Architecture
- Development feasibility and concept design
- Homes, apartments, terraced housing and multi-unit developments
- Commercial, industrial and mixed-use architectural design
- Resource and building consent documentation
- Detailed design, consultant coordination and construction support
Architecture that makes the most of your project
Good architecture starts with understanding what you want to achieve and what is realistically possible on your site.
Cato Bolam’s architecture team works with homeowners, developers and commercial clients across Auckland, Northland and the Waikato. From bespoke homes and alterations to apartments, terraced housing, multi-unit developments, commercial and industrial buildings and larger land development projects, we create practical, well-resolved designs that respond to the site, the brief and the project objectives.
Early in a project, we test development potential, identify opportunities and constraints, and establish a design direction that balances development outcomes, design quality, consenting requirements, buildability and cost.
Comprehensive architectural services
Our architectural services include:
- Development feasibility and site assessment
- Concept and preliminary design
- Bespoke homes and rural residential design
- Alterations, additions and remediation
- Apartments and multi-unit housing
- Terraced housing and townhouses
- Commercial and industrial buildings
- Mixed-use and master planned developments
- Resource consent design and documentation
- Building consent drawings and documentation
- Detailed architectural design and construction documentation
- Design management and consultant coordination
- Contract administration and construction-phase support.
Planning a project? Talk to our Architectural Team
Contact us todayPractical design with lasting value
Our architects combine strong design thinking with practical construction knowledge, considering how early design decisions will translate into the finished building.
The focus is not simply on how a building looks. We create spaces that work well for the people who use them, respond appropriately to the site and brief, are practical to build and continue to perform well over time.
We place particular value on getting the fundamentals right early. Orientation, spatial planning, building form, daylight and material choices can all influence how successfully a building functions and how well it remains valued as needs change.
Durability and adaptability are also important parts of sustainable design. Buildings that remain useful and valued for longer make better use of the materials, energy and investment that go into creating them.
Design connected to the wider project
Our architects work directly with Cato Bolam’s planners, surveyors, civil engineers and ecologists, allowing the architectural design to develop alongside the wider site requirements.
Planning controls, site levels, access, infrastructure, servicing and environmental considerations can be tested as the design evolves. Resolving these matters early reduces unnecessary redesign and helps keep the architectural, consenting and technical requirements aligned.
This is particularly valuable for multi-unit, commercial and larger development projects, where building design, site layout and infrastructure decisions are closely connected.
From design through to completion
Our architecture team can support the project through resource consent, building consent, construction documentation and the construction phase, providing continuity from the early design decisions through to the completed building.
We can lead the architectural scope as part of a wider Cato Bolam project team or work alongside your existing consultants.
Talk to our Architecture team
Whether you are planning a new home, apartment or terraced housing project, a multi-unit development, commercial or industrial building, or a mixed-use development, talk to Rowan Murray and the Cato Bolam architecture team about your project.
Architecture Questions
As early as possible. Architects can be involved as early as site selection and development of the project brief, and right through to the other end of the project providing on-site services, as-built documents, facilities management drawings and maintenance plans.
Good architecture doesn’t come cheap, but a good architect can add substantial value to your project.
Our architects provide a range of services including site selection, briefing development, feasibility studies, concept design, detailed design, contractor procurement, contract administration, site observation, design management, consultant engagement, risk management, maintenance plans and last but not least – radical thinking!
Registered architects are qualified and trained to offer a high level of design expertise and skills. The architect will often lead the architectural process from the beginning design stages through to completion of the actula building. A draftsman is trained to take that design and prepare the detailed technical plans that are required for consenting and construction.
We can provide architectural input through all phases of a project from initial bulk and location feasibility, through concept design, resource consent, detailed design, and construction documentation.
Yes. The architect will assemble all the drawings, specifications, reports, and certificates required to demonstrate to the council that the building work will comply with all the relevant parts of the Building Code. They will lodge the application and respond to any requests for further information that the council has.
We have found it extremely valuable to have architects working alongside our other professionals. Every project requires a number of inputs and having the various specialities working together can help remove hurdles and add efficiency and value to the project.
