About

ata is an award-winning, full-service architectural studio committed to the creation of intelligent, sustainable, and progressive design solutions.

Our projects are deeply grounded in understanding our clients. We work in an open and collaborative way to ensure the end result is relevant, meaningful, and reflects their unique identities.

Our work encompasses proportion, use of light, material integrity and sustainable methodology to create functional yet engaging architecture.

Having previously worked in both large and boutique architectural practices, as well as two years as a Project Manager in the construction business, Adam Taylor brings a wealth of knowledge and understanding to his projects.

Services

ata offer a range of services including:

  • Architectural design:

-  residential
-  commercial
-  interiors
-  renovations

  • Development feasibility + planning
  • Site master planning
  • 3D concepts + solar animation

Awards and recognition

2023
ADNZ
BOP / Waikato Architectural Design Award - New Build over 300m2
2022
ADNZ
Architectural Design Award for New Build 150 - 300m2
2021
ADNZ
National Architectural Design Award - Renovation
2018
ADNZ
National Architectural Design Award - New Build 150 - 300m2

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Testimonials

“Adam Taylor was recommended to me by one of his previous clients. I enjoyed Adams interpretation of my ideas and wish list and how he turned them into something with style – which is nothing short of stunning. Thanks to Adams clever design, I’m enjoying a very warm home this winter and I know it will be cool come summer. He has a natural ability of knowing the right mix of texture, materials and tones that look amazing. I particularly love the white lime-washed bagged brick walls that have pops of cedar to compliment it. I’m looking forward to my first summer in the house, when I can open the doors and enjoy the easy flow to the outdoor area. It’s gorgeous. Thank you Adam.”
Kay Woon
“Embarking on our first ever new build was a somewhat daunting and scary process. This was added to by the fact that we had such a small and slightly oddly shaped space to deal with and try to maximise to its full potential. However, after meeting with Adam we were instantly at ease and assured that we would be able to achieve what we wanted. Adams open-minded and creative vision ensured that we made the most of the space. This also involved a great working relationship with our builders as there were some ‘out-there’ angles on the building and we were working within a pretty tight budget. Throughout the whole process Adam and his team at ata were professional, supportive and available and accommodating of any changes that we had to make. Adam showed continued interest in the project as it progressed, making regular site visits. We were so happy with the final result of The Tui’s Nest, that we are now looking to ata for our next project.”
Erika and Clayton Mitchell
“Adam was firstly a wonderful listener, and respectful of the vision and ideas that we presented to him, in order to begin designing our special family meeting place in Pauanui. But he also transported us out of our comfort zone into a modern, minimalist, floating beach house that now attracts constant drive-by attention. The brief to provide a sophisticated but simple space for three generations to enjoy holidays and celebrations in, has been truly met and exceeded. Our first Christmas in the house gave us the opportunity to experience and embrace Adams design – to completely open up the common living areas into one magnificent indoor-outdoor space, and appreciate the beautiful harbour and mountain views. Thank you from all of our family for creating a wonderful setting where memories can be made.”
Shelley and Geoff Payne
“Adam and his team were the right people to work with on our project. Other architects or designers backed away from the scale of the job, but Adam understood our vision and our desire to renovate, and celebrate the quirks of an original Mount Maunganui home, while completely re-shaping its story. The house is beautiful and flooded with light, which was the first priority on our brief. We are thrilled with the spaces created, and love that we were creatively in tune with the Adam Taylor aesthetic and values.”
Hayley George
“We are so glad we chose ata (Adam Taylor Architecture) to create our family home and lifestyle in Tauranga. Adam is an absolute pleasure to work with and so talented at what he does. We were impressed with the amount of thought and detail Adam put into our house, and the passion he showed for our project. Thank you ata, our final design is better than we could have ever imagined.”
Edward and Sasha Pendergast
“Looking for an Architect or Architectural Designer is tough and it can be a giant leap of faith to entrust someone to design your vision. This felt easy with Adam and within 5 minutes we knew he was our guy to help design our renovation. Adam quickly understood our brief, who we are, and how we wanted to ultimately live in our house. This allowed him to adapt and challenge our initial ideas so that we ended up with a design that exceeded our expectations. Adam’s creative approach helped us find efficiencies throughout the design process from layout to materials which allowed us to spend our limited budget in the right areas and not compromise on the overall design. The end result is that Adam has helped us to achieve a house that has enhanced the way we live as a family. ata nailed our design and are good people too, we will definitely use them again — if we ever move!”
