We’re thrilled to have received an award for Hauparu Bay House at the Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA Waikato & Bay of Plenty Regional Awards.
A simple yet considered lakeside retreat at Hauparu Bay, designed for a valued repeat client and shaped around relaxed outdoor living, boating, and life on Lake Rotoiti.
A huge thank you to the judging jury, our client, project team, consultants, contractors and everyone involved in bringing this special home to life. Recognition like this is a celebration of the care, craft and collaboration behind the project.
Congratulations to all of this year’s award winners and shortlisted projects.
With, Together, For.
In association: @yvettejay_interiordesign
Contractor: Ray Holmes
Engineering and Civil: @bskconsultingengineers
Landscaping / Landscape Designer: Terra Firma / Stellar Projects
Photography / Video: @simondevitt_photographer@nzia_waikato.bay.of.plenty@nziarchitects
Get to know James West
/ Technical Manager & Associate_____
Our go-to for anything technical, and the person most likely to throw down a competitive match at the ping pong table.
A resident petrol head fuelled by blue V, quick comebacks and a competitive streak, James has been part of DCA for 14 years. In that time, he has solved countless technical challenges, mentored team members, and built deep respect and experience across a wide range of sectors.
With his practical mindset, technical knowledge and systems thinking, James plays a key role as DCA’s internal systems and technology specialist, helping keep our people, projects and processes moving.
We’re honoured to have received an award for Mangapapa School at the Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZIA Gisborne & Hawke’s Bay Regional Awards.
A special project shaped alongside students, the school community, Ministry of Education, project team and partners — all committed to delivering a meaningful outcome for the people and place it serves.
With, Together, For.
DCA Architects of Transformation - Nick Chibnall-West, Darryl Church, James West
Ministry of Education - Nicole Seccombe (Delivery Manager)
Mangapapa School - Paul Sadler (Principal)
Colliers Project Leaders - Elliot Brown (Project Manager)
Currie Construction - Mark van Wijk
eCubed Building Workshop - Conor Fullbrook (MEP Services)
LDE - Rob Haskell (Geotechnical), Scott Langley (Structural), Andrew Appleby (Civil)
Photos / Video: @simondevitt_photographer@nziarchitects@nzia_hbg
The Lake House ______
The Lake House is the social and cultural heart of Freedom Lifestyle Villages Rotorua.
Drawing from three intertwined local typologies, the design reflects the wharenui and community hall tradition of clear-span gathering spaces, the simple gabled forms of agricultural sheds and pātaka, and Rotorua’s lakeside baches with deep verandas that blur the boundary between indoors and outdoors.
These design cues create a warm, flexible community centre for dining, recreation, learning and everyday connection.
Project Team ______
Design: DCA Architects of Transformation – Werner Naude, Nandia Lines, Paulo Silva
Interior Designer: Amber Elliston of Amber Interiors
Services Engineer: Pope Electrical
Fire & Structure Engineer: BCD Group
Civil Engineer: Harrsion Grierson
Landscape Architect: RM Landscapes
Photography: Hyperreal / @simondevitt_photographer
Bledisloe Housing ____
More than a social housing development, this community brings together timber-built apartments and shared spaces enriched with kōwhaiwhai patterning, pāua-inspired tones, native planting and productive food gardens. Combined, these elements create safe, connected homes that reflect local identity, honour history and support residents’ collective wellbeing.
Project Team ____
DCA Architects of Transformation: Nick Chibnall-West, James West, Jacqui Topless
Orchestra Property: Logan Taylor (Development Manager)
Stradegy: Paul O’Shaughnessy (Planning)
Cultural Advisors: Thompson Hokianga, Tāmanuhiri Russell
Kāinga Ora (Client): Greg Boyden, Mark Whillans, Chad Smith, Kim Grinlinton
Photography: @simondevitt_photographer
At Mangapapa Primary School Redevelopment, learning is not confined to indoor spaces. Carefully curated outdoor learning areas offer varying degrees of shelter and protection from the elements, enabling a range of teaching and learning activities to take place comfortably outside.
Photography: @simondevitt_photographer
The Canopy:
A sun-lit, undulating heart inspired by the Southern Alps and the braided Rakahuri.
Created alongside the Freedom Lifestyle Villages team and community, it’s a place for connection, play, celebration and retreat, where everyday care brings people and place together across generations.
With, Together, For.
Photography: @simondevitt_photographer
We are thrilled to have the following projects shortlisted in the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Bay of Plenty & Waikato Regional Architecture Awards.
Each project has been shaped through our co-design ethos, working closely with clients, partners and stakeholders to create places that feel connected to the people who use them and the places they belong to.
:: The Lake House / Freedom Lifestyle Villages –
A gabled community hub on the caldera rim, echoing wharenui, farm sheds and the rich red tones of Mount Tarawera. Designed to strengthen connections between people, place and shared experience across generations.
:: Hauparu Bay House –
A place shaped by landscape, lifestyle and a deep respect for place.
A HUGE thank you to everyone involved in bringing these projects to life!...
