Menu

Feature Articles

Primary tabs

Hawkes Bay Regional Sports Park

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 05/02/2021 - 10:48am

While fund raising in Hawkes Bay for a sports park facility was in full swing, a significant development in roof innovation was happening that would ultimately benefit this world class complex: a newly released warm roof system was chosen for the $28m first stage of the new sports hub. Dimond...

South pacific architecture captures the qualities of the Tuvalu culture

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 05/02/2021 - 10:43am

The brief to Architect Megan Rule, South Pacific Architecture, was to design a place of worship that captured the qualities of the community and South Pacific culture of the Tuvalu Christian community.

The traditional churches in the Tuvalu Islands are designed to cope with a hot humid...

Cheatley House in Wanganui

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 05/02/2021 - 10:34am

Symmetry and bold looks were key elements for the Cheatleys when it came to the design and execution of their Wanganui home.

Both those elements were captured by using tray cladding – Steelform Roofing Group’s Steelform TCS using COLORSTEEL® substrate in matt Tempest colour – with...

Local legend embedded in design of New Plymouth’s airport terminal

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 05/02/2021 - 10:27am

Some key design principles were established by a collective Beca design team, liaising with the local hapu to ensure the iwi’s story and history was reflected in the New Plymouth Airport terminal. Located 11km from the city centre, the building is located on a historic coastal site where...

Kingsland Fire Station Renovation

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 12:15pm

The Kingsland Fire Station occupies a prime location on the ridge overlooking Eden Park in on the Auckland city fringe in Kingsland, Auckland and has a varied past. According to Kingsland Heritage, the brick fire station was built in a Georgian Revival style in 1933 to replace an original timber...

Houhere House: Returning To The Wild Off The Grid

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 12:09pm

When the owners of Houhere bought a piece of land on Banks Peninsula six years ago, the intention was to return it to a natural setting and build a home that could transition from a weekender to a permanent residence.

They already had a cottage nearby so they left the land to ‘re-wild’ –...

339: A Private, Inner City Oasis

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 11:53am

Located on a main arterial road and faced with high neighbours overlooking from the north and south, this small narrow site required a considered approach to create privacy within the house, whilst still maintaining ample light, sun and views. As the own home of Architect Dave Strachan and his...

Weber Architecture’s Classic Alpine Home

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 11:42am

Structure Led Architecture is a theme to be found in all designs from Arrowtown-based Warrick Weber Architecture. This Otago home demonstrates the concept in all its forms.

Reflecting the peaks of its rugged, mountainous environment, the home in Bendemeer, near Lake Hayes, embodies...

Delivering the “wow” factor to earthquake-damaged central Christchurch the EntX complex, with its seven Hoyts cinemas, restaurants and bars, has provided a new social hub to the city’s CBD.

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 11:18am

Located on Colombo Street across from the central bus exchange, the cinema and dining complex features a striking wall cladding on the triple height, 15m high atrium of the development in a mix of colours to represent the patchwork landscape of the Canterbury Plains.

Eurotray® Angle Seam...

Domaine Thomson Wines

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 30/09/2020 - 11:05am

Just as Domaine Thomson Wines showcases the best of the Central Otago and Burgundy terroir, the company’s new cellar and tasting room takes design cues from these two distinct regions.

On the outside, the architecture is reminiscent of the back country huts of Central Otago, and...

Community Project Roofing Industries and PCC

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 12:11pm

It is well known that New Zealanders give generously to worthy causes, although they often don’t talk about the near $3 billion a year they give to trusts, foundations and charities. Then there are the smaller, locally-promoted fund-raising efforts in communities around the country. When the...

Building the Same Again – But Different

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 12:06pm

A few years back, Ian and Lynda Gare built a home they loved, but hankered to build again - making some subtle changes but using the same basic layout. Their new home in Golden Road, 10km from Alexandra in Central Otago, has incorporated features they spent a lot of time thinking about and...

