Reflections from Our Clients

Craig and his team have been amazing. Initially we were sceptical about the cost of employing an architect, when we already knew what we wanted to do. However, we are so glad that we did.

South Architects’ team have added so much to the build in terms of giving us a simple, but clever building with some great design features that we would never have thought of. 

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Our budget was very limited, but the outcome has the features of an architect designed home that suits our daily life, aesthetic and environmental principles and provides the ‘wow factor’.  The design really does prove that you don’t have to have a Grand Design, a mansion or a huge budget to benefit from professional input.  It has proved to be a real investment.

Late last year we purchased a new build in Sumner at the rear of a site developed by the owner of the front property.

We hadn’t planned to move from our home of 16 years, but from the first open home we fell in love with the house. Having now lived here for several months, those first impressions have only been confirmed.

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We particularly love the architectural features, including the angles of the interior walls and ceilings, the shape of the exterior, and the contemporary design and materials used throughout. The spaces inside feel larger than they are, and the windows beautifully frame the surrounding views while still providing privacy in a high-density area.

We enjoy the apartment-like feel of having the main living area, bedroom, kitchen and outdoor entertaining space all on the top level. Downstairs, the two bedrooms, family bathroom and additional living room are perfect for visiting friends and family. Even on a back section, the design allows us to enjoy views through two corridors, and the clever use of skylights in the dressing room and ensuite provides both privacy and plenty of natural light.

Having built and renovated homes in the past, we feel incredibly lucky to have found such a thoughtfully designed space to live in without the hard work. Thank you Craig and your team. We also appreciate that you continue to take an interest in the home, even though we were not your original clients.

Right from our initial enquiry to South Architects we were impressed by their quick response and desire to listen and work with us.

Craig and his team followed our very simple brief and gave us something very special. Not only is the finished product functional to our lifestyle in every way, but also contains some really interesting and unique design features which stands it out as bespoke.

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It was important for us to have connections with outdoor spaces in several areas and Craig has achieved this to perfection.

Some of our most memorable parts of the build were days spent with Kyla putting the interior design and decorating together. Kyla was always mindful of our needs and wants, likes and dislikes and was always happy to work together with us to achieve a wonderfully functional and hopefully timeless home.

I know that our builder and all involved in the project were suitably impressed with not only Craig’s undoubted design skill but also his willingness to be available to discuss anything which arose during the build.

We would definitely recommend.

Having lost our home in the Christchurch earthquake, and having lived in our “interim” house for nine years, we realised that the only way we would find the house of our dreams, that would suit us for the rest of our lives, would be to build it, and find the right architect to design it

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We had seen some of Craig’s designs, and we liked that they stood out as being interesting, all in individual ways.

Looking back at the brief we gave Craig at the very beginning of our project with him, it is clear that he has fulfilled every wish we had. Our wishes were about how the house should look and feel to us in an emotional way; more timeless than trendy, more understated than ostentatious, more intriguing than impressive. We wanted a house of connected spaces or pavilions rather than a monolithic structure, that would soar or float rather than squat heavily. We wanted surprises and hints and unexpected views both into the house and out into the garden.

From my side, I had a wish that came from my Dutch heritage and upbringing. I wanted the house to be “gezellig”. This was a new one for Craig, so I had to give him a quick lesson in a concept that is quintessentially Dutch. “Gezelligheit” can be described as cozy, convivial, fun, a nice atmosphere, or the general togetherness that gives a warm feeling. Crucially, this can apply to the two of us enjoying an evening together, or to a large group gathering. Not being entertainers, but having a large family group that regularly get together, having a house that suited both purposes was important to us.

How these wishes were to be achieved we left up to Craig’s skills, and now living in the finished product, we feel he has achieved all of this beyond our hopes and expectations.

As well, it has been a great journey working with Craig. He has been an excellent communicator throughout, making us feel as though we were his only clients. He has always responded promptly to any queries, consulting and informing us fully, helping us engage builders, engineers, landscape and lighting professionals and collaborating with them, and managing the whole project together with his own excellent design staff.

Now that we have moved in and enjoying every day the results of our journey together, we can say with no exaggeration that our dreams have been fulfilled.

