106 | Lambeth Architectural ARCHITECTURAl DESIGN A designer by nature Lambeth Architectural Ltd mainly specialises in alterations and additions, with the priority always to maintain the character of the home. T T Sue Russell Dargaville-based Gordon Lambeth has been engaged in design ever since he left school, a career that took him along various paths in different locations. “I was fortunate to be working in Whangarei when the Marsden Point expansion project was in full swing and there was a need for large-scale housing to be established for workers on the project to live in. I did a lot of plans for one of the largest housing developers in the area,” Gordon says. Then in a twist of direction, Gordon applied to join the army before being talked into working for the police. Posted to Rotorua, one of his roles was as a police artist. He would draw missing items free-hand and also got involved in identikit pictures, which led him into police photography and forensic work. “After eight years in Rotorua I then returned up north to familiar soil. In the mid- to late-90s I bought a bare block of land and designed my own passive solar home. I sent this out to builders for pricing and failed to get prices back, but instead got drawing jobs. It’s been an interesting path I’ve travelled to be where I am today.” He is especially proud of his history in the region, having developed a whole subdivision for a developer. “Those homes were designed and built to last. They’re still going strong today.” In 2011, Gordon stopped working as a sole trader and formed Lambeth Architectural Ltd, at the same time leaving the police after 27 years. He describes the process back then of using Staedtler pens and a drawing board for drawings as equivalent to doing a reflective calming activity like Tai Chi. “I miss working on the drawing board,” he says. “Then computers came along. It was challenging to remember sequences using this new technology, so I shoulder-tapped my daughter to come on board. Then I engaged another young local lad, who is now a registered architect working for a large firm in Auckland. We currently have two CAD operators working as architectural technicians in the office.” Gordon interviews his clients about their projects and brings ideas to life in 3D modelling with movie walk-throughs. These are then transformed into working drawings by the CAD technicians. These days, Lambeth Architectural Ltd mainly specialises in alterations and additions, with the priority always to maintain the character of the home. “We keep the character alive through the style and recreate it to look old. Our office building is 120 years old and we renovated it ourselves.” And with a professional career that dates back to ‘feet and inches’, and the understanding of how good basic structures and spaces are formed, Gordon says he just innately knows what will and what won’t be design appropriate. His work ethic is strong, too. “Don’t lie to people and don’t rip them off. No BS and be straight up about their budget, inform them of all the things that can go wrong and use your professional experience to inform the conversation.” Gordon is focused on providing clients with the “biggest bang for their buck”, and he makes the labour costs involved in any project very clear to clients. The studio also engages in drawing plans for repurposed relocatable homes, along with prefabricated homes, which Gordon believes is the way of the future when it comes to construction processes. “When you think about how we bring all the building elements on to a bare site, exposed to the weather for long periods of time, if you think about it, this is somewhat ridiculous that this is the norm. There is much merit in building inside, in a controlled environment, and then transporting the home to site. It cuts out huge risk.” Away from the studio, Gordon is a member of Heritage NZ and was on the executive board of the Property Investors Association. And he has recently completed the rejuvenation and transformation of a 70sqm home, called ‘Pride Bach’, one of 12 baches positioned side by side on a lot at Bayley Beach. Here, the restrictions of working on a challenging space have been turned into a wonderful opportunity. Because the home is positioned close to a bank behind, Gordon decided to make use of this physical element by building outside steps and creating an upper flat section outside, adjacent to the home’s second level, turning what would have been redundant space into a separate outdoor area. Specialising in building one, two, three, and four-bedroom transportable houses. Talk to us about options Web: www.tlbuild.nz | Email: info@tlbuild.nz | Phone: 027 256 8988 gordon@lambetharchitectural.co.nz Ph: 09 439 1015 Mob: 021 033 7607 www.lambetharchitectural.co.nz Bespoke architectural design solutions. A perfect blend of form and function.
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