Our Approach

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OUR APPROACH

Skill, not ego.

As one of the country’s foremost architectural design practices, we’ve won our fair share of awards. Yet recognition isn’t what drives us. We live for the process, the collaborations with clients and contractors, exploration of exciting design options, and the opportunity to enrichen environments for individuals and communities.
We leave our egos at the door, and approach our work with rigour, creative intelligence and a healthy dose of pragmatism. And so our designs carefully consider buildability, conceived for greater control over your timelines and budgets. Our ambition is to exceed your ambitions, whatever the project.

That’s probably why we have such a long list of return clients.

‘The Bossley team are strong creatively, with solid follow-through with design, drawings, project management, problem-solving. I’ve taken away so much positivity from my experience working with them, and from the resulting project.’ Commercial Client.

Ideas for People and Place

Our practice is built on dedication. We aim to find the right outcome, not the most obvious one. Places that speak to people, do right by our communities and environment, inspire and engage.

Our design approach sees design as a spiralling flight – one that enables us to gather as much information as possible, before we alight on a notion or range of options. To do this, we listen. We facilitate discussions and workshops to unearth the desires and requirements of everyone with a stake in the project. We collaborate with other designers, artists and thinkers. And we work closely with mana whenua to deliver outcomes that incorporate tikanga Māori values as integral generators of our concepts, rather than mere decorative elements.
It’s a satisfying process for everyone: we believe the work that we love so much should also be enjoyable for our clients.

‘Skilful, versatile, and receptive. Open to working together…that’s Bossleys.’ Residential Client.

The resulting wealth of insight often leads us to unique or surprising outcomes. Places that are deeply considered, robustly researched and authentic. Places that, if they do win an award, do so for all the right reasons.

Sustainability

We recognise that construction plays a large part in our human-made climate crisis. And we’re committed to working with our clients and contractors to ensure sustainability is pragmatically considered in every project.

This ongoing commitment isn’t new. For decades, Bossley Architects have incorporated the first principles of passive design into our projects, using appropriate orientation, natural ventilation, solar protection, and upscaled insulation. To do otherwise is simply irresponsible. And we always consider low-energy mechanical contributions from heat pumps, hot-water panels and photo-voltaic panels.

We consider the benefits of different materials – such as timber frame construction versus steel or concrete – to reduce your project’s carbon footprint. However, we do this with a wary eye on potential ‘greenwashing’ claims, and always dig deeper to position facts in the wider context of production, use and longevity before we make selections.

We are proud to be a Toitū Net Carbon Zero-certified organisation, and are committed to continually reducing our carbon emissions.

Director Finn Scott is a Greenstar Practitioner and Bossley Architects are signatories to the international Architects Declare Climate and Biodiversity Emergency. Naturally, we are also members of the NZ Green Building Council.

Diversity

At Bossley Architects, we relish diversity in the office for the difference in perspective and experience people bring and we see the results from this diversity in our successful designs.

We’ve always been equal opportunity employers, with no gender pay differentiation and a current female staffing ratio of 46%. We have a female Owner/Director, women represent 50% of our Associate Leadership team, and our staff are encouraged to participate in Architecture+Women NZ. We are committed to pay equity. And we provide flexible arrangements and part-time options for both male and female staff members.

We’re also a Founding Partner of the Diversity Agenda, which helps engineering and architecture firms become more diverse and inclusive through awareness, empowerment and action.

Through our teaching at Schools of Architecture, Directors and staff have supported Āwhina groups to obtain better cultural support. We’ve also supported the development of Māori Design Practitioners through our own practice. These are just a couple of ways we show our commitment to the ongoing development of a New Zealand architecture that reflects the broader cultures of the country – and Te Ao Māori in particular.

For decades, involved iwi engagement, and we’ve been only too pleased to see this become an industry standard. We’re strong advocates for co-design and collaborative processes that engage meaningfully with tangata whenua and provide design solutions that are imbued with kaupapa Māori.

Our Clients

We are proud to have worked with a wide range of commercial, institutional and residential clients. Many of these we have worked with on repeat projects. Our client list includes…..

- Argon Construction Ltd
- Auckland Council
- Auckland Hotel Investments Group ltd
- Auckland War Memorial Museum
- Bayswater Marina Management Ltd
- CDL Hotels (NZ) Ltd
- Conduct Construction Ltd
- Costal Land Trust Holdings Ltd
- Dutch Connection Museum Trust
- Forrest Hill Medical Centre
- Franz Josef Developments Ltd
- Giltrap Group Holdings
- GW Property Group Pty
- Hobsonville Land Company
- Horowhenua District Council
- Ingham Group
- Jackson Russell Lawyers
- Kaipara Foundation
- Kinloch Golf Resort
- La Grouw Corporation
- Manukau City Council
- Massey University
- Modus Lighting Ltd
- New Zealand Land Trust Holdings Ltd
- Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei
- North Shore City Council
- NZ National Maritime Museum
- NZ Transport Agency
- Omarino
- Otago Museum
- Pakuranga Athletics Charitable Trust
- Patteson Developments Ltd
- Plant and Food Research Ltd
- Port Nikau Joint Venture
- Portage Resort Hotel
- Progressive Enterprises Limited
- Queenstown Trust
- Real Journeys
- Retail Holdings Group
- Riverside Partnership Ltd
- South Waikato District Council
- Suisse International Ltd
- Te Rāwhiti Marae
- Te Papa Tongarewa Museum Board
- The Fred Hollows Foundation NZ
- The Greenways Project
- The Hearing House
- The James Wallace Arts Trust
- The McCahon House Trust
- Trailblazers Resort
- Unitec New Zealand
- University of Canterbury
- Waipā District Council
- Waitakere City Council
- Wanganui District Council
- Waterfront Auckland
- Whai Rawa Ltd

What Our Clients Say

‘Such a complex project!!!! Refurbishment is incredibly challenging…..they came up with some real winners….. Some real points of difference for the building means it has won design awards, a fantastic outcome!’ Project Director/Client.

‘We put a lot of trust into this project and that was reciprocated by Bossleys: What more could you ask for?! We are very happy with our new home. We love the design and love living here.’ Client

‘We rave about them. The process was fun. They listen to their clients and are flexible. Because they are experts they resolve issues as they go.’ Client.

‘BA ….are good at finding a cost-effective solution that is aesthetically pleasing. I would recommend Bossley to any client. They listen and adapt to any client, any time, and they would deal with it.’ Mechanical Engineer, collaborator.

‘Bossley architecture has .. a depth to it that others would only dream about – they go straight to the heart of the matter, even if the clients don’t know what they want.’ Architectural Photographer.

‘Best culture I’ve ever seen in architecture. They are practical and honest. Very practical and very helpful. They just want to solve the problems – focused on solutions.’ Contract Manager, Commercial.

Charities

We are really proud to support these organisations doing meaningful work in our communities.

Breast Cancer Foundation NZ
Starship Children’s Hospital
Habitat for Humanity New Zealand
Westpac Rescue Helicopter