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.
Founded in Nelson in 1986, JTB Architects now work from studios in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson, Christchurch and Wānaka. Our origins continue to shape our culture; we bring the personal approach of a smaller practice to projects at every scale across Aotearoa.
Our team of over 50 professionals blend site, community, and contextual understanding with extensive national experience. We specialise in Architecture, Urban Design, Masterplanning, and Environmentally Sustainable Design, handling projects from small residential developments to multimillion dollar commercial ventures for both private and public sectors.
We measure success by the excellence of our work and the enduring relationships we build with clients.
Specialists in addition to our architecture team include:
BIM MANAGERS
Offering a thorough approach to BIM, featuring detailed clash detection and consultant model management for flawless project integration and enhanced efficiency.
VISUALISERS
Our in-house visualiser produces photo realistic, high-quality imagery and dynamic flythroughs, providing clear and immersive project representations
INTERIOR DESIGNERS
Our approach fosters collaboration from the earliest design phases, transforming spaces into inviting environments.
SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS
Central to our practice and supported by in-house Green Star and Home Star assessors, we have a proven record of delivering Green Star 5-rated buildings and Home Star-rated residences.
We have mass timber design specialists who have won numerous national timber awards and understand the intricacies of using these exciting new structural technologies.
COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
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 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.
The award-winning Pic’s Peanut Butter World is a purpose-built destination for locals and visitors to Nelson and a mustdo for lovers of peanut butter.
DINZ Best Awards –Bronze Award, Built Environment, 2020
New Zealand Commercial Project Awards – Silver Award, Industrial, 2020
The building’s design is a physical expression of the Pic’s brand personality – vibrant and innovative.
Designed to cater for future growth and act as a showcase for the company, the building houses a generous foyer featuring an attentiongrabbing spiral staircase and public café. Visitors are met ‘out front’ and then guided, step by step, through the processes of peanut butter production, which can be viewed from a tour mezzanine overlooking the working factory.
Storage, staff and office spaces round out the plan, with bold colour used playfully throughout to continue to express the Pic’s brand.
Construction is from pre-cast concrete panels and steel, and features a pair of gables, one recessed and solid for the loading canopy, and the other highly transparent with a glazed curtain wall on the street front.
The building purposely sits close to the street edge, directly interacting with the city and drawing in visitors.
BRAGATO RESEARCH INSTITUTE WINERY
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. Location
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:
in Blenheim, Marlborough Vintners Winery is a contract wine-making facility providing wine-making services which utilise cutting-edge technology with an emphasis on sustainable practices.
MARLBOROUGH VINTNERS WINERY
Completed in December 2022, the new winry building comprises a cellar door providing space for eight to 10 vineyards, restaurant, brewery, tap room, laboratories, and offices along with private dining and conference facilities.
Use of natural materials and sustainable design principles were emphasised throughout the design, with low carbon, mass-timber used extensively throughout; prefabricated using Potius™ engineered roof, walls and flooring panels, and TimberLab LVL portals. Temperature is regulated through
thermal gain and underfloor heating of the concrete slab, and cross ventilation and overhangs for shading in hotter months.
For the interior, Himalayan cedar panelling from timber felled on the owner’s property, tables are from live-edge flitches of gum, and sheet boarding is painted with paint incorporating iron filings produce a rusted earth effect.
Outside, the landscaping references the surrounding land, with curves formed in corten steel referencing the braided rivers that ran through the area in the past.
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.
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.
RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
Named for the New Zealand falcons that swoop and glide through the skies above, Falcon Brae sits high in the hills of Motueka Valley overlooking Kahurangi National Park.
FALCON BRAE
Location
Motueka Valley
Status
Completed 2019
Awards
NZIA Nelson/ Marlborough
Architecture
Awards, Winner –Hospitality, 2021
Designed to achieve the warmth of traditional, European-inspired lodges in a contemporary Pacificrim context, The 620m² off-grid villa steps down over the contours of the granite hillside.
Above ground, timber is the key structural element, with glulam mass timber beams formed from locally grown radiata creating the sweeping, elliptical curves of the 1000m² roof. Referencing the wings of falcons, the dynamic forms of the roof create volume in the key living spaces; allow for clerestories to introduce daylight, ventilation, and views back to the hillside above; and create large projected brows which provide shading to the expansive glazing below.
Oiled cedar cladding in its greyed form reflects the soft grey bark of the re-vegetated Manuka which surrounds the property, and extensive kwila decking wraps around the villa, connecting private and shared spaces.
Three generous suites each include private lounge areas, and expansive glazing to frame views of the spectacular surrounding landscape. Shared facilities include the central lounge area, multiple dining spaces, bar area, media room, cabana, games den, gym, spa and pool, fire pit, and commercial kitchen.
