Who are we?

We are a practice based in Manly, Auckland. We work on a wide variety of work, mostly one-off. We provide a full service to our clients.

Here’s our story:

Brendan started Archoffice from scratch after leaving ASC Architects in 2002. Tammy Holloway joined in 2018 and became a director in 2019.

There is a substantial body of work behind the practice.

This year sees us keen to continue to develop purposeful relationships with our clients. The range of award winning projects that we have completed over the previous years is an invitation to new clients who may be looking for something different and to have some fun with Architecture.

How do we work?

We are a social team with a flat structure, who collaborate with everybody involved. We enjoy working together. We love what we do but are also conscious of the need to maintain a good work life balance for us and our families. We work in an open plan office so that everyone is in easy communication and reach of each other, including Rocky the dog. Our Practice Manager oils the cogs and organises us and our clients to provide a smooth, professional and punctual service.

More importantly, how do we work for you?

The directors are hands on in all the projects, from the start to the finish. In this way, the team is maintained and the quality of the outputs is delivered to our high standards. This is done through consistency of design, high quality documentation and on site management.

What do we like?

We like to develop a narrative behind our designs. We like the play of light on building form and materiality, the expression of shelter and the connections that can be established between architecture, the landscape and human habitation.

We maintain an extensive architectural reference library in the office. Through the internet, we are conscious of the wider world of architecture. This can inspire us for our own projects, thus seeking to invent new ways to approach architecture in New Zealand.

What about sustainability?

With recent climate change, sustainability has come to the forefront of the planet, in almost everything that humans use, make or exploit. In our area of work, which is design and construction, we consider sustainability to be simply good building practice. We temper aspirational ideas with practical and technical solutions to get the best balance possible in all our projects.

How about mana whenua?

We have worked with many iwi over the years on a number of projects, sometimes as part of the consultation process for civic projects such as public facilities. For example, consultation for the Opaheke Changing rooms included Ngāti Tamaoho, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki and through this consultation process patterns were derived from kokaho feathers and integrated into the design and decoration of the building.

We acknowledge the mana of the Māori designer prepared Te Aranga Māori Design Principles for urban design and Auckland Council Kāinga hou Māori housing values and see these as an extension of good architecture and sustainability, providing richer opportunities for kāinga life. We look to work with iwi, Mana Whenua and other stakeholders to uphold the traditions of kawa, tikanga and tika in master planning and building design which extends beyond the immediate building into the landscape and community.

We support:

Special Children’s Christmas – a special day to help children with special needs, life threatening illnesses, or living through domestic violence to help them forget the negatives in life for a fun filled day.

SPCA – having grown up with pets and ridden horses for years, Tammy is a long time supporter of the SPCA.

Red Cross – wonderful people helping those in desperate circumstances

Kids Can – another charity at home that is helping the vulnerable in the present to help improve our country’s future