THE LAKE HOUSE / FREEDOM LIFESTYLE VILLAGES
DCA Architects: Werner Naude, Nandia Lines, Paulo Silva
Structural Engineer: BCD Group
Civil Engineer: Harrison Grierson
Fire Engineer: BCD Group
Landscape Architect: RM Landscapes
Services Engineer: Cosgroves
Interior Designer: Amber Elliston amberinteriorsnz
HAUPARU BAY HOUSE
DCA Architects: Nick Chibnall-West, Natasha Caple, James West
BSK: Brad Christie / Structural, Ash Bowtell / Geotech
Interior Designer: @yvettejay_interiorarchitecture@nziarchitects
Photographer: @simondevitt_photographer
Project Feature ~ The Chodge: A House Within a House
“Traditionally, you build a house and then an extension of varying degrees of enclosure — perhaps a louvred roof, for example — but you are very much either inside or outside," Darryl Church of DCA Architects explains.
“Here, I started with the idea that maybe you could have an inner house that was well insulated, surrounded by space that existed in the threshold. The design is an exploration of the interstitial space between inside and outside; how you live when on holiday, the relationship with landscape, and connection to a rural vernacular — essentially, a house within a house. Living in the threshold drove the idea of creating a space outside the inside, but still inside the outside."
What transpired were two distinct structures, each with its own separate identity, brought together as one. The first, the outer shell, is an unadorned, translucent structure that draws on the woolshed vernacular.
In contrast, the core inner building — an extruded wooden container for living functions — is designed to passive house standards and exists in dramatic juxtaposition to its outer counterpart. Airtight and wrapped entirely in thermally modified Abodo timber, which also lines the interior, it is highly insulated and is heated and cooled using a ducted heat pump system with heat recovery.
>> Head to the link in our bio to watch the full video feature on homemagazine.nz now
We are proud to have the following projects shortlisted in the Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Gisborne & Hawke’s Bay Regional Architecture Awards.
:: Eskdale Primary School –
A new three-level learning building designed to support the school’s strong connection to the landscape and its sustainability focus.
:: Bledisloe Housing –
A culturally grounded social housing development in Maraenui, Napier, delivering accessible and connected homes that reflect local identity, history, and collective resident wellbeing.
:: Mangapapa School –
A redevelopment that has transformed a much-loved community school into a safe, connected, and future-focused learning campus.
Each project has been shaped through our co-design ethos, allowing the unique identity, voices, needs, and values of each client and stakeholder group to inform the design outcome. This approach is fundamental to creating built environments that stand for people and place across generations.
A special thank you to everyone involved in bringing these projects to life...
ESKDALE PRIMARY SCHOOL
DCA Architects: Werner Naude, Maire Fleming, Daniel Bristow-Smith, Amanda Roborgh, Darryl Church
Structural Engineer: BCD Group
Civil/Geotech Engineer: LDE
Service Engineer: Fluid Engineering Consultancy Ltd.
Acoustic Engineer: WSP
Fire Engineer: Smartfire
BLEDISLOE HOUSING
DCA Architects: Nick Chibnall-West, James West, Jacqui Topless
Orchestra Property: Logan Taylor (Development Manager)
Stradegy: Paul O’Shaughnessy (Planning)
Cultural Advisors: Thompson Hokianga, Tāmanuhiri Russell
Kāinga Ora: Greg Boyden, Mark Whillans, Chad Smith, Kim Grinlinton
MANGAPAPA SCHOOL
DCA Architects: Nick Chibnall-West, James West, Darryl Church
Ministry of Education: Nicole Seccombe (Delivery Manager)
Mangapapa School: Paul Sadler (Principal)
Colliers Project Leaders: Elliot Brown (Project Manager)
eCubed Building Workshop : Conor Fullbrook (MEP Services)
LDE: Rob Haskell (Geotechnical), Scott Langley (Structural), Andrew Appleby (Civil)
@nziarchitects
Photographer: @simondevitt_photographer
We’re proud to have some seriously talented women across the DCA Architects of Transformation team. This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the many ways they help shape the built environment across Aotearoa and beyond.
From fostering meaningful relationships and telling unique stories of people and place, to mentoring, training and inspiring the next generation, these are the people who help make DCA what it is today.
A special feature this week goes to Team Lead Nandia Lines, who was invited to present on Hamilton Girls’ High School’s new Performance Health and Wellness Centre as part of NAWIC Women in Construction Week 2026. Valerie Wong and Jaspreet Kaur have also played an integral role in DCA’s delivery of this project, showing tremendous growth and resilience along the way.
This project has also been shaped by a powerhouse group of women across the wider design and stakeholder team:
DCA – Nandia Lines (Project Lead), Jaspreet Kaur, Valerie Wong
BCD – Aileen McKinstry (Structural Engineer / Project Lead)
Innerscape – Yan Li (Mechanical Engineer / Project Lead)
Hawkins – Taylor Ashton (Quantity Surveyor)
TBIG – Georgia Osman (Project Manager)
Hamilton Girls’ High School – Marie Gordon (Principal)
Ministry of Education – Jenny Valentine and Brianna Craw (Delivery Managers)
