Full Architectural Service

Every successful project begins with a deep understanding of both the land and the people who will call it home.

During the Pre-Design stage, we take time to understand how you want to live, what you want your home to enable, and the qualities of the site that make it unique. By exploring both your aspirations and the character of the land, we establish a strong foundation for a design that feels natural, meaningful, and deeply connected to its setting.

Key areas include:

• Your lifestyle, values, and aspirations
• How you want your home to feel and function
• The site's landform, climate, and natural features
• Sunlight, views, shelter, and privacy
• Connection to landscape and outdoor living
• Planning requirements and project constraints

This process ensures clarity around both the site and the brief, ensuring the design is grounded in an excellent understanding of you and your site.

With a clear understanding of both the site and the brief, the Concept Design stage is where ideas begin to take shape.

Drawing on the opportunities revealed during the Pre-Design phase, we explore how the home can sit within the landscape, respond to its environment, and support the way you want to live.

The Concept Design can be thought of as the first draft of the project - an opportunity to explore ideas, test possibilities, and establish the overall direction before refining the design in greater detail. Feedback and collaboration are an important part of this process, helping to ensure the project evolves toward the best possible outcome.

Key areas include:

• Overall design direction and architectural vision
• Building placement and relationship to the land
• Spatial organisation and flow
• Connection between indoor and outdoor spaces
• Response to sunlight, climate, views, and privacy
• Initial floor plans, sketches, and design concepts
• Client meeting and discussions to gather accurate feedback

This stage creates a strong conceptual foundation that will guide the project through the design and documentation phases ahead.

With the overall design direction established, the Developed Design stage focuses on resolving the project in greater detail.

Building from your feedback on the Concept Design, we work through the key architectural, spatial, and functional decisions that shape how the home will ultimately look, feel, and perform. Ideas are tested, refined, and coordinated to ensure the design remains true to the original vision while responding to practical requirements and project objectives.

Key areas include:

• Refinement of floor plans and spatial relationships
• Development of the building form and architectural character
• Material selections and exterior appearance
• Integration of indoor and outdoor living spaces
• Consideration of construction methods and buildability
• Coordination of key design decisions with consultants and specialists
• Client meetings and design reviews

This stage transforms the project from an initial concept into a well-resolved design, providing the clarity and confidence needed to proceed to costing, documentation, and consenting.

Before proceeding to detailed documentation, it is important to confirm that the project remains aligned with your budget expectations.

Once the Developed Design is resolved, we obtain a cost estimate from a suitably qualified quantity surveyor or builder. This provides an independent assessment of likely construction costs and allows us to identify any potential budget concerns before significant time and money are invested in the documentation phase.

Key areas include:

• Preparation of information for pricing
• Engagement with a builder or quantity surveyor
• Review of estimated construction costs
• Comparison against project budget and objectives
• Identification of any areas requiring adjustment or refinement
• Discussion of options and next steps

This stage provides an important checkpoint in the design process, helping to reduce risk and ensuring informed decisions can be made before committing to the significant time and cost involved in detailed documentation.

Where required, a Resource Consent is obtained to ensure the proposed design aligns with local planning rules and site-specific constraints.

This stage is typically undertaken after the Cost Estimate stage, once the design has been confirmed to be tracking appropriately against budget. This sequencing helps avoid investing significant time and effort into the consenting process for a design that may still require major adjustment to meet budget expectations.

Key areas include:

• Assessment against district plan rules and site constraints
• Identification of any consent triggers or non-compliances
• Preparation of planning documentation and supporting information
• Coordination with planners and other consultants where required
• Lodgement and management of the consent application
• Response to Council queries or Requests for Information (RFIs)

This stage helps secure planning approval for the design in principle, providing clarity and certainty that the project can proceed before progressing into detailed documentation and construction preparation.

Once the design has been confirmed and the project is tracking appropriately against budget, we move into the Documentation stage.

This stage involves translating the developed design into a comprehensive set of drawings and specifications that clearly communicate how the project is to be built. Careful attention is given to the details that influence performance, durability, buildability, and the overall quality of the finished home - while ensuring design integrity.

Key areas include:

• Detailed architectural drawings
• Construction details and technical design
• Material and product specifications
• Coordination with required consultants and specialists
• Integration of structural and building performance requirements
• Preparation of information for consenting and construction

Documentation is the most detailed and time-intensive stages of the process. The quality and completeness of this information plays a significant role in achieving a smooth consenting process, accurate pricing, and a successful outcome on site.

With the documentation complete, the project is ready to be submitted for the necessary approvals.

The Consenting stage involves preparing, coordinating, and lodging the information required by the local authority to obtain a Building Consent. Depending on the project, Resource Consent or other approvals may also be required. We manage this process on your behalf and respond to any requests for additional information that may arise during the assessment.

Key areas include:

• Preparation and submission of consent applications
• Coordination of supporting consultant information
• Liaison with the local authority
• Management of Requests for Information (RFIs)
• Review of consent conditions and requirements
• Keeping you informed throughout the approval process

While the consenting process can be complex, our role is to guide the project through the approval pathway as smoothly as possible, allowing you to focus on the excitement of bringing your project to life.

With consents granted, our role shifts to supporting the builder and helping ensure the design is realised as intended on site.

This stage involves responding to queries during construction, providing clarification where required, and carrying out site visits to observe progress and maintain design integrity. The level of involvement can be tailored depending on the complexity of the project and the degree of support required.

Key areas include:

• Review and response to builder and contractor queries
• Clarification of drawings and design intent during construction
• Regular or milestone-based site visits (as agreed)
• Observation of progress and alignment with the design intent
• Resolution of on-site design-related issues as they arise
• Final review of the completed works

This stage helps bridge the gap between design and reality, ensuring the finished home reflects the intent, quality, and character established throughout the design process.