WELCOME We're about to embark on a life-changing adventure together. You've chosen us, and we've chosen you. It's time we got to know one another.
LET'S TALK ABOUT YOU FIRST.
You’ve reached a pivotal point in your life. You want to make big changes. You care a lot about your home and your surroundings, and you know they could be so much better – healthier, more energy-efficient, and more inspiring. That, in turn, will open up new horizons and enable you to do so much more. You’re excited about what’s possible.
BUT THAT’S NOT THE FULL STORY.
There are pressures and stresses – perhaps emotional, perhaps financial. With so much going on you’re not sure how you’ll deal with the hectic process of turning your home upside down, and all the upheaval that entails. It’s not just about you but about your family too.
IT’S A BIG DEAL, WHICHEVER WAY YOU LOOK AT IT.
How can you be sure to make the right decisions – and not spend more than you have? How are you going to make this project work around your day-to-day life? How long will it take? And will it all be worth it in the end? (We can answer that last one right now – it will.)
WE’RE
IN IT TOGETHER.
You’ll be benefiting as much from our sharp ears and eyes, and our ability to think on our feet and stay calm, as from our technical and design skills. If you’re putting your all into the project, it’s only right that we should too.
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OUR STUDIO
ALKI ARCHITECTURE + DESIGN STUDIO
Alki is a Chinook word from North America that connects us to our future. This is exactly why Alki has planted itself in Architecture - to build something that will outlast ourselves, knowing it will inspire future generations and leave the planet and its resources behind to service those to come. Our creative process brings soul and high performance into our clients projects. Every line on every page is invested in personally with empathy, care and innovation.
THE THINGS THAT MATTER
PEOPLE
One of our core principles is the that our client is central to what we do. Empathy and Ergonomics are pillars of architecture, understanding human emotion and habit—how space can support or challenge the moments in our day that weave into the world around us.
From the very first glimmer of a design to you feeling right at home in your new space, it’s a conversation. We design with you — not for you. You’re an integral part of the design team.
Being attentive to what you say (and what you don’t say) is our first step. Then it’s about designing thoughtfully and rigorously, always with one eye firmly on the timeline and the costs.
PERFORMANCE
We’ve developed a natural intuition for making spaces feel extraordinary, but that’s only half of what makes our projects successful—we believe designing high performing buildings backed by science is critical for the building industries evolution. Placing Architecture as a pivotal player to make real change in a finite world.
We’re lucky enough to shape spaces and places for a living. But that also comes with a responsibility – to you, to everyone we work alongside, and to our many fellow humans. Everything we do should have a positive impact, and if we can find small ways to make life better for people, we will.
PLANET
Art and Architecture are not far away from nature. Constructed of nature, to exist for a lifetime within nature. We don’t stop our design with Sun + Place, but continue to design deeper.
Community, society, the environment, the planet – these are big words and we’re just a small team. But doing our best for people also means shaping the world we live in. Every one of our projects – yours included – is our chance to do good and bring joy. It’s about making the world that little bit less fragile, and that little bit more wonderful.
POETRY
We focus a lot of our energy on the sequence of spaces; what is it like to move through a space and how does the experience unfold? There is art to be found in the mundane of discipline, and creativity is born in moments of constraint.
We all want to breathe easily, hear the birds sing, experience the seasons. When we’re connected to nature, we feel calmer. At Alki Design, we have a passion for design and how it perfectly connects two seemingly distant domains—the insolubility of philosophy and the conviction of science.
PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
YOUR TEAM
Charlotte Muschamp
PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
Charlotte studied Architecture of Victoria University of Wellington and Washington State University, graduating with honors in 2015. After several years of experience in Architecture firms in North America known for residential and sustainable design, Charlotte founded Alki Design in 2020. Bringing home to Wanaka curiosities about the world, international standards of design, building science and construction.
Charlotte is intrigued by the human experience and is passionate about graceful, contextual, timeless architecture that elevates the everyday; bringing beauty, moments of joy and a sense of connection to the natural world and to the people she engages with. She loves the creative process and growing up in rural New Zealand, has developed a deep tactile appreciate for the environment, its materials, and its ecological systems.
PEOPLE / PERFORMANCE / PLANET / POETRY
You could call these our core values, but they’re more than just a few abstract nouns to make us (and you) feel good. They’re ways of being and doing that guide our every decision and our every aspiration, whether we’re at our desks, knee-deep in builder’s dust, or talking intently with you about the tiniest of details.
NOW OVER TO YOU.
A project like yours is full of possibility, and yet it should also be rigorous and structured if it’s to give you everything you want. That’s why we follow the AIA and ADNZ design guidelines, a set of stages recommended by the American Institute of Architects and Architectural Designers of New Zealand. It’s been tested to its limits by architects across the country (USA and NZ), and – when followed carefully and thoughtfully – it ensures a streamlined, crack-free process.
