SPACE architecture studio Ltd

12/04/2026

Trendy Barbers have opened at 99 Mana Esplanade next to Magpie at Paremata...get your fade today!

11/02/2026

Masterton Project | Interior Highlights

As our Masterton project nears completion, it feels like the perfect time to share a few of the special interior moments within this bespoke home.

Tucked away above the guest bedrooms is a charming attic nook designed especially for grandchildren — complete with a secret exit via a rope ladder. Accessed from both guest rooms, this playful space is intended to feel like a treehouse, with a celestial sky created using soft blue light and LED “stars.”

The carpet has been selected to evoke a native forest floor, with a wall decal of New Zealand native bush still to be installed. A small space, but one filled with imagination, delight, and thoughtful detail.

15/01/2026

2025 wrapped up with a defects inspection on our Masterton project, with the hope of our client being able to move in before the Christmas break.

With the interior now complete, the focus shifts to the exterior. The landscaping layout, infrastructure, and structural elements are well underway, with soft landscaping to follow in early 2026.

A strong connection to landscape is a key value in all of our work, and this large site in a Masterton subdivision is no exception — using soft lines, careful contouring, and integrated water elements to create a home that sits comfortably within its setting.

14/01/2026

Great day for a crane lift of some big glass panels on this apartment refurbishment project. Phew! After crossing fingers for a calm and dry day for the last working day of last year we all got our wish, avoiding a delay into 2026. Great work from the team and their sub-contractors , Wellington to get this closed in before the end of the year amongst the rush of everything else.

15/12/2025

Coming soon to 99 Mana Esplanade ~
A new building by .co.nz for First Commercial Ltd.

Designed as a bespoke office for the local Bayleys team, the building also complements the container pop-ups we’ve designed for the same site. It happens to sit directly across the road from our own little SPACE studio on Mana Esplanade — a nice bonus.

The site came with more than a few challenges: flood hazard considerations and a spider’s web of underground services, including council sewer and stormwater easements we couldn’t build over. Careful thinking around foundations and layout was essential (we do love a challenge).

The resulting footprint is small and compact, at around 120sqm, but rich in intention. The backlit pohutakawa silhouette is intended as an homage to the promenade of pōhutukawa trees that used to line the boundary, and anchors the building firmly in its coastal context. In response, we’ve also designed the surrounding landscape to introduce more appropriate planting — kōwhai, native green walls, and layered native planting — to soften the site and strengthen its connection to place.

09/12/2025

28/11/2025

A visit to The Living Building – Ngā Mokopuna 🌿

The Space Architecture Studio team recently had the privilege of touring The Living Building – Ngā Mokopuna at Victoria University.

The Living Building Challenge sets one of the world’s most ambitious standards for sustainable design. Its principles we at Space Architecture also strive to embed in our work. It was inspiring to see what architect Ewan Brown and his team have achieved, and heartening to see Victoria University showing real leadership and stewardship in this space.

The building is targeting full LBC certification — meaning its construction was carbon neutral with virtually no waste to landfill. Over a 12-month cycle, it must generate 5% more energy than it consumes, and all water will come from rainfall and be treated on site for re-use.

A inspiring example of regenerative design in action in little old Wellington.

24/11/2025

The second and third pop-up container shops are underway next to Magpies at 99 Mana Esplanade.
Photos to follow...

20/11/2025

Masterton Project update #2
We are celebrating the innovative stair/ladder to access the mezz level in the main bedroom and the beautifully detailed balustrading with invisible fixings.

16/11/2025

A recent site visit to our Masterton project, where the results of meticulous detailing and craftsmanship are beginning to reveal themselves. Always exciting to see design intentions materialise so clearly on site.

One of the key architectural moments in this project is the link space between the two wings — a subtle transition zone where the use of continuous cladding creates a transparent threshold, reducing the perceptual divide between inside and out.

To strengthen the feeling of moving between the two distinct forms, we continued the vertical shiplap weatherboards from the exterior into the interior, using JSC Taxon thermally modified timber.

Within the link spaces, the lower ceilings and the warmer, darker-toned timbers provide a more intimate, compressed experience — a deliberate contrast to the lighter, larger volumes found within the main wings of the building.

It’s these quiet transitions that help shape how the home feels and functions.

www.spacearchitecture.co.nz

29/10/2025

With the horrendous weather that the country has been enduring this month, Nathan and Stuart managed to time their site inspection perfectly today. Even with the perfect weather conditions and gorgeous views I don't think I'd be game enough to climb the scaffolding on this project though😉

Today was a defects inspection of the building envelope which has included a full re-clad, including a new warm roof and high performance joinery. A full refurbishment of the exterior of this apartment building has involved meticulous detailing and careful construction by the team @ Pinnacle Construction Ltd.

We are celebrating the curved double glazed thermally broken kitchen window today. It was quite a mission evidently.

Work continues on the penthouse apartment, which is under going a complete interior refurbishment and garden make over. Watch this SPACE .....