68 | ARCHITECTURE Dravitzki Brown Architects T T Alexia Anderson A ‘super exciting’ portfolio of work Dravitzki Brown is observing substantial growth across the Queenstown Lakes District, bringing with it a range of high-end projects to the small and passionate team. Owner Alister Brown said despite current tough economic times, there was still a “super exciting” portfolio of work on the company’s books, despite high interest rates and rising building costs. The work has included projects in Millbrook, Wanaka, Kelvin Heights and large rural sites, which adds variety to their work, but all with one common denominator - beautiful state of the art homes, set amongst stunning landscapes. Alister said high end residential projects were the team’s main passion. “Creating one off masterpieces in collaboration with our clients and talented builders is an incredibly satisfying journey to undertake. “Creating one off masterpieces in collaboration with our clients and talented builders is an incredibly satisfying journey to undertake.” T“he feeling at the end of the project when the clients can literally not take the smile off their faces makes all the hard work and time worth it.” He said a great relationship with the Queenstown Lakes District Council across both the planning and building departments has complemented their work. “Some of the rules may seem restrictive, but as an overall outcome we think it leads to better results.” Dravitzki Brown, which was established in 2008, will soon benefit from its own expertise as construction of their new office starts to take shape. The small, but hard working team, consists of Alister and wife Katrina, along with Jeremy Carey-Smith and Mat Caird. Alister, Jeremy and Mat all met in 1998 while doing their three-year draughting diplomas at Otago University. Jeremy and Alister went on to do five-year architecture degrees in Auckland, which is where Alister met Katrina. Mat ran his own design business in Dunedin before joining the team. “Having such an experienced compact team allows us to produce the type of work that we do,” Alister said. Each of their builds illustrate growth across the district, something the team has experienced over the past 16 years. Alister describes the trend as “huge”, and he believes is likely to continue, although potentially at a slower pace until the economy improved. “In the early days we rented an office and house space in Glenda Drive, and we used to go running around the empty paddocks, which is now Queenstown Central.” Dravitzki Brown was also among the first to build at Jacks Point, another area that has done really well. Growth across the region is not just evident in the number of houses taking shape and size of the sprawling communities - a visit to the supermarket is another indicator of just how much the area is changing. Alister said in 2008 the town was made up mostly of people in the building and tourism industries, and a trip to New World would result in seeing someone you knew. The town in the current time seems to be more international with its permanent population who have jobs all around the world, but have chosen to make the lakes area their home.” Alister believes it’s inevitable it will continue to grow, but how that further benefits the area remains to be seen. M: 027 497 0012 W: www.carpentrysouth.co.nz P r o f e s s i o n a l s i n o u r f i e l d
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