Dorrington Atcheson Architects

Dorrington Atcheson Architects

About

We're an architecture and design studio creating warm spaces for human connection. We believe architecture thrives on play and exploration, where clever solutions and clear dialogue create a dynamic interplay between all the elements of a project, bringing them all into balance.

Our directors, Tim Dorrington and Sam Atcheson, have spent over twenty years developing a design philosophy that's playful, balanced and inclusive. Clever solutions to interesting challenges are one of the hallmarks of our work, as is an eternally-youthful enthusiasm for creating truly transformative design. We like to think of it as delivering just enough surprise to truly delight our clients.

We're proud of the impact our team has made on the built environment of Aotearoa, with multiple NZIA Awards to our name and a roster of happy clients. We specialise in residential projects, but have also had success with retail and commercial environments.

Our approach is highly collaborative. While we often draw on the rich lineage of mid-century modernism, we're not design dictators. Every project is a response to site, budget and our clients dreams and objectives. It's an honest and open process, which reflects in the materiality of our buildings and the experience of the spaces we create.

Our design philosophy:

playful, human, balanced, clever, inclusive, transformative.

2025
Home Magazine
Rural Home of the Year
2025
Home Magazine
Multi-Unit Home of the Year
2025
NZIA
Auckland Architecture Awards - Housing
2025
NZIA
Auckland Architecture Awards - Multi-Unit

Our extension that DAA designed for us exceeded our lofty expectations.
We found the creative process inspiring, collaborative and felt well guided through each step of the building process.
From the material palette through to the final bold architectural forms, everything large or small was grounded in Sam’s considered aesthetic and his understanding of the ethos of the project.

Alex and Georgia

We asked Tim and the team at DAA to help us renovate our bungalow in a way which would be functional, bring light and views to our home, be sympathetic to the original architecture and live within our budget!
Tim listened (a lot) and then came up with a bold design that we loved and which ticked all our boxes.
DAA worked with us on the important design decisions throughout the build and helped us get a result we are quite simply delighted with.

Mark and Shelley

I engaged DAA to design my Titirangi home in 2012. I know a few architects personally, so asked them who they recommended (other than themselves) and Tim and Sam were consistently named in those recommendations.
It was the right choice.
Many people say building a house is stressful. But (spending the money aside), I loved the process and much of the credit for that sits with DAA. They listened to my ideas, shared theirs, were happy to debate and be challenged. They were empathetic and understood what I was trying to create in a home. It felt like they cared about the project as much as I did.

Mark
Dorrington Atcheson Architects