Building a new home is one of the most significant decisions most people make in their lives, and the design of that home is the foundation everything else depends on. A home that is well designed for its site, well matched to the way you live, and documented accurately from the start makes the entire building process smoother, from consent through to construction to the day you move in. A home that isn’t properly designed creates problems at every stage: consent delays, builder queries, variations during construction, and ultimately a finished product that doesn’t work as well as it should. We take the design process seriously because we understand what is at stake.
From Site and Brief to 3D Design
Our design service starts with a thorough understanding of your site and your brief. Every section is different, and every family lives differently. The orientation of your section, the slope, the views, the prevailing winds, the neighbouring buildings, the service connections, and the street frontage all influence how the home should be designed. At the same time, how you and your family use space, how many people will live in the home and how their needs might change over time, what you value in a home, and what your budget allows all shape the design decisions we make. We take the time to understand these factors before we start designing because good homes are built on good briefs.
We produce concept designs and full 3D models for every new home. The 3D model is a critical part of the design process because it lets you experience the proposed design in a way floor plans and elevations alone can’t. You can understand how the spaces relate to each other, how the natural light will move through the house at different times of day, how the indoor and outdoor areas connect, and how the home will look from the street and the garden. We refine the design with you through the 3D model until you are genuinely happy with the result, then we progress to the working drawing stage.
Full working drawings for a new home include architectural drawings showing all floor plans, elevations, sections, and construction details; structural drawings prepared by a licensed structural engineer; site plans and drainage plans; and all specifications and supporting documentation required for the building consent application. We prepare all of the architectural documentation in-house and coordinate with the structural engineer to integrate the structural drawings into the consent package. We lodge the full application with Auckland Council and manage it through to approval, responding to council queries and keeping you updated at every stage.
