Architect in Mangawhai: OTO Group Architecture
We're a small architecture practice based in Mangawhai. Nicholas Dunning runs the studio. He trained in Denmark at the Aarhus School of Architecture, worked across Scandinavia for a few years, and came back to New Zealand with a particular way of thinking about buildings: that they should feel good to be in, use honest materials, and not fight their site.
We design homes, cabins, renovations, and the occasional commercial project. Most of our work is residential. We work all over the country from our Mangawhai studio, with projects running from the Far North through Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, and Central Otago at any given time.
We design homes, cabins, renovations, and the occasional commercial project. Most of our work is residential. We work all over the country from our Mangawhai studio, with projects running from the Far North through Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, and Central Otago at any given time.
Why an Architect in Mangawhai?
Mangawhai is a specific kind of place. Dunes, estuary, salt air, shifting sand, serious coastal exposure. It's beautiful and it's demanding. An architect who knows these conditions can work with them rather than pretending they don't exist.
We've designed several homes in the area, including the Mangawhai Dune House, a red brick and glass home set into the dunes at Tern Point. That one was featured on Grand Designs New Zealand and later in Home Magazine. It drew on ideas from Danish modernism (Jørn Utzon, Arne Jacobsen) but it's very much a Mangawhai house, shaped by the sand and the wind and the way the light hits the coast.
We also work throughout Northland, from Te Arai and Pakiri through to Kaiwaka and beyond. Mangawhai is home, not a limit.
We've designed several homes in the area, including the Mangawhai Dune House, a red brick and glass home set into the dunes at Tern Point. That one was featured on Grand Designs New Zealand and later in Home Magazine. It drew on ideas from Danish modernism (Jørn Utzon, Arne Jacobsen) but it's very much a Mangawhai house, shaped by the sand and the