98 | BUILDING Steve Brown Builders T T Kelly Deeks Multiple awards mark firm’s passion The company’s latest award-winning project is a striking new hillside home in Christchurch. Steve Brown Builders is celebrating another outstanding result in the 2025 Registered Master Builders House of the Year awards, a recognition that underscores more than four decades of teamwork, craftsmanship, and specialist expertise. Founded in 1984, the Christchurch-based company has earned its reputation as a leader in architecturally designed homes, challenging hill builds, renovations, light commercial projects, and heritage restoration. Managing director Steve Brown says the company’s success, and the success of its projects, rests on one simple but powerful principle: collaboration. “Every project is a team effort,” he says. “We work alongside our architects, clients, subcontractors, and suppliers from the very beginning, and it’s that shared commitment and trust that allows us to deliver homes of this calibre.” That collaborative approach was on full display in the company’s latest award-winning project, a striking new hillside home in Canterbury. Built for clients returning to the area after losing their home in the 2011 earthquakes, the residence was designed to feel deeply anchored in its coastal environment. A significant feature of the build was the extensive use of Port Hills volcanic stone, some sourced directly from the site, and more from just around the corner after supplies ran short. The home is bespoke in every detail, with stonework carried through both external and internal walls, custom joinery, structural steel and timber elements, and expansive glazing that captures sweeping views to the estuary. Outdoor living areas connect seamlessly to the pool and terraces, while carefully designed internal spaces leave “no empty corners”. Completed during the tail end of Covid, the build also tested the team’s ability to problem-solve through global supply chain delays. “We had products stuck in Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong – sometimes we didn’t even know where in the world they were,” says Steve. “We pre-empted issues, ordered early, and found ways to work around the delays. It was tough, but we got there.” The result is a strong, sculptural home of natural materials that feels both permanent and light on its hillside platform. The project earned Steve Brown Builders the ultimate commendation from the clients, who say they feel they have come home, as well as the Regional Supreme House of the Year title and awards for Interior Design, Kitchen Excellence, Category Winner, Regional Gold, and a place in the Top 100 nationally. Steve says the company’s 2020 House of the Year project demonstrated the same team capability in an entirely different way. After the earthquakes destroyed a historic 1913 home, the owners wanted it rebuilt exactly as it had been, but to modern Building Code standards. Salvaged materials were carefully reused, intricate plaster ceilings were reinstated, ornate leadlight windows were removed, restored, and triple glazed, and the team’s carpentry skills were pushed to the limit. The resulting 422sqm two-storey brick and half-timbered home was described as a “stunning project” by judges, earning the National Mitre 10 Craftsmanship Award, a National Special Award, and the Regional Supreme House of the Year title. “Those two projects show the range of what our team and subcontractors are capable of,” Steve says. “We can deliver cutting-edge modern builds, and we can also bring history back to life.” After 50 years in the building industry, Steve says he still loves the craft. “It’s passion that keeps us all going – solving problems, building beautifully, and bringing people home.” The Genuine Custom Made Garage Door Professionals 276 Larcombs Road, Rolleston, Christchurch Unit 2/148 Ballantyne Road, Wanaka 9343, Southern Lakes 0800 661 366 | www.custommade.co.nz made GARAGE DOORS CUSTOM Web: Email: Call: 0800 24 24 72 E icient and on time sca olding for Christchurch and Canterbury • Residential Housing & light • Commercial • Repairs • Roof work • Painting
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDc2Mzg=