Positioned on a prominent corner overlooking Nelson’s Cathedral Hill, this carefully composed house elegantly contributes to the historic context of its mature city-fringe site.
TRAFALGAR SQUARE HOUSE
Working collaboratively with the owner-builder, this beautiful and sophisticated home is both immaculately built and carefully organised to meet evolving family needs. The house is raised and set back from the street, with living and outdoor spaces borrowing shelter and outlook from the nearby cathedral-like arbour. Privacy has been achieved through the careful
assignment of levels, disposition of landscape walls and the rhythmic vertical fins that regulate views from within.
Responding to the brief to maximise useable space on the 330m² site, Collingwood Street House rises above the constraints imposed by its steep and challenging site.
COLLINGWOOD STREET HOUSE
The resulting building is an elegant, clean three storey house under the Grampians, with grandstand views of Nelson city towards the port.
Arranged over three levels, the home’s clear zones take advantage of a northern aspect and views over the city. On the northern façade a folded,
perforated screen provides shading and privacy, and doubles as a fall-protection barrier.
The basement level opens to a pre-cast concrete swimming pool, with a covered porch on the northwest corner providing the ultimate summer relaxation space.
The clients’ brief was for a relaxed, family home that celebrates the beach lifestyle, with minimal division between inside and out; large enough to accommodate extended family, but easy for a couple to manage and maintain; low enough to limit the onshore wind, but high enough for views.
KĀPITI COAST HOUSE
Location
Kāpiti Coast
Status
Completed 2022
Replacing an old family bach previously on the site, the design retains ground floor living areas for seamless flow to the outdoors.
A separate main suite and study are positioned on the first floor, with two guest bedrooms and bathroom in the south-eastern wing of the main home. A smaller overflow sleepout and garage is connected by decking and covered walkways.
With a prevailing onshore wind, this is a harsh, salt-laden environment which informed design and materials. High performance metal cladding is used externally, along with an intelligent air barrier, superinsulated roof, walls and floors
Internally, the house features a rich palette of materials, with stained cedar sarking wrapping from the living area walls to line the skylights which punctuate the void overhead.
Set within a steep sided, bush clad gully that runs down to the beach, Honeymoon Bay Bach sits on the site of a previous family bach, within the Able Tasman National Park.
HONEYMOON BAY BACH
Location
Abel Tasman
Status
Completed
Awards
NZIA Nelson/ Marlborough
Architecture
Awards, Winner
– Small Project
Architecture, 2022
The brief called for a home with open plan living, access to sun and views, and durable, low maintenance materials.
The resulting plan consists of an open plan living, dining and kitchen space on the ground floor, plus two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor. Decking opens out to the south east from the ground floor living space.
Sustainable principles have been considered throughout the design and finishes, resulting in a highly sustainable and environmentally friendly build.
The design for this house addresses the need for shelter from the prevailing sea breeze while retaining privacy and being able to enjoy the site’s stunning beachfront views.
TATA BEACH HOUSE
The building form creates a decked courtyard in the centre of the site, with the garage protecting views from the street. The bedroom wing is to the south, and the living area between it and the beach. Verandahs are used to provide an accessway to the house and shaded outdoor spaces.
The living area, consisting of sitting, dining and kitchen spaces is a light, spacious room. The roof lifts to the east, allowing morning sun to penetrate year round over the top of the adjacent properties. The house can be opened to the outside through many alternative doors depending of the exact wind direction.
MULTI-UNIT RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
The design concept of Waimea Plains village offers a different approach to retirement living, focusing on place making, social interaction, solar access and natural landscape environment, and providing an outward looking, inclusive and permeable layout to create connections and integrate into the wider community.
WAIMEA PLAINS VILLAGE
RESIDENTIAL HOUSING
The development comprises 160 villa and townhouse units, 26 apartments, over 45 care rooms, and shared communal facilities arranged across 6 precincts which vary in use, materiality and scale.
The largest site area of the retirement village is devoted to individual single-storey residential villas in a mix of three bed, two bed and 1.5 bed units. Conceptually, these villas are organised in a series of ‘clusters’ - numbering from four to eight villas, grouped around
a courtyard with vehicle access, fanning a series of cul-de-sac neighbourhoods. Spaces between ‘clusters’ are communal ‘green’ space, onto which each villa can open out or overlook, used for amenity, circulation, recreational and social activities.
The overlapping groupings of the ‘courtyard neighbourhood’ and the ‘green neighbourhood’ is expected to create a strong social network around the site which will be a positive feature of the village.
This medium density housing development comprises 66 units, completed in stages, on a steep sloping site in Mirimar, Wellington.
