We are an award-winning design practice focused on social and environmentally responsible residential architecture.
We are committed to creating context-responsive homes, weaving people and places into a cohesive fabric.

 

design philosophy

Arkhé noun
The Greek word refers to "beginning", "origin", "source of action", and "first principle".
In Ancient Greek philosophy, Aristotle referred to arche as the principle of a thing.

We are specialised in sustainable bespoke architecture, working closely with clients to translate their needs into a cohesive design response, enhancing quality of life and positively contributing to the built environment.

We believe housing is a universal right and that access to well-designed homes is essential to the quality of life and social cohesion. For us, this ethos directly informs our practice:
we design homes with the end-user needs at the forefront - and not profit for third parties.
We work with clients with all budgets. We believe good design is possible with dedicated attention to the human dimension and its relationship with the environment.

 

awards

Arkhé is an award-winning practice, with our work recognised by Architectural Designers New Zealand ADNZ awards in multiple categories.

  • ADNZ Bay of Plenty Regional Winner - Residential New Home 150-300m2 - 2023

  • ADNZ Bay of Plenty Regional Winner - Residential Interiors - 2023

  • ADNZ Bay of Plenty Regional Highly-commended - Residential New Home 150m2 - 2023

 
 

Testimonials

Just wanted to say a sincere thanks to Arkhe for designing our new home. They listened carefully to what we were after and added their design knowledge and experience to create a home that brings us joy every day.
We love the different spaces they designed for our family to live, work and be able to host large gatherings in. Full credit to Diego for his creativity - we never tire of the angled entrance, the natural light, the curved brick wall and the window seat that gets all day sun.
Fair to say we’re beyond happy with the results. Look forward to working with you again in the future and highly recommend.
— Diane Berghan & Josh Hepi
For a long time, I lived this house in my head. When my husband and I met Diego and Marcus, there was no doubt they were the architects to extract our ideas and design a house that would realise the dream. Diego’s passion for expression through originality in his designs, acute desire for visual beauty in simplicity, and his library of knowledge regarding different era architecture around the world; has been realised in this project we now call “home.”
It was a pleasure to work with architects who were actively involved in helping solve problems or issues with some of our many requests. Some changes easy and some rather major! It was never a problem. I also want to mention their extensive knowledge of product, what to use and where to use, was particularly helpful, as this was our first build in New Zealand.
Once the design was complete, we appointed a building company, and the two parties worked tirelessly together to take the digital images and build the physical reality. When you begin the journey of building your own home, we have learnt that you need to be ready for the unexpected. To avoid the overblown budgets, returned plans from council, warnings, regarding certain features; you need a solid team of knowledgeable, patient, and available people. Arkhé never let us down.
We are thrilled with the results and have no hesitancy in recommending them to anyone who desires something extraordinary or something beautifully simple.
Jane and David Eddy August 2021
— Jane and David
Arkhé was recommended to us and has exceeded all expectations. Amazing to deal with and a true talent. We are very appreciative of all they efforts and expertise.
— Andrea & David
Arkhé team designed such a beautiful house for us. They took the brief and ran with it, delivering us a beautiful watercolour sketch that far exceeded our expectations. They had to take into consideration Extreme High Wind zones, epic views and wanting separate wings. The Arkhé team had some really clever and innovative ideas that really blew our mind and have made our house so unique. Every step of the process has been a breeze and its been a pleasure working with the Arkhé team, a team who were as excited about the project as us. I will recommend Arkhé again and again because our experience was so exceptional.
— Jess & Kerian
We engaged Arkhé to help us with the design of a holiday home. Being a builder myself, I had my own ideas of what I wanted, however, wanted Arkhé team to be creative and use their own ideas. Only giving they limited information, what they came back with far exceeded our expectations and original designs we had sketched up. I would not hesitate to recommend Arkhé to anyone and will be sure to use them in the future myself.
— Nick Turner-Wright
Arkhé has done a fantastic job bringing our 2 bedroom 1950s bach up to the modern era. Much the same footprint however making better use of existing space plus the addition of very large decks on either side has made an enormous difference to the living space. With all new fittings and cladding it’s just like a brand new home. Nice little touches here and there as well make it all work so much better. Arkhé’s customer service has been fantastic and we were impressed by the tight time frame in which he completed the job. Arkhé comes with our highest recommendation.
— Ian Lucas
We approached Arkhé with a brief concept for our bach . Our section was very small with restraints for daylighting. We were very happy with our design and throughout the building process Marcus has been very approachable and communicated back us very quickly with any concerns or questions we had. This is the second time we have worked with Arkhé for a holiday home and we would highly recommend him.
— David C
Arkhé team where great to work with and always there to help and guide us. They thought outside the box and to a tight time frame and budget we had. They helped us with all aspects of our build and took on any challenge we gave them.
I will recommend Arkhé to anyone.
— Ben Steele
Arkhé has created an amazing house with their knowledge of the area. At all times throughout the process I found them approachable, professional and understanding. They are great communicators and I was impressed with the information, updates and valuable opinions that was continually provided along with the ease of getting through council. I would highly recommend to anyone wanting to build or renovate their home.
— Matt

 
 
 

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+64 27 544 3011

hello@arkhe.co.nz

2/5 Reynolds Place, Papamoa Beach 3118