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, innovating solutions for an changing population, designing vibrant and attractive neighbourhoods for diverse communities, and creating 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.
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.
CLIFF HOUSE
Positioned overlooking Tasman Bay, Cliff House is conceived a long, low glazed pavilion that maximises the sea view beyond.
Anchored with local stone walls, expansive glazing provides uninterrupted view to the bay.
A sun filled outdoor space with pool is sheltered from the sea breeze by the main house pavilion.
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.
DINZ Best Design Awards, Finalist –Built Environment, 2021
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.
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.
Nestled in a park-like setting on the Tasman Bay Coast, this expansive family house is inspired by the peaked forms of the boat sheds along this coast. Three living, bedroom, and garage pavilions are organised around central terraces, to connect seamlessly to the outside spaces.
TASMAN BAY HOUSE
Designed to be resilient in the coastal environment, the layout makes use of an elevated building platform with a series of stepped outdoor garden and living terraces. Terraces are paved and include a sheltered outdoor living space with a generous roofed louvre system.
The design features local stone walls, with matt Coloursteel in Stone Snow, and whitewashed accoya timber exterior gables and interior ceiling.
This four unit townhouse block comprises four 148m2 houses with a garden courtyard and first floor riverfront terrace overlooking Nelson’s Maitai River.
MAITAHI QUARTER
Taking note of the Maitai River connection to the marina, the architectural silhouette references a classic boat-shed design, with a recessive external palette to fit within its urban context. The townhouses face north for sun and use natural light to penetrate the open layouts within.
The first floor riverfront terraces create an overhang that provides
privacy to both the first floor lounge space and ground floor bedroom utilizing the shadow created by the depth of the façade. Each interior provided options of two or three bedrooms with two bathrooms and a lift.
The townhouses are split into two by two unit blocks with a unified design approach to the create four architecturally continuous yet unique homes at the heart of Nelson City.
This house is a redesign of a beloved family home that was damaged during the Canterbury Earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. The clients wanted to build a new home to meet their changing needs, both now and in the years to come.
MOORE SHARP HOUSE
The resulting design maximises the orientation of the home for sun, provides shelter from the prevailing wind, and allows scope to downsize and further develop the site in future.
The plan provides a large double height family room, including the kitchen, dining and living. A library/reading room can be ac-
cessed from the same space, as can two separate small home offices. The layout includes a gallery space that links the main living and work areas to the bedroom wing, affording long views through the house to the street and gardens beyond.
Located on a hillside site with spectacular views over Dummy Bay near Kaiteriteri, this elongated, single storey house allows captures the view from every room. The house is divided into two pavilions containing the living and sleeping quarters, which are linked with a glazed entrance hall and sheltered courtyard.
KAITERITERI BEACH HOUSE
The house is characterised with a stone wall at the arrival court, which organically curves away from the building to provide a sheltered north facing outdoor living area with kitchen, dining areas and landscaped access to the swimming pool.
Local Marahau granite is used, reflecting the warm tones of the surrounding landscape, and complemented by timber ceilings that run throughout.
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.
WHAREPAPA VIEW HOUSE
Located on a large, gently sloping site facing Mt Arthur over the end of a tidal estuary, this house has predominantly westerly views. The building platform had been determined at the time of subdivision and a 5m maximum building height restrained the site to single storey.
TE MARA WAY HOUSE
The design explores the concept that living areas can open away from views as well as towards them. The idea was to link the living spaces of the house to quiet and sheltered outdoor garden space, as well as to the more obvious westerly views. The house then relates to the whole site.
The house was planned in a semi-courtyard form, with all rooms facing, or having glimpses of, western or north western views. The garage/stable wing forms a
third side of the courtyard, while a hillside at the rear completes the sense of enclosure.
Horizontal cedar weatherboards and veranda edges emphasise the horizontal nature of the house. Natural-looking stained cedar was chosen to be sympathetic to the semi-rural environment. Stonework was used to anchor the house at the entrance and in the courtyard, and also for a large fireplace wall inside.
Perched on top of a ridge above the Waimea Inlet, this residence enjoys all day sun and panoramic views.
HODDY ROAD HOUSE
Location
The design provides a house with maximum views whilst incorporating elements of privacy for the owners, and natural timber features in the cladding and interior.
The house includes a lap pool and extensive louvred outdoor area with outdoor kitchen and fireplace.
Cedar cladding adorns the exterior of this house, providing a natural look. Extensive double-glazed joinery allows indoor/outdoor flow of movement and light to create an open ambiance, with high ceilings in the living area supporting the feeling of openness.
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 shel-
ter 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.
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.
Located on a gently sloping section within central Nelson, this large family home is organised over three stories, with entry from the street at the middle level and the lower level living space opening out to the garden.
EXAMINER STREET HOUSE
The position of the home close to the road continues the urban form of the street, providing a foil to the large neighbouring motel and maximising the usable garden area at the northern end of the site.
Orientated to capture sun and views, living spaces and bedrooms face north, with secondary and circulation spaces located on the south side of the house. Bedrooms and living spaces open out to balconies and terraces that extend the living space and shelter the glazing from excessive solar gain the summer months.
Designed around passive solar heating principles, the house is constructed from concrete tilt panels, which are exposed internally to provide thermal mass to capture solar energy from the large north facing windows.
The concrete is insulated on the outside face and clad with vertical cedar shiplap weather boarding to provide an attractive visual rainshield cladding.
Windows punctuating the southern façade are grouped to provide views of native plantings that shield the house from the road.
