We operate North to South covering residential new builds, renovations and commercial projects.

Founder Scott provides an end-to-end service, capturing his clients’ vision through a carefully considered design that is carried through to completion with ingenuity, vision and care. 

About

Fortune Architecture offers a hands-on and seamless experience for clients at every touchpoint, ensuring each project is led from start to finish with both creativity and efficiency.

Founder Scott’s architectural work spans the length of the country from Auckland to Queenstown - and crosses borders. He’s spent time in the UK working on super-prime residential homes and retail projects within the renowned Harrod’s department store in Knightsbridge.

Armed with a joinery apprenticeship, solid building experience and over 10 years in the architectural industry, it was time to start making a name for himself as a solo designer. Watching projects become disjointed as they exchanged hands throughout the process inspired him to start a practice where he leads a project from initial discussion right through to the finished build, managing every touchpoint in between. When working with Fortune Architecture, you’ll receive a hands-on approach and always work directly with Scott.

Coming from a construction background, Scott understands the process and is well-equipped to guide you on the journey from initial concept to completion. He’ll ensure your project runs seamlessly from start to finish and will take the guesswork out of the equation so you can enjoy the process, making informed decisions along the way.

Projects

From high-spec residential builds to home renovations and multi-unit dwellings, we’ve done it all. If you’d like to see examples of work relating to your new project, please get in touch.

Process

So, what’s involved in designing my dream home? 

Your architectural designer will be the middleman throughout your entire project, handling every stage and liaising directly with geo-technical, civil, and structural engineers, surveyors, Councils and builders.

  • First up, we’ll discuss your vision and the brief in person or via a Zoom call. The purpose of this session is to bounce around some ideas and get to know each other, including discussing any ‘must haves’, features or materials you’re wanting to consider for your upcoming project. We’ll also cover your budget so we can design with that in mind. A full proposal is supplied and with your approval, we can get stuck into the design phase.

  • Next, we’ll review your site or property and cross reference any specific details with local Council and New Zealand Building Code regulations. We’ll then get to work producing a concept for you, encompassing your vision paired with our ideas.

  • A key phase in the process, this is our final opportunity to test and refine ideas before detailed planning commences. Here, we may need to bring in other consultants such as engineers to feed in to the overall plan and estimate costs involved.

  • With a beautiful design in mind, we get technical. We’ll complete all working drawings and documentation required for Council submission. This phase is typically the most time consuming part of the process, where we piece together the design with all the nuts and bolts.

  • We’ll complete all necessary documentation for submission to Council on your behalf, including further liaison throughout the consent process to provide any additional documentation required until Resource or Building Consent is granted.

  • Continued on-site support during the construction phase is provided where required. This extends to liaison with all contractors and sub-contractors until the project is completed. Essentially, the entire process is taken care of for you and you’re kept informed and updated along the way.

Here’s a bit of a step-by-step on the stages you’ll go through. 

Testimonials

  • “We tried several other Architects before fortunately discovering Scott. He listened carefully to our vision, offered inspiring ideas and options and developed the concept into a fantastic design. Scott communicated with us continually and professionally all the way through and it was a pleasure working with him. His initial digital visuals were amazing. If you want an architect who listens to you, has great design skills with excellent communication and works to your budget, Scott is the man for you!” 

    - Richard and Claire Jarman

  • “We worked with Scott to bring our dream of an architecturally designed family home to life, Scott achieved this and more skilfully interpreting our design inspirations and functionality requirements, bringing these to life as a functional architectural design. Throughout this process Scott guided us through the many potential pitfalls of the design process and importantly to us designed to meet our budgetary expectations, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Scott’s design services to others.”

    - Regan and Kate Bird

  • “We engaged Fortune Architecture to assist us with the design of our renovation project. Scott was particularly great to work with. He listened to what we wanted but also encouraged us to consider other options that we hadn't thought of. Scott has incredible attention to detail, great ideas and was patient with our frequent changes of design thoughts. He was extremely thoughtful throughout the process, as the renovation was daunting for us, having been in the house for the last 40 years. We would highly recommend Fortune Architecture and wouldn't hesitate to use ​them again.”

    - Liz and Brian Drabble

FAQ’s

  • Following on from an initial consultation, we’ll formulate a scope of work encompassing everything you want to achieve. Typically, there are two main methods for fee proposals; fixed fee or percentage based (3-6%). Fortune Architecture operates on the fixed fee model, which is provided as an estimate and subject to change if the scope shifts. Within the fee proposal, you’ll receive a breakdown of the monthly or stage costs so that you’re fully aware of anticipated costs throughout the project. We’ll make every effort to keep you updated and informed if the project looks like it’s tracking to come in over budget due to changes in scope. Typically, your fixed fee will be the total you end up with. We try to keep things clean-cut and transparent.

  • This varies on the scale of the project. A renovation or spec home project could be in the vicinity of 2-4 months, a high-spec new build 4-6 months, and a high-end project could be in the realm of 9-12 months. A timeline is provided with any proposal to give you an understanding of anticipated timeframes. It’s important to bear in mind Fortune Architecture acts as the middleman throughout the project so is reliant on many external contractors too - meaning the crew you select is important!

  • A variety of projects ranging from existing home renovations and extensions, spec homes and high-end residential properties. Townhouses, commercial and industrial projects are also in our repertoire.

  • It’s great to get us involved as early on as possible. We offer a free no obligation consultation to discuss your project, and put forward any suggestions or complications that we see may arise. We can then guide you through the design process right from the start allowing for the process to run smoothly. Basically, make the most of our expertise as it’s there for the taking!

  • Happily! We work with many different consultants across all sectors NZ wide and can recommend the right people for your job.

  • No, this won’t have an impact on the process. Whether you’re in Queenstown or Whangarei, we’re happy to travel and don’t see location as a barrier to us working together. The majority of our projects are based in the Nelson/Tasman region, Canterbury and Hawke’s Bay.

Flick us an ✉️ and we’ll get back to you pronto.