It’s not an easy thing to get your head around, though, so we’ve put ourselves in your shoes, unravelled the jargon, and come up with our own little guide.
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STAGE 001
PROJECT ESTABLISHMENT
What to expect...
Whatever inspirations have led you to this moment, now is the time to show us. Our director, Charlotte, meets you and your family on site and over coffee (or wine) – to be inspired by your way of living and the valuable piece of land that is to hold a lifetime of memories. If Charlotte’s interest in you gets personal (your life, your hopes, your dreams), it’s because your home is personal. And we care. A lot. We want to make it right for you, and we are proud of you for making it this far –it’s a privilege for us to be here with you.
We gather all the information we can about the site, so that we know exactly what we’re dealing with: its constraints, its context, and its potential. We help you arrange a detailed topographical survey and geotechnical report, so that
everything gets measured and committed to our ‘blueprint document’. It’s better (and less costly) to get our heads around it all now than later, and allows us to make informed decisions about your structure and projects feasibility.
We put together a schedule of design meetings that support the execution of the stages to follow. We also look to assemble our team – the consultants such as the structural engineer, planner and contractor who are going to walk this journey with you.
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STAGE 002
CONCEPT DESIGN
What to expect...
All those wonderful ideas we spoke about from Stage 001 finally get scratch on dozens of layers of baking paper. Yuhp, that’s right, baking paper - and a whole lot of ink. This is where Charlotte’s creativity flows with no bounds – layers on layers of semi-transparent papers challenge designs again, and again, and again...and again. Taking the essence of you, your brief, your site, and the constraints of the territorial authority and regulatory requirements, and giving your project form and basic functionality.
We explore several different compositions and designs. Perhaps the obvious solution, perhaps something a little out of left field – something to catch you off guard and inspire a little something you didn’t know you needed. We let you
simmer on these concepts, and encourage an interactive back and forth.
We review each of the concepts with you and confirm feasibility from a planning perspective before extracting what makes each concept uniquely perfect, and understand in more detail what doesn’t compliment how you do life. We can pick something neat from one concept, veto something from the second concept, take something practical from the third —unlocking a fusion of ideas that evolve to form a final concept design we will refine in Stage 003.
STAGE 003
PRELIMINARY DESIGN
What to expect...
After completion of Stage 002, the preferred concept is developed to form a set of preliminary consultant issue drawings and resource consent documents (if required). These are suitable to collaborate with experts in the field of engineering and construction, who’s input or refinement can inform impacts to your brief, form, functionality or cost of the project.
Within our practise, we believe in an Integrated Design Process. This is why we engage with professional consultants early in the project. Having all the cards laid in front of us keeps ‘hindsight’ moments at bay.
A team of great minds is better than one, and response like “I’m not sure, but I’ll find out” is a humble, but thorough way we go about our business – and a diligent way to go about yours.
We distil data from a combination of skills to form beautiful, well-crafted spaces responding to their site. At the end of Stage 003, the project is clearly defined and a preliminary estimate of cost can be established by a Quantity Survey. We now have a set of documents that go on to form the basis of Stage 004.
STAGE 003.1
HIGH PERFORMANCE INTEGRATION
What to expect...
The key to High Performance is nailing the ‘big picture’ first, and then going inward to the details. Whether you’ve opted for Passive House Certification, Homestar Certification, LEED Certification or simply have chosen Alki because you trust that regardless of ‘certification or no certification’ we will be applying these principles to every design – even yours.
Because the Concept and Preliminary Design (Stages 002 and 003) are concerned with the ‘big picture’ aesthetic, context and composition of your brief, it makes perfect sense why high performance integration is included in these early stages.
How we orientate, insulated, shade, ventilate and what
materials we decide, all have a critical response to our homes performance – and it’s best we design with our environment, rather than fight against it.
It's no wonder why Planet and Performance are key pillars in Alki’s ethos.
If you haven’t engaged us already, and are interested in applying for the third party verification of your homes performance – let’s chat more. There might be one (or all) that suits your goals best.
STAGE 004
What to expect...
What we consider the nitty gritty of your journey with us. More refined coordination between consultants start to take place and the finer details of your project are developed. This is the stage where engaging with an Alki gives you the service and value you deserve in this (more often than not) once in a lifetime opportunity to create architecture of your own. This is also the stage where the team we create thrive like a hive of busy bee’s – stepping into our roles and lifting your project to new heights.
With a design we all love and numbers that add up, we are ready to lock everything in. Your final sign off that end this stage sends us into preparing our Building Consent documents and Construction Drawings – it’s the final stretch
of our core services, and where the powerful work is to be done. Detailing.
“God is in the details” – famously said by GermanAmerican Architect Mies van der Rohe (a pioneer in modern architecture).
He wasn’t wrong. A building is only as strong as its weakest link (performance), and good design is elevated to great design by loving all the small moments – that compound to create the big moments. Much like life itself (poetry).
