HMOA represented in Queenstown and Wānaka

What started as a wild idea after a couple of ski holidays last year slowly clicked into a feasible plan, especially when we secured a great rental on Bremner Bay looking out to Treble Cone – we can see the snow ploughs operating at night. It was also good timing as our 13-year-old twins were about to start high school, and we’d heard wonderful things about Mount Aspiring College.

The twins love the outdoors –  sailing, mountain biking and skiing –  and had been at us about moving south, so the decision seemed to work on many levels. The quality of the high-end residential work in the Queenstown Lakes District is a great fit for HMOA, as are the opportunities for multi-unit and other commercial projects that are also in line with our brand and portfolio.

I've been working with an Auckland developer on two houses in Jack’s Point overlooking Willow Pond with views towards the Remarkables. The first house, Jack's Point House, is almost finished, with the landscaping well underway. It will be on the market soon.  

Significant additions to Arrowtown House, including a pool, were recently completed. It was designed by Christchurch director Duval O’Neill, who also works across projects in the Queenstown Lakes District. Duval is currently working on alterations to a classic 1950s crib in Arrowtown’s historic zone.

In Wānaka, HMOA's Hawksbury Manager's House, a Californian modernist home, was designed by Max Herriot in partnership with LA architects Marmol Radziner and Associates. On its completion, the project won an NZ Institute of Architects regional award.

Our second Wānaka project has just had the green light. It's a new holiday home close to Peninsula Bay with views over the lake to Roy’s Peak and Treble Cone and is in the planning stages.

With directors and teams across New Zealand, HMOA brings a mix and breadth of skills to every project, no matter the location. This approach means we operate as one connected practice, which is an advantage for our clients, whether it’s large-scale commercial work, adaptive reuse, new homes or extensive alterations, we already have the expertise and proven relationships. This collective knowledge and depth of experience strengthen our design thinking and problem-solving, benefiting our clients and their projects.

My own experience spans both architecture and landscape design, which means I bring a holistic approach to projects, always considering building form, materials and spatial planning in relation to the surrounding environment. In Central Otago, the landscape provides such a powerful context and informs how a building sits on the land, how it frames and captures views and how indoor and outdoor spaces connect.

Definitely, I work remotely with the Auckland team and regularly fly up to meet with clients and colleagues. I’m not the only one. Since moving down here, I’ve met many developers and residential clients who work between Auckland and the Queenstown Lakes District, and that balance seems to work well.

The action-packed activities: the sailing club, mountain bike tracks and ski slopes are all on our doorstep.  Our twins, Jasper and Phoebe, love heading to the sailing club straight after school; they’re sailing five or six days a week. I’ve been driving the safety boat for club racing on Thursday nights; it’s fantastic being out on the lake, plus I get a burger and beer for my efforts rescuing stranded sailors!

We’ve just picked up mountain bikes from our mate Campbell at Chargeabout in Queenstown, so we’re looking forward to getting up onto the mountain bike tracks at Glendhu Bay and can’t wait to go skiing once the season starts again. 

Give me a call or email. I’m also happy to meet for a chat and a coffee.