Andrew Inman
“We approached Adam Taylor Architecture (ata) with an empty section in The Coast development in Papamoa Beach and a dream of what could be. With just a few notes Adam created a concept that ticked all the boxes. This being our first new build Adam and the great team at ATA not only designed a fantastic home for our family but also offered useful support and guidance throughout the entire process. Thanks ata.”
Rob Sherris
“Adam designed us a fantastic home for our young family that will last through the ages. He had great vision and understood exactly what we wanted, whilst adding some unique touches. We absolutely love it.”
Maggie Duncan
“Before we started our build project we started the search for an Architectural Designer, we wanted someone that was energetic, like minded and not scared to be different. Adam was our man and we have not been disappointed. A great friendship has evolved and the success we’ve had working together on our various projects ensures that we will continue a relationship with ata well into the future.”
Milly Stewart
“Our humble kiwi Bach in Pauanui, that houses two growing families needed an overhaul. We met with Adam from ata and explained the must haves for our project being that it accommodates 10 adults and 2 dogs at a time plus room for extras, areas for boats, diving and fishing gear to be stored, plenty of outdoor living and spa pool as well as keeping a real Bach feel that was low maintenance but super cool with no plaster or brick in sight! All of these demands were to fit on a tiny 400sq site – easy! Adam took all of that on board and came up with his take on the kiwi shed concept. Using Coloursteel cladding, a pitched roof line to give an abundant feel of height as well as the opportunity to add a mezzanine floor and simple clean lines internally using white washed ply, black exposed roof trusses, doors and feature negative detail throughout. Adam nudged us out of our comfort zone with the inclusion of a space saver staircase to our mezzanine level and a floor to ceiling black “soccer net” type surround to give a stunning and unique enclosure. Both particular design features were firsts of their kind in New Zealand, requiring hours and hours of research, paper work and lengthy Council discussion. Thanks to Adam’s tireless commitment and determination, we are now the benefactors of a truly unique beautifully designed home that will give us years and years of fabulous family holidays. We cannot thank Adam and his team enough for blasting our expectations out of the water! Needless to say, we can highly recommend ata and they will be our first stop for our next building project.”
The Procter Families
“We have worked with ata on a number of projects and are more than happy with the results, we are looking forward to the next collaboration! Our projects have been delivered on budget and our wants and needs for fantastic family flow have been listened to and have been given a much needed ata flare with perfect results. Adam and his team are constantly on the hunt to improve current building practices with fresh new building technologies and ideas. They are also open to incorporate and research our own ideas and desires and bring it all together in a sustainable and highly liveable package. Even though our projects were in Christchurch they managed to use all resources available to them from a distance to enhance all our sun and view aspects with amazing results. You should see the sunrise from my bed, living room and kitchen! As I said we are looking forward to the next project with Adam.”
Saar Hellemans and Mark Robertson
“We wanted to build an extension on our 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house. Not knowing where to even begin we enlisted Adam who came over and saw the potential of what our little house could transform into. Adam and his team totally translated our dreams into reality, and then some. We now have a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home that feels double the size and we absolutely love it. The team at ata thought of everything, guided us through the building process seamlessly, dealt with any issues that came up and we are still amazed at the detailed drawing that became our reality. We feel our house fits us to a tee, and we will enjoy living here for many years to come. We would not hesitate to recommend ata to anyone looking for a new build or renovation.”
Meagan Goodchild
“So pleased we decided to enlist the services of Mount Maunganui based ata for a long overdue extension to our country home in Whitford. Our project came with a number of issues in that we had built Stage 1 of our house 13 years prior and so multiple changes to the Building Code required a redraw of the 2003 approved consent drawings.