INTERIOR + LANDSCAPE DESIGN
What to expect...
Interior and Landscape Design Consultancy can be introduced to resolve a holistic architectural response to the project brief and to the site. Over the years we’ve developed great relationships with a whole host of suppliers, and we have trade discounts with many of them – and of course we will pass these all on to you.
Alki believes there is beauty to be found everywhere in this world. Architecture, is just framing what’s already there.
When architecture, interiors and landscape dance in perfect harmony, borders fall and we find ourselves in perfect flow with the essence of life. It is for this reason, holistic design elevates good design, to great design.
Whether it’s just showing us your mood board over coffee, or if you wish to engage with us to curate a highly detailed set of technical interior drawings with full coordination and execution among contractors, manufactures and suppliers. We tailor our engagement with you personally, for you to unveil the full value of your project and our expertise – to strengthen the connection between your architecture and it’s borders.
If you haven’t already and are interested, get in touch and we can make sure we’ve got you covered.
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STAGE 005
CONSTRUCTION DOCUMENTATION
What to expect...
Detailed construction drawings, specification booklets, energy calculations and contract documentation for building consent are prepared and lodged. This is where Charlotte puts on her OCD hat, recluses to the depths of the office, and indulges entirely in drawing lines and coffee consumption for the next couple of weeks. It’s hectic. And we love it.
Every line on every sheet of paper, every millimetre of your home is handled with love and care over this Stage. Alki has been intentional with who is in this position to give so much care in this stage of the project. We don’t ever wish to contract ‘drafting services’ out, or task an intern with minimal experience to do this heavy lifting. It is our Director, Architect (AIA) Charlotte that rolls up her sleeves – to maintain the
quality of your project from its inception, to its execution.
Once building consent has been issued, the project moves into the Procurement and Construction Phases. Stages 001005 encompass our core services, and so our involvement in your design journey concludes here. However, if you wish to continue your journey with us, join us in Stages 006 and 007.
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TENDERING + PROCUREMENT
What to expect...
Once building consent has been issued, we produce tender documentation that will be issued to pre-qualified contractors who have been invited to participate in tender.
With the quotes we get back from the contracts, we go through and evaluate them all before making a recommendation. Rest assured, we are thinking hard about the bottom line, but not necessarily the smallest bottom line. What will they be like to work with? Are they committed to getting every detail right? Are they as concerned with quality as we are?
We offer assistance in builder introductions, closed tender or negotiated contracts, and working with the selected
contractor. Choosing the right team is one of the most important things we can do.
STAGE 007
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION
What to expect...
Now the messy work gets underway. That means dust, noise and upheaval. But by this point you’re ready for that, and we’re right by your side. During Contract Administration, we observe conformity to the building contract documents and well as the quality of the work. Frequent meetings and communication with the main contractor allows us to manage and asses contractual and financial transactions during the construction of your building.
Often this includes periodic site visits and observation, responding to Requests for Information, issuing Minor Variations, assessing progress claims, issuing progress certificates, and managing variations to cost and time. If there’s a query, issue, or doubt, we’re here to resolve it.
STAGE 008
CONSTRUCTION ADMINISTRATION - OBSERVATION
What to expect...
HANDOVER
The key's are yours at last.
It’s an exciting moment, but a little daunting too. Which is why we leave you with your ‘owner’s manual’. It contains everything you need to make sure your home is keeping you perfectly comfortable and working just as efficiently as it should.
RECTIFICATION PERIOD
We're still here for you!
We hope life in your new home is nothing by a joy, and we don’t want you to worry about any little thing that might
go wrong as you settle in. For the next few months we’re still here to put any teething problems swiftly right. We will wander through the home with you and document any defects or omissions for the contractor to amend.
Once the contractor has completed the final polish, all defects are accounted for, we pay the last little sum to the contractor. We then turn our attention to council and submit our application for Code Compliance Certificate (CCC). With that all-important piece of paper and that final transaction, the project is brought to a satisfying close. We raise a glass to you, your new home, and you start on new beginnings.
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WE'RE READY TO CREATE SOMETHING FOR THE GREATER GOOD
We consider it a privilege to join you on this journey and to support your vision.
To inspire you, challenge you, problem solve and advocate for you in every stage of your project.
Our partnership is creating not just a house, but a home - and therefore your habitat. Curating our emotions, our sense of place and our habits. Defining what it means to be human, and how we connect to each other, our community and our ecosystems.
COMMUNICATION
WHAT TO EXPECT RESPONSE TIME We aim to respond to all communication within one business day.
UPDATES We provide bi-weekly updates on our collaborative platform to keep you informed of the projects progress and answer any questions.
OFFICE HOURS Monday to Friday, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM NZST We welcome appointments outside these office hours. Get in touch to book a time and place that suits you best.
