26 | ARCHITECTURE Bradley Hans Design Passion for the craftmanship of construction Brad’s love for architecture stems back to childhood. T T Richard Loader A conversation with Brad Nieuwkoop, the Managing Director of Palmerston North based design and build company Bradley Hans Design (BHD), leaves you breathless, as he talks enthusiastically about his passion for the craftmanship of construction and the art of architectural design. Brad says he often hears that people get genuinely enthused by his own enthusiasm. “I think the success of our business is the passion we have for the industry and our curiousness around what’s possible to be achieved in construction and design. That has been an evolving journey.” BHD’s journey started in December 2009 when Brad was just 19, after completing his building apprenticeship and then time spent working in Europe. “The plan was always to start my own business as a builder with the goal of helping to create the homes’ architecture as well, and that’s exactly what I’ve achieved.” Brad’s love for architecture stems back to childhood holidays in Akitio, a remote location on the North Island’s East Coast where his maternal ancestors settled. “There are some very cool historic villas there and that’s where my curiosity for architecture stemmed from. For me it’s not working for the money, but the passion for how I know good architecture can support the way you live and feel. We’re there to help and challenge our clients as well as be challenged ourselves as to what it is they want to achieve and how they want to achieve that — architecture wise as well practical, taking their needs and wants into account. Being there at the start, as a builder with passion and understanding of design, we can be the piece of the puzzle that connects every part of the build from, Geotech to site survey to engineering, to architectural plans, to quoting, construction right through to completion. By doing that we can play a key role in ensuring buildability and cost containment. I feel we’re able to help and mitigate against costly design considerations, while still achieving a very funky result that everyone can be happy with; not based on sacrifice and compromise.” The exciting diversity of BHD’s projects embrace the restoration of cute little cottages, high-end architectural renovations and restorations, through to multi-million dollar architectural new builds. “We also restore flood and fire damaged properties for insurance companies. “I even went over to Palm Springs in LA to research how that style of architecture came about and to solidify what I thought was the truth about the story I was trying to tell.” A lot of learning is undertaken in those projects to get an understanding about what destroys a home, like flood plains, and electrical faults. I think that’s just as important as understanding what makes a home work and look nice.” The diversity also includes buying properties to renovate and sell, as well as buying land to develop, and Brad tells the story of a mid-century modernism architecture inspired development project that BHD built and has just sold, that speaks of his commitment and passion for detail. “I even went over to Palm Springs in LA to research how that style of architecture came about and to solidify what I thought was the truth about the story I was trying to tell.” While based in the Manawatu, BHD has undertaken private residential projects from the top of the North, to the bottom of the South. “Our team includes support staff, quantity surveyors, architects and carpenters. We have been able to match our team members’ personalities and strengths with the different aspects of the business.”
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