| 37 The personal touch key for architect T Virginia Wright The Skylark Cabin for clients in Twizel won Barry Connor Design an ADNZ award and international exposure. Photo: Lightforge ARCHITECTURE ADNZ: Barry Connor Design Although he did a degree in architecture back in the UK when he left school, Barry Connor became a chef and spent 16 years working his way up through the ranks of restaurants in London before emigrating to New Zealand with his Christchurch born wife Anita. Arriving in Christchurch he continued working as a chef while at the same time he renewed his interest in architecture and did night classes in order to refresh his skills. This enabled him to transition back into the world of architecture and secure a junior role with a local Christchurch architects office. The next few years were a steep learning curve and in 2010 he made the move to set up his own practice, Barry Connor Design. He credits all the various experiences and skills he picked up along the way, whether it’s managing people, organizing rosters, or just being very organized himself, with helping him to get off to a running start dealing with clients and managing the various aspects of the business. “I’d already seen how other people did things and knew what I liked and what I didn’t, so I tweaked systems to the way I liked them. People often say they like working with me because it’s me. “Our business is very client focused and highly personal so clients don’t come in and get all the ‘wow’ stuff from me then get passed on to someone else to draw it up and someone else to manage it. “It’s very personal my business, it always has been and it always will be, because when you’re designing a house for someone you get to know so much personal information about them you need that one-on-one rapport to make it a successful job.” From Barry’s point of view it’s as simple as dealing with clients the way he would like to be dealt with himself. He’d want that rapport with the person who’s designing the space where they’re going to spend so much time and would want to feel like they were invested in him and their project. Barry believes that one-on-one personal experience is why he has so many repeat clients and so many word-of mouth referrals. In recent times Barry has noticed a shift towards people being more aware about what they need rather than what they want. If they’re a retired couple, with the possibility of grandchildren coming to stay, they’re less likely to insist on a four bedroom house with the extra rooms rarely used but ‘good for resale’. The net result is more money available to spend on the space they will be using and often spaces put to multiple uses: a second lounge that turns into a spare bedroom when it’s needed for example, with the money saved going into some custom cabinetry that means it can also be utilized as a home office. Of the various awards that Barry Connor Design has won over the years it’s the recent one for the Skylark Cabin that came through Architectural Design in New Zealand (ADNZ) that he’s most proud of. It was a bespoke project for clients in Twizel who wanted a luxury cabin that they could rent out. “It’s a one-bedroom cabin based on only needing the essentials to sleep, eat and relax. An open plan living-kitchen layout designed for luxury weekend getaways,” explains Barry. “The site’s also in the Dark Sky Reserve so there’s a massive circular skylight that allows you to lie in bed and soak in the amazing views of the night sky.” He credits this project with giving him incredible exposure both here and as far afield as Brazil and the US with people wanting him to build them something similar. “I love that design, it’s unique and it was incredible and humbling to get the recognition we did. “We absolutely thrive on projects that require out of the box thinking and relish working with interesting or quirky sites, and projects that like to challenge the notion of ‘the norm’…. something different and unique – that’s what gets us out of bed in the mornings!” says Barry. “I love that design, it’s unique and it was incredible and humbling to get the recognition we did.” B U I L D I N G S P E C I A L I S T S Mitch: 021 376 784 office@frostbuilders.co.nz | frostbuilders.co.nz GOLD RESERVE AWARD GOLD AWARD
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