We have recently completed two beautiful 4 bedroomed,3.5 bath homes in St.Albans, working together with Craig and Anna South.

Our relationship with South Architects began over 3 years ago, when our plan was to construct a large family home bespoke to our own family needs.

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Craig and his team were very attentive to the idea of designing a home to love and fulfil all of our requirements. However our plans changed dramatically and we choose to move to Wellington.

Plan A ,drawings and engineering complete was abandoned but the relationship with Craig only grew stronger.

We decided that a total review of the site was needed at Chapter Street. Craig drafted new plans to show that we could actually divide the site and construct two lovely homes that actually whilst different, complimented each other.

Craig and his team spent a lot of time at the beginning of each project ensuring that all of our wish list was implemented into each design.

His eye for detail is special and his designs are simply different. Each design flows through taking into account space and light .

Nicola and myself will definitely use South Architects again, whenever we are ready to build again.

We strongly recommend engaging Craig and his team as soon as possible if you are looking for bespoke, appealing designs that still take into consideration,  budget and programme.

We bought a large section on the Sumner waterfront with a view to subdividing and building a home to retire to. Craig’s firm was recommended to us by our interior designer and we approached them to participate in a “design competition” with 2 other architects.

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From the start we were impressed by Craig’s responsiveness and enthusiasm to participate, his ability to read and interpret the brief, to clearly outline the design process, and his proactive project management. Craig and his team put a lot of thought and time into location study, views and sun and looked at the best outcome for the whole site. He was able to empathize and connect with us as people, not just as clients.

During the developed design process Craig came up with creative solutions to deal with issues and, in many cases, where there was an issue there was an even better outcome. He worked hard to meet our functional needs but stood firmly on the side of good design. Craig’s digital design software was extremely useful and saved cost; It meshed well with the software used by engineer, and the interior and kitchen designer. His software package gave us a “walk through” 3D design used by us and the builder.

During the construction observation period, Craig was always on hand to assist with interpretation and detail solutions, and he developed a sound and mutually respectful relationship with our builder and his team.

We now have an award winning home that’s a work of art, that we’re very proud of and love living in. Craig’s design has maximised views and sun, and the house is warm with an impressive level of energy sustainability.

Without hesitation we employed Craig to design the home for our subdivision, and would not hesitate to work with him again; nor would we hesitate to recommend his services.

From the start we were impressed by Craig’s responsiveness and enthusiasm to participate, his ability to read and interpret the brief, to clearly outline the design process, and his proactive project management. Craig and his team put a lot of thought and time into location study, views and sun and looked at the best outcome for the whole site. He was able to empathise and connect with us as people, not just as clients.

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During the developed design process Craig came up with creative solutions to deal with issues and, in many cases, where there was an issue there was an even better outcome. He worked hard to meet our functional needs but stood firmly on the side of good design. Craig’s digital design software was extremely useful and saved cost; It meshed well with the software used by engineer, and the interior and kitchen designer. His software package gave us a “walk through” 3D design used by us and the builder.

During the construction observation period, Craig was always on hand to assist with interpretation and detail solutions, and he developed a sound and mutually respectful relationship with our builder and his team.

We now have an award winning home that’s a work of art, that we’re very proud of and love living in. Craig’s design has maximised views and sun, and the house is warm with an impressive level of energy sustainability.

Without hesitation we employed Craig to design the home for our subdivision, and would not hesitate to work with him again; nor would we hesitate to recommend his services.

We selected Craig to be our architect after researching architectural homes on the internet. We found two homes that we loved the look of online and realised that Craig was the architect on both occasions. We subsequently met with Craig and was drawn to his easy going nature, professionalism, flexibility and creativity in meeting our needs

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We asked Craig to design us a home that incorporated our love of timber and stone, height and angles (of which there are many), our need to accommodate extended family and separate zones. Craig also had to design our home around strict design covenants.

Were extremely grateful to Craig and his staff, as they really nailed the brief and created our ‘grand design’. It’s a home that really works for us as a family and given the separate zones should continue to do so as the kids grow into teenagers.

Our home, a complex build, has now been successfully completed. Our house looks spectacular and we are delighted with the result. It is fair to say that without the input from Craig and the team, it would not have been constructed with the outstanding attention to detail that has been achieved.