KAIRANGI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The housing is planned around a central pocket park and features a mixture of affordable and accessible units for the private and public market. The design provides connectivity to the neighbourhood, by way of pedestrian pathway, lowering the traffic volumes within the site with a shared low-speed carriageway for pedestrians and vehicles.
Dwellings are set out to maximise sun, views and private open spaces within
a medium density pattern, allowing 2, 3 and 4 bedroom properties so that a range of household sizes and types can be accommodated. Each home features a garage, a second car-park, and private outdoor space to augment the single level double aspect living areas, with upstairs bedroom and bathrooms.
The houses have distinct variations to cladding materials, colours and roof form to provide separate identity.
This 4,020m2 facility provides 22 assisted care apartments at ground floor with 47 care units at first floor.
SOMME STREET ASSISTED LIVING AND CARE FACILITY
Each floor provides communal dining and lounge facilities, with a commercial kitchen and laundry at the ground floor. Each apartment opens out onto a private outdoor area. The central courtyard provides a large outdoor sheltered amenity. Additional facilities for the tenants include reading lounge, cafe, laundry, hair salon & bar.
The project is in a residential area, requiring resource consent and consideration of surrounding dwellings. The form and scale of the design is carefully considered to break up the building and present a
high-quality feel to suit the vernacular of the surrounds, whilst maximising allowable site coverage. The success of this approach meant that the design, which was subject to limited notification, did not receive any objection.
This project required an early start on site, achieved with a separate earthworks and sub-structure building consent package which progressed in advance of the superstructure works. In addition, the design utilises prefabricated bathrooms to achieve time and quality benefits.
Aria Bay is an existing Retirement Village located in the desirable suburb of Browns Bay, Auckland.
ARIA BAY 790 BEACH ROAD
Over the last 6 years, we have undertaken a number of developments to replace, upgrade and increase yeild within the site. The first project completed was a three-storey apartment building with basement car-parking, located at 790 Beach Road.
This building contains nine twobedroom apartments, ranging in size from 74m2 to 91m2, each carefully oriented to achieve good sunlight and views, and with generous external living areas. There is a common lounge and barbecue courtyard on the ground floor to promote community
living. To the west of the courtyard is a linked swimming pool and gym facility. The site slopes steeply upwards on the western side to existing bush, which is retained as a landscape amenity containing walking tracks.
The building steps up the slope to create two interlocking sections, with wide eaves providing shelter and creating a strong horizontal line. This is balanced by verticals created by timber cladding and fenestration. The façade is further modulated with balconies and timber screens for outdoor living with privacy.
Following successful completion of the 790 Beach Road Apartments, we have completed two further stages of site development at Aria Bay.
ARIA BAY 792 BEACH ROAD
The first of these is located at 792 Beach Road and comprises two independent living apartment buildings, linked at basement level with shared carparking.
apartment building A contains 11 apartments over 3 living levels, apartment building B contains 14 apartments over 4 living levels. The proposed development includes a ground level village community centre within apartment building B, opening onto a communal courtyard space.
These two buildings, together with the adjacent independent apartment buildings, will develop as a strong community. To facilitate this, a community centre has been located alongside the shared courtyard. This is a multi-purpose space, with catering facilities, which can be used for a variety of events.
PUBLIC PROJECTS
Opened in 1899, the Bishop Suter Art Gallery is the oldest continuously occupied public art gallery in New Zealand.
Registered Master Builders Awards, Civic Gold Award, National Value Award Winner $5$15 Million, Civic National Category Winner Award, 2017
NZ Museum Awards, Winner – Museum
Project Excellence Award, 2017
This extensive redevelopment replaced all of the existing building, except for the theatre and the Grade 2 listed original gallery. these historical spaces were fully restored to reveal the original roof trusses and external fabric, seismically strengthened, and brought up to modern gallery standards.
The new areas are designed as a contemporary counterpoint to the existing building, using glass, stone, zinc and the abstracted form of the original gallery to provide a sympathetic response to a much loved icon.
New spaces include three galleries, workshop, storage and office facilities, a new entrance foyer, education spaces, plus a shop and café overlooking the adjacent Queens Gardens.
Particular care has been taken with the building edge alongside Queens Gardens, which feature a lowscaled, stepped edge with glazing to reflect surrounding trees and the historic Eel Pond. This edge serves as a backdrop to a new Sculpture Walkway, located amongst the trees.
The redesign of Nelson City Council’s Civic House focuses on functionality, energy efficiency, and public spaces, blending new interior elements with existing features like the clock tower and exposed timber.
NELSON CIVIC HOUSE SERVICES CENTRE
An extensive study of the existing Nelson City Council Civic House complex was undertaken to accommodate anticipated growth, whilst improving the internal environment, public interface areas, energy use and urban design outcomes. The study informed the design of the interiors, as did the prominent circular clock tower base that is exposed in the interior of the building.
