74 | Full design service from go to whoa Virginia Wright Architecture & Interiors Ltd offers full architectural design services for new builds, and renovations of both commercial and domestic buildings. ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN Architecture & Interiors Ltd Call us now for a FREE Measure & Quote! 06 843 5535 | www.kathysdrapes.co.nz 18 AUSTIN ST, ONEKAWA, NAPIER We offer a great range of services, Free measure & quote on drapes, Roman Blinds, Tracks & Rods, Roller, Venetian &Vertical blinds. Proudly associated with Architecture & Interiors Ltd • Design • Manufacture • Stairs • Furniture • Kitchen • Installation • Project Coordination • Bathroom • All Household Fit-outs call us on 0210 877 7143 www.facebook.com/FusionJoineryLTD When Melissa Burne started her own business, she was working from the kitchen table, but like many business owners, her ambition quickly outgrew the space. Fast forward 11 years and Melissa is now operating out of a ‘stunning’, newly completed building in the heart of Pakowhai, in Hawke’s Bay, flanked by a busy coffee shop, produce outlet and financial services company, Huddle Advisory Ltd. Melissa doesn’t do things by halves. Her growing business, Architecture and Interiors Ltd offers full architectural design services for new builds, and renovations of both commercial and domestic buildings, but the company has also grown another partnership, with another talented ‘Melissa’. With M.Int focusing on the interior finishes the team can offer a full design service from start to finish. Melissa is proud of her all-women team of five. “It’s a point of difference that we’re all females. We all care about what we do, the people we work with and the results we can obtain,” says Melissa. Over the years Melissa has established good relationships with the different trades involved in the building industry, helped further by a professional development project she instigated a few years ago. With the help of local sponsors, she and her staff turned a container into a tiny house which they then auctioned off and raised $37,000 for their chosen charity ‘Look Good Feel Better’. “ It took about a year, part of the exercise was building relationships but also understanding more about construction and the materials we use. “The relationships built are long-lasting, they’ve brought in more work, and we can call on them for advice. There have been a lot of benefits from that unforgettable experience,” explains Melissa. She’s a self-confessed convert to pre-cast concrete having used it to build her own home as well as the more recently completed offices. “I’d been taught and understood concrete as a solid mass that retains heat, so we experimented with our home first. The results are that we use minimal heating in our house, but the spaces stay at a constant 24 degrees all year round. Plus, it’s 100% maintenance free,” says Melissa. The relationship with Latteys Civil Concrete that started with her house build in 2006 and has led to other, bigger, projects, such as the multi-level build currently underway in Haumoana with a concrete mezzanine floor and concrete cantilevered canopies, and a greenroof house in Waipukurau that’s dug into a bank, again using pre-cast concrete walls. Architecture Interiors have recently entered a Joint Venture with Huddle Advisory Ltd. and its owner Matt Arcus. Together they complete projects from financial conception to design. ‘ The Paharakiki Trades Union is one example where they’re joining forces with a number of other local tradespeople to build affordable houses in Flaxmere and to upgrade the Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga facilities in Orchard Road, Hastings. “We want to design houses that are affordable but retain an element of quality,” says Melissa. “Our goal is to work together with the other members of the PTU to build houses that the Flaxmere Community are proud of”.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=