Architectural design, Queenstown
Built to fit the land, not fight it.
We design homes and small commercial buildings across the Southern Lakes that work with the site, the climate and what you can actually afford to build.
Start a project
We design homes and small commercial buildings across the Southern Lakes that work with the site, the climate and what you can actually afford to build.
Start a projectFrom the first sketch to the last site visit, on projects sized for the budget you have.
Concept through to working drawings, designed around your site's sun, slope and views rather than a plan bought off the shelf.
Start a projectMaking an existing home work harder, whether that is one room or a full rebuild around what is worth keeping.
Resource and building consent documentation, and regular site visits through the build so the drawings survive contact with reality.
Studio Kowhai was founded by Reuben Ngata in 2013 after ten years designing houses across the South Island. The studio has grown to four, and every project still gets his eye on it.
We design for the site first. A plan that ignores the wind, the sun and the neighbours is a plan you will be arguing with for years.
Fees are a percentage of the build cost for full projects, or a fixed fee for concept design alone. Both are agreed before we draw a line.
A first meeting to walk the site is free and helps us give you a realistic number.
52 Example Street, Queenstown 9300
Mon to Fri 9am - 5pm
03 555 0155
Tell us about the site and what you are hoping to build, and we will arrange a time to talk it through.