A simple, robust materials palette of materials was selected to complement the existing exposed
concrete and timber elements. The customer Service Desk is a key focal point and is aligned with the building structure and existing Rimu ceilings. Circular forms act as a counterpoint to the regular structure and reflect the shape of the existing the stair tower. The circular ceiling recesses conceal acoustic absorption, lighting, heating and ventilation services.
The Stoke Community Centre
and
Sports Facility is part of a wider urban strategy intended to stimulate future development and promote a healthy lifestyle for residents.
STOKE GREENMEADOWS CENTRE
The facility is used by a wide cross section of the community, and provides a range of amenities, including a community hall, sports changing facilities and function rooms.
The building sweeps down from a two storey pavilion and changing room facing the adjacent sports ground, to a café fronting the Main Road of Stoke. A new pedestrian plaza creates a civic frontage to the site, and an indoor street links the town centre to all of the sports and community facilities. The distinctive silhouette echoes the site topography and surrounding hills of the Richmond Ranges and more distant Western Ranges.
Insulated low maintenance metal cladding wraps from the roof to the upper walls for durability and sustainability. Generous plywood soffits provide a warm and welcoming character to the building and continue inside the key public spaces to compliment exposed engineered timber roof beams. Floor to ceiling glazing provides visibility throughout for orientation and oversight to support a safer environment during the extended hours of operation.
The Saltwater Creek Cycle Way Bridge is a key feature of the new City to Sea Cycleway connection between Nelson City and the waterfront.
SALTWATER CREEK BRIDGE
The Council requested three concepts for evaluation and the resultant timber design was selected as it best fulfilled their key requirements for the project.
Some of the key considerations were design cost, maintenance, weight, sustainability and how the bridge responded to the Maitai River context. The design addressed these requirements, from the low profile design to minimise flood risks, to the locally sourced, affordable, low maintenance, light weight and sustainable timber design, that incorporated Garapa
timber slats used elsewhere on the Maitai River walkway.
The site is an early landing for local Iwi, and this is echoed through the form of the bridge, which reflects the shape of a Waka hull. The structural design is based on a traditional German Trog Brücke (trough/open bridge) relying on glulam beams either. The bridge was prefabricated off site and lifted into place, which minimised disruption to the riverside walkways and avoided the need for midstream supports that may have impacted on the river bed and ecology.
EDUCATION PROJECTS
The
new ILE teaching block for Newtown School is a new two-storey building comprising two primary volumes connected by an external deck and highlevel canopy that over sails the new main pedestrian entrance to the school.
NEWTOWN SCHOOL
The building caters for an occupancy of 350 students and includes Ngati Kotahitanga, the Maori Immersion Unit and four large learning studios. Engagement with the school community throughout the design process was open, participatory and inclusive, to ensure the built outcome accurately reflected the aspirations of the school.
The new pedestrian entrance was designed to address the immediate context and provide a distinctive place of arrival, whilst defining the edge between the public and private realms. The entry is civic in nature
and provides the school with a distinctive and recognisable front door, whilst remaining sympathetic to the adjacent heritage areas.
The interior design philosophy promotes flexibility to support a range of learning and teaching approaches. Against a neutral colour palette, each of the four Whanau learning studios is given a separate colour for identification and to highlight specific zones including breakout spaces and wet areas. The result is a coherent interior scheme that gives each studio a subtle but distinct character. Location
This new school building encapsulated the clients vision for a modern commerce teaching centre to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
NELSON COLLEGE
The design incorporates modern learning environment principles and provides spaces to foster collaboration, learning and innovation.
The centre is comprised of two specialist classrooms, two standard classrooms, leadership and seminar rooms and staff facilities. A modern architectural language and contemporary building techniques have been expressed to inspire students and differentiate the building from others in the school.
Whilst the exterior of the building is simple and efficient, it is articulated with the sculptural folded sunscreens and a generous canopy to provide shelter and identify the entrance. The construction uses locally sourced light weight LVL and prefabricated timber elements throughout and was accepted as a stage one finalist for Engineering Innovation and Excellence in Engineered Wood Products in the NZ Wood Resene Timber Design Awards for 2017.
AUCKLAND
Marc Barron +64 9 489 3464 marc@jtbarchitects.co.nz
WELLINGTON
Paul Crawford +64 4 473 9803 paul@jtbarchitects.co.nz
NELSON
Simon Hall +64 3 548 8781 simon@jtbarchitects.co.nz
CHRISTCHURCH & WĀNAKA
Michael Dillon +64 3 366 9837 michael@jtbarchitects.co.nz
