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Stewart-Darling House – Awai Road, New Plymouth   

Floor area: 216m2

After numerous unsuccessful attempts with mainstream housing companies to get their 4 bedroom rural family home within an all up budget of $350,000 the Stewart-Darling’s turned to Imagine Building Design.

Key design considerations were a court-yard style approach, view of Mt Egmont to the south and the expansive rural views to the north-east.

Horizontal corrugated coloursteel was the cladding of choice being both cost-effective and synonymous with the kiwi rural vernacular. Negative detailed flashings to the wall cladding eliminated the problem of rippled flashings with riveted or screwed methods. Pergolas and trim are locally milled macrocarpa.

Special attention has been given to site position to balance the axial view towards the mountain whilst maintaining orientation to maximise solar gain during the cooler seasons. Thermal mass from the super-insulated and beautiful ground polished concrete slab has been a core design and aesthetic feature.

The open plan living-dining-kitchen provides a superb connection to outdoor living as well as a framed view of Mt Egmont.  Strong lines are achieved with the negatively detailed plywood pitched ceiling.

The purpose-built media room has specifically designed acoustic walls, door and ceilings to ensure the isolation of sound into and out from the room.

Rainwater is stored in tanks and blackwater is managed onsite through a septic tank system. The house is primarily heated with an inverter heat pump.

The project including driveway and hard landscaping was completed under budget and on time with the building performance exceeding client expectation.

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Imagine Architecture (formally Imagine Building Design) is a multi-award winning architectural design practice that has been in business since 2002 with specialist expertise in Residential and Commercial design. Our practice has evolved through many iterations over the years. From starting in a shoebox home office, to growing into occupying historic premises at the Kings Building in New Plymouth, then to a sleek downtown high street practice. We have now gone back to our roots with small studio setups for Tony Biesiek out of Think Co in Tauranga and Steven Dixon in New Plymouth.

​“Changing lives through great architecture & design”. That is the mission of Imagine Architecture. Since 2002, we have sought to infuse that mission into every project. Our designs are for high performance buildings that change lives. To achieve this, we combine aesthetics & energy efficiency with comfort & architectural appeal, function & use of space with quality interaction with the environment.

​This approach is applied across all our projects irrespective of size or budget. We believe there is opportunity in every project to make better choices. This is accomplished thanks to better decision making to improve the quality of the space experienced by its occupants. Merely meeting minimum building code requirements is not enough. Exceeding minimums is the key to better buildings, be they new architectural homes or commercial structures. Optimum performance ahead of minimum compliance every time. Architecture with attitude!

​Imagine Architecture aspires to uphold the Pritzker Architecture Prizewinner Glenn Murcutt’s ideal: ‘to touch the earth lightly’. This means we look at how nature has crafted the environment to this point in time, and form our design in relationship to that. For example, we have sculpted designs to the land, rather than the land to the design. Nature has brought us those spaces, so we strive to design structures to be harmonious with that nature. As custodians we seek to protect the environment through diligent stewardship and utilisation of the best high performance technology.

​Our experience in over 1000 commissions to date is wide and diverse. In addition to servicing Bay of Plenty and Taranaki, we have commissions throughout New Zealand and have projects in Australia and Italy. In this modern age, geography is no barrier to delivering architectural excellence. The Imagine Architecture team's track record shows an ability to adapt quickly to client changes, government legislation and technical site situations. We have specialist experience in:

​Residential homes and renovations

  • Sustainable and Energy Efficient architecture
  • Recreation & Parks facilities
  • Apartments & Townhouses
  • Mobility design and disabled access
  • Retirement homes
  • Gymnasia
  • Schools & ECE
  • Property development & investment units
  • Industrial facilities
  • Restaurant and retail design
  • Shipping Container buildings
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Motels and Motor Lodges

​Imagine Architecture promotes itself on the principle of “relationship marketing”. A large number of commissions come to Imagine Architecture by way of referrals from existing clients. This method of marketing reflects our philosophy of creating quality relationships with clients. This is achieved by friendly, clear and up front communication matched with a quality design service that meets the aesthetic, functional & financial requirements of the client.​

​Imagine Architecture is the experienced team to use if you are looking for innovative design that respects the environment, quality technical documentation, superior service through excellent communication.