108 | House of Nautica T T Virginia Wright Committed to masonry construction House of Nautica offers as much or as little input as the clients need in order to ensure a successful and enjoyable build. BUILDING After the Christchurch earthquakes, Auckland’s House of Nautica set up a sister office in the damaged city to help with the sheer magnitude of repairs and remediation involved in the rebuild. General manager Callum Rawlins started with House of Nautica 19 years ago as a building apprentice, then taking up roles as project manager and regional manager before heading back to Auckland. He did a stint in commercial project management with another company before rejoining the House of Nautica around five years ago, with the team still helmed by directors Suellen and Tony Fraser. “We’re a boutique design-and-build construction company and we specialise in masonry homes,” says Callum. “We believe that masonry construction offers significant efficiency benefits, primarily due to its durability, low maintenance requirements, and excellent thermal properties. “These factors contribute to reduced longterm costs, and increased sustainability. Often we integrate different methods of construction to provide ornate architectural styles.” A house they recently completed in Paparoa on the headwaters of the Kaipara Harbour north of Auckland is a typical example of their focus on buildability and cost-efficiency combined with aesthetics, which often involves combining two approaches as they come up with solutions for more challenging sites. A difficult building platform involving tricky contours meant a large section of the house had to be built on piles. In order to achieve a seamless aesthetic with the masonry they were using elsewhere, they chose an aerated concrete panel to put on the timber framing. Once plastered, it looks the same as the concrete masonry, bringing a sleek finish to the whole house. It was cost-efficiency on a broader level that Tony had in mind when he was building a slew of architectural houses in Auckland’s Mission Bay and Kohi back in the 90s and felt that he could do more to help his clients. With that in mind, alongside building from architects designs as usual, over the following years. House of Nautica developed its own approach to bespoke builds. These days, clients generally approach House of Nautica directly when they are looking to build their dream home, explains Callum. “We offer a free, no-obligation consultation and meeting on-site and do due diligence on behalf of the clients for that property. If the client chooses to proceed, we have good relationships with two established concept architects with different styles. “The client pays a fee for an initial design and from there we offer a fixed-price build covering everything from plans and consenting, earthworks and civil services all the way through building and code of compliance, to the turnkey handover.” The fixed price includes costs for all the usual items like bathroom fittings and kitchen appliances, for which Nautica passes their buying powers on to the clients directly. They have an in-house interior/exterior designer, who works with the client all the way through the build to continue the team’s focus on bringing the client’s vision to reality. The majority of the team members have been working with House of Nautica for a long time: of the five site managers, four have been with the company for at least 15 years, one for 30, while the relative newcomer is Tony’s son. “It’s that experience, as well as all the systems we’ve developed over the years, that keeps our quality up and means we can build so efficiently,” says Callum. The team expands from its usual 12 builders with five apprentices, depending on what’s on the books, and use long-established subcontractor labour-only builders. All tradesmen and women who are engaged for services also have long-established relationships with House of Nautica, and understand what’s required in terms of the quality of the finished build. Whether working from existing plans or collaborating with a trusted network of design professionals, House of Nautica offers as much or as little input as the clients need in order to ensure a successful and enjoyable build. Unit 2, 41-53 View Road, Glenfield, Auckland 0627. Ph: (09) 476 7464 | admin@kitchenlink.co.nz | www.kitchenlink.co.nz Kitchen Link. Design excellence. Exceptional quality. Local expertise. Proud to work alongside House of Nautica, creator of superior quality homes. At Kitchen Link, we create bespoke kitchens and custom cabinetry crafted in New Zealand from premium materials. Designed to suit your style and space, our kitchens blend beauty, performance, and lasting quality.
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