protect that vision as the project moves into delivery.

AX1 is deliberately lean. You work directly with Peter, supported by a trusted network of specialists brought in only when the work calls for them. That keeps advice senior, accountable and efficient.

Leadership

Portrait of Peter Engstrom, Principal of AX1

Peter Engstrom

Principal — Integration, Strategy & Functional Planning

Peter has spent 25 years leading the planning and design of large, functionally complex civic and transport projects across New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and the UK.

Peter founded AX1 and leads every engagement as Principal. Before AX1, Peter spent nine years as a Principal leading Jasmax’s Transport and Infrastructure team, where he led the multi-award-winning Puhinui Station from pre-concept to delivery, and led the design and business case input for the staged Eden Park 2.1 redevelopment. Before returning to New Zealand he spent ten years as a Principal at Aedas, leading work on Singapore’s Thomson Line, station planning on the Melbourne Metro and the Dubai Metro, alongside large masterplans and transit-oriented developments across Asia.

That range gives Peter a rare perspective: how world-leading transit and civic systems are planned and delivered, and how to apply that knowledge credibly to New Zealand’s scale, stakeholders and conditions. He is known for communicating clearly to boards and project teams, coordinating engineers and specialists, and pursuing value through rigorous, human-centred design.

Qualifications and Memberships

Selected recognition

What guides us

Four principles shape every engagement.

  • 1.
    IntegrationThe biggest gains sit between disciplines: transport and land use, operations and experience, capital cost and whole-of-life value. We plan across those boundaries, not within them.
  • 2.
    ValueEfficient functional planning, smart staging and reuse of existing assets can do more for a budget than any late-stage savings exercise.
  • 3.
    ClarityBoards, funders and communities back projects they understand. We make the logic of a project easy to see and easy to defend.
  • 4.
    DeliverableGlobal best practice, applied with respect for local context and always tested against what it takes to deliver. A project only realises its value once it is funded, consented and built, so successful delivery is the outcome every recommendation is measured against.

Who we work with

Organisations delivering civic outcomes under public scrutiny.

  • Central government agencies
  • Councils & CCOs
  • Transport operators
  • Trusts & venue owners
  • Urban regeneration agencies
  • Developers & landowners
  • Project & programme managers
  • Design & engineering teams

AX1 can be engaged directly by a project owner, through a project manager, or alongside a wider consultant team as an independent strategic advisor.

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