Whilst the original brief was to, more or less, adhere to the original layout and simply update the working drawings it soon became clear that the creative team at ata had the inspiration and skill set to significantly improve upon the original design.

Although the site is still a building site there have already been many favourable comments coming our way from neighbours, friends and tradesmen. It is a credit to ata how Stages 1 and 2 now blend seamlessly together and how we have achieved the look of a traditional Kiwi country home with well integrated indoor / outdoor living. The covered outdoor living area is a particular hit and will, we are sure, prove suitable for year round use and accommodate large get togethers with ease.

Because of the time lapsed since the original build there were plenty of issues to resolve along the way but we found the team at ata to be highly professional and at the ready to respond to queries throughout the project. We have over the years learnt to be cautious when recommending professionals and tradesmen to friends and family but in this case have no hesitation recommending Adam Taylor Architecture to friends and family or anyone who is looking to achieve something special in the way of home design.”
Karen and Brian Riordan
“We had a challenging project to present to Adam, a “pseudo-Mediterranean” townhouse of the 90’s with weathertight issues! We wanted to not only address these issues, but to create a house with a more contemporary look and feel. He and his team have well and truly achieved this! The resultant renovation has certainly exceeded our expectations. His rapport with the builder, Stewart Construction, was very good and any unforeseen problems sorted quickly. We would recommend ata to anyone.”
John and Beverley Watt
“Love the guys at ata (Adam Taylor Architecture). They really care about the job, you can tell they take pride in what they do, and their enthusiasm is infectious. Super knowledgeable when it comes to energy efficiency which was a big deal to us. During the build process we realised that they had actually thought of everything. We would think about making changes here and there, but what they had done always made the best sense. Stoked with their work.”
Ben Smith
“It is with pleasure that we provide this reference for Adam Taylor Architecture. We have engaged ata on numerous occasions to design one off unique new homes and renovation/extensions. We have also worked with Adam on other projects that are not our own. With bespoke design some issues do arise on site, the ata team are always efficient and professional at working through these situations with fluent and open communication. What we love most about Adam and his team is that they will take on board your ideas and spin them into something very special and always unique. Adam will challenge your ideas and combine them with his own design ethos culminating in the ultimate design. Adam always thinks outside the square from what is conventional. He will often surprise you with materials, shapes, layout etc. The ata team is always current with new materials and we are constantly surprised and excited by each new project Adam and his team produce. We have no hesitation in recommending ata to any of our clients and we will use them again for our own future projects. If you’re after very special unique design, a home that is next level from what everybody else is doing, a home that you and your family will be proud, then we can not recommend ata highly enough.”
 Nathan Mouldey
“We are so pleased that we found Adam.  His passion and energy helped bring to life our renovation. He took the time to get to know us and understand what we were looking for and took our thoughts even further than we could have done on our own.  In particular his use of space and his understanding of how every square centimeter could be maximised has enabled us to keep a relatively small footprint to maximise our outdoor areas.  Throughout the process Adam kept us well informed and turned drawings around really quickly and in sufficient detail that we could get our building consent with relative ease.  We now have a lovely bespoke home that is warm in winter and well ventilated and flows seamlessly to the outdoors in summer.  We would have no hesitation using Adam for our next project or recommending him to friends and family.”
Romae Calland
“Thanks to Adam we have finally achieved our forever home. Adam is a wealth of knowledge and expertise and helped us put together the best of modern day living along with a retrospective feel to accurately reflect the Bach previously on the property. His principles for eco and sustainable living played a large part in the way he designed our home which was an integral part of our brief. He shared the highest enthusiasm for our project and made it feel as though he was living the same dream. We are so grateful for all of his hard work, integrity and time spent getting everything just right.”
Rachael Thomas