JTB Architects design spaces where New Zealanders can learn and work, innovate, live, age and grow. Our future commercial workplaces, industrial facilities, centres and hubs demand a specialised approach in how they are designed and built. We create leading architecture that reflects our aspirations for a better designed and more sustainable built environment.
We have built a reputation for designing interesting, sustainable, and well-built spaces. Our work can be characterised by strong, beautiful forms, that use materials with integrity.
We have a deep understanding across architecture, urban design, master planning and sustainability. This is complemented by specialised capabilities in interior design, building information management (BIM), and architectural visualisation.
We are focused on being mindful about how the buildings we create impact our environment and the world around us.
We are delivering some of the country’s most significant timber buildings, creating innovative solutions for business environments and industrial sites, designing vibrant and attractive neighbourhoods for diverse communities, and creating commercial and industrial spaces that will endure for generations to come.
We work across Aotearoa New Zealand with studios in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Wānaka.
Together let’s create architecture.
COMMERCIAL INTERIORS
Opened in 2017, Plant & Food’s Seafood Research Centre is an outcome of a masterplanning project focused on consolidating seafood research activities into one site at Port Nelson. The building is now an anchor tenant of the Seafood Research Precinct.
PLANT & FOOD SEAFOOD RESEARCH CENTRE
Location
Nelson Status
Completed 2017 Awards
Timber Design Excellence in Engineered Wood Products, 2018
NZIA Nelson/ Marlborough Architecture, Commercial Award 2018
This facility provides a modern, flexible work environment for 50 staff in a series of focus and collaborative spaces. Natural light is drawn into the building through the two-storey glazed curtain wall and sky lights, and natural ventilation through louvers and high-level actuator-opened windows. Acoustic absorption is achieved through acoustic louvres and batts.
Specialist science facilities include chemistry labs, PC2 Molecular labs, wet labs and a flow tank. A high level of transparency through the building be-tween the labs and
office environments to promote interaction and connectivity between these spaces.
The main structure is expressed locally sourced (less than 100km) mass timber featuring a high level of prefabricated timber elements, including XLAM timber shear walls, LVL cross columns for lateral bracing, Poitus LVL flooring and roof components. Bound on water by three sides, the building is aluminium clad to provide a robust and durable exterior in this harsh marine environment.
The BRI Research Winery, New Zealand’s first Green Star 5 winemaking facility, provides world-class research facilities to the New Zealand wine industry, enabling the industry to trial new technologies and processes.
BRAGATO RESEARCH INSTITUTE WINERY
Developed following a masterplanning process for the wider site, the winery’s architecturally simple form hides a sophisticated programme that facilitates the changing nature of the research work taking place within.
Refined cladding and glazing details, and exposed structural forms, elevate the building above its simple industrial references to that of an elegant shed. Internally, custom CNC-etched acoustic panels in oak veneer control noise levels in meeting spaces, and reference the traditional materials of wine-making.
Temperature control and running costs are critical functions and were carefully considered within the design. The first building in Marlborough to be awarded a 5 Green Star NZ Industrial Built v3 Certified rating, sustainable design initiatives utilised in the design include:
The reconfiguration, reuse and update of an existing 1950’s warehouse at Port Nelson was undertaken with the aims of bringing the building up to current seismic standards and providing a modern working environment for port staff.
PORT NELSON OFFICES
Previously utilised as offices, the building was a rabbit warren of under utilised and disused spaces. This adaptive-reuse has significantly opened up the spaces, while conserving the historic value of the building, and referencing the port’s history. Features include:
• Expressing the existing steel trusses and concrete beam and column structures
• Glazing of the saw tooth gable walls to introduce daylight deep into the plan
• Use of historic port photos as a feature on glazing manifestations.
The interior fitout was undertaken to comply with Government Property Management Centre of Expertise (GPMCOE) workspace standards and features. Features include:
• Flexible desking arrangement
• Storage along with planters to introduce greenery into the space
• Mobile technology with specialist wireless design and interactive smart screen technology
• Specialist acoustic ceilings throughout to maintain a quite working environment.
Cawthron Aquaculture Park (CAP) is a world-class research and technology centre for the New Zealand aquaculture sector and its stakeholders.
CAWTHRON AQUACULTURE PARK
The park is a shared facility, purpose built for aquaculture research, education and commercial development.
CAP is located on a 24ha lowlying site adjacent to Nelson Haven, with ready access for seawater supply and discharge. Initially comprising an ad-hoc collection of storage ponds and service buildings, JTB Architects undertook masterplanning to maximise potential development opportunities and to achieve
efficiencies in infrastructure and services reticulation.
Resource consent was obtained for the site in 2010, and we have been continuously involved with the subsequent development of facility buildings, including two development phases for the Cawthron Aquaculture research building, Spat NZ, the Cawthron Finfish Research Facility, and have recently completed the development of the National Algal Research Centre.
Established in 1862, the Nelson Building Society has maintained its flagship branch at Trafalgar Street in Nelson since 1910. Following the growth and evolution of the company, the Society was seeking to modernise and increase available workspace.
NELSON BUILDING SOCIETY
Taking a reuse approach to minimise environmental impact, the interior layout was reconfigured and an additional 85m² added through the extension of the first floor into unused atrium space. Interior materials were removed for reuse where possible.
Acoustics were a major component of this project; noise levels in the busy reception space and open plan workspaces are managed through the use of materials that provided both texture and acoustic performance. Throughout the space, wall and ceiling panelling were designed to incorporate
lighting, acoustics and AV requirements for a fully integrated solution.
On the new first floor, full height operable partitions provide flexibility through allowing for the boardroom and cafe to be open to one another for large meetings, or create two separate rooms.
The interior palette references NBS’s historic palette through use of brass and warm timber, and the black and white of archive imagery; the detailing brings together the historic elements with a contemporary aesthetic.
Opened in September 2022, the New Zealand Wine Centre - Te Pokapū Wāina
o
Aotearoa, establishes a collaborative hub for the viticulture industry, research and education organisations within Blenheim’s Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology campus.
NEW ZEALAND WINE CENTRE
Location
NMIT Marlborough Research Centre, Nelson Status Completed 2022 Awards
NZIA Nelson/ Marlborough Architecture, Commercial Award 2023
Placed in what was previously an area occupied by prefab buildings, the NZWC building provides formal and informal spaces including conference spaces, meeting rooms and a cafeteria. Expansive glazing along the eastern side creates a sense of openness and connection to the redeveloped courtyard space and surrounding campus.
Utilising steel and timber frame construction, the Centre is clad in dark tray metal cladding, reducing maintenance and cost. In direct contrast to the materials of the surrounding existing buildings, the exterior of the structure creates a new, harmonious language.
Internally, a simple but sophisticated scheme has been used throughout the internal finishes. Lush green carpet and folded plate ceilings lined with locally grown hardwood link all the spaces, while the superstructure, picked out in black, recedes. All spaces have a strong focus on acoustic performance, with grey and white triangulated acoustic panels covering meeting room walls.
This office fitout for Maritime New Zealand was a response to their requirement for a more central and secure location for their regional staff, as well as bringing the workplace to the Maritime New Zealand standard for flexible working arrangements.
MARITIME NEW ZEALAND NELSON OFFICE
The 206 m² space includes reception and meeting areas, open collaboration zones, flexible workstation areas and secure storage spaces.
The concrete structured base building was provided to Maritime New Zealand with an acoustic ceiling grid, mechanical and electrical services to an open plan layout. Maritime New Zealand leased the ground floor, and JTB provided a design for a mixed use floorplan, with both open and
enclosed spaces. Finishes were in line with the Maritime New Zealand standards, in a palette of navy and timber to reference a nautical aesthetic.
Completed in 2024, this new office fitout in Whakatu Nelson is a 375m² workspace designed to accommodate regional government staff.
REGIONAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES, NELSON
In 2022, JTB Architects provided design services for the previous office, discovering that the existing leased space no longer met functional requirements. A new leased site was secured, and JTB developed a design that prioritised reusing existing resources wherever possible, with a strong emphasis on sustainability.
This project included a significant tonga, a pare gifted to the Crown in the early 1990’s and the interior design for the office is the result of extensive collaboration with mana whenua Iwi in the Whakatu region, including the whanau of the original carver. It reflects the
narrative of the pare through use of colour and pattern throughout the office acoustic panels and vinyl manifestations, with key design features of the pare being repeated throughout the space. The office space comprises mediation rooms, interview and breakout rooms, with a particular focus on security for guests and staff, in line with the governments workplace guidelines, security and IT requirements. The project was constructed by Gibbons Naylor, a branch of Naylor Love in the Nelson Tasman region.
Opened in 2021, the Plant & Food Horticultural Research Facility at Motueka combines over 2800m² of labs, crop handling areas, offices, and meeting spaces into a central hub for horticultural research.
PLANT & FOOD HORTICULTURAL RESEARCH FACILITY
The new 1430m² facility, located in Motueka, caters for 46+ staff and provides for an administrative area with open plan offices, private AV conference rooms, shared collaborative spaces, focus rooms and a larger conference space.
The initial masterplanning process identified the opportunity to develop a new, centralised lab and office facility, which would support the surrounding auxiliary buildings and labs. Areas for future expansion were also identified.
Within the specialised science areas there are media prep/ chemistry labs, tissue culture and laminar flow work rooms, a specialised instrument room, pathology work rooms with biohazard units, and PC1 and PC2 laboratories.
Interiors for the facility utilise a natural design palette in shades of green and organic forms. Acoustic battens nod to the rows of kiwi fruit orchards that this location specialises in.
The
new two-storey facility at Port Tarakohe combines practical function with a design that reflects the port’s landscape and local heritage.
PORT TARAKOHE OFFICE
Location
Tarakohe
Status
In progress
The proposed new two-storey facility and office building at Port Tarakohe has been designed to enhance both the functionality and aesthetic of the historic port.
The building’s plastered cladding system has been carefully selected to harmonise with the surrounding limestone cliffs, while vertical battens reflect the organic forms that symbolise the deep connection between the whenua (land) and moana (sea). Positioned to capture north-facing coastal views, the design maximises natural light and a strong connection with the outdoor environment.
The project is co-designed with local artist Robin Slow, in association with Manawhenua Ki Mohua, who has woven local narratives into the design. With a focus on patterns inspirated by the by the honu (turtle) motif from the Anaweka waka, discovered on the Kahurangi coast in 2012, the building’s fabric provides a sense of place and identity that connects it to the region’s history.
This project involves the construction of a new office and workshop facility for Scott Construction on a single site in Nelson, with both buildings in the final stages of building consent.
SCOTT CONSTRUCTION OFFICES
The two-storey, 551-squaremetre office is designed with sustainability in mind, aiming for a Green Star five rating. The structure incorporates crosslaminated timber (CLT) panels in the floors and walls and laminated veneer lumber (LVL) in the stairs, posts, and beams. An insulated roof panel and concrete plinths provide durability and environmental efficiency.
The building’s western façade features a woven pattern for solar shading, allowing light while reducing heat gain. Exterior materials include Abodo timber and vertical shiplap cladding. The interior features Troldekt acoustic ceilings made from recycled wood wool, while the upper floor offers an open-plan office layout with a doubleheight atrium at the reception.
The building's structure is left exposed to illustrate Scott Construction's building materials and techniques, Adjacent to the office, the 1,043-square-metre workshop maintains a similar aesthetic, with five-ribbed metal cladding, clear roof panels for natural lighting, and solar panels to support energy efficiency. Staff facilities include a break room and a deck area, creating a practical and cohesive workspace alongside the main office.