Walker Architecture: Intelligent by Design

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 11:05am

When Ngai Tahu approached Walker Architecture in Christchurch to design a new building for PGG Wrightson (one of their key tenants,) it represented both a remarkable opportunity and challenge for both architects and structural engineers.

PGG Wrightson Seed in Christchurch were in a...

Nga Kereru in Maraetotara: A Strawbale House

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 10:58am

Nga Kereru in Maraetotara, Havelock North was purchased in April 2016 by Andrew Tuck and Alessandra Menegon with a dream to develop a rural sustainable lifestyle. The couple were living an international life in Australia and Europe and wanted to settle back in NZ and create a more sustainable...

Harrison Lane: House and Stable

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 10:45am

With a passion for all things equestrian, this Auckland family decided to setup their own base in Clevedon. The owner of this well crafted home combines the very best of country living with stables that would be the envy of every horse owner nationwide. 

To fulfil a dream, the owner...

Wall House

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 10:15am

The home sits on top of Mt Pleasant in Christchurch with views to a natural landscape of mountain and the waters of the estuary. With the environment front of mind, the owners were mindful of the impact of building and vice versa in this setting. It was critical that the form of the building was...

Fat Parrot Architecture Takes Education Higher

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Fri, 06/03/2020 - 9:54am

At the end of 2017, Statistics New Zealand estimated the population of Auckland to be 1.66 million. It is projected to grow to over 2.3 million people by 2043.

Population growth in Auckland not only puts pressure on the housing market, infrastructure such schools also need to adapt....

Aztech: Building a Rural Goat Farm That Helps Increase Production

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 3:29pm

With 35 years of experience of farming goats, Frans Janssen knows how important it is for good milk production to keep the animals comfortable and healthy.

So when he wanted to expand his Waikato goat farming operation, Elite Goat Milk, at Manawaru, just south of Te Aroha, he set his...

Tocker House: A Simple Lifestyle in a Complex World.

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 3:04pm

The “Olde Beach” area of Waikanae is a tightly held group of baches and permanent homes located in a microclimate created by Kapiti Island, an hour north of Wellington. There is a French bakery, a couple of convenience stores, three excellent restaurants and a great beach. It is a very desirable...

Apartments in a Rural Setting. Mike Greer Homes show the way

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 3:19pm

A ‘satellite’ residential area designated a Special Housing Area (SHA) under the government’s Housing Accord is in the wine country village of Huapai, West Auckland where Mike Greer Homes has recently completed an apartment complex in Dida Drive.

Located in the Huapai Triangle which will...

Curves in Invercargill

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 3:25pm

It was to be a project without limits. Very early on, architectural designer Nathan Shearing knew his biggest challenge would be not “taming” his clients’ bold wishes of their vision for a new home.

From the get-go, owners Andrew and Linda Gunn wanted something different and produced an...

Timeless Double Gable Home in Wanaka

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 2:32pm

Having already developed a home in Wanaka’s Bull Ridge subdivision, builder Nathan Simon had firm ideas about the sort of house he wanted to construct on a neighbouring section. 

“We had developed and lived in the house next door on the street, so buying the neighbouring section allowed...

Freemans Bay School. Modern Learning.

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 2:36pm

When Freeman’s Bay school in Auckland needed redevelopment done, RTA Studio stepped in to design a building that proposes a solution type of architecture that inspires learning and promotes the fulfilment of potential in the local rangatahi (younger generation / youth).

The redevelopment...

The Sunderland Hangar re-born at Hobsonville

Submitted by Bruce Duncan on Wed, 20/11/2019 - 2:59pm

When a Project Unite crew first walked onto the Catalina Bay hangar site at Hobsonville last year what greeted them was a structural skeleton, only the bones remaining of the historical RNZAF facility which had been home to the air force’s Sunderland seaplanes. 

The building, which had...

Pages

Subscribe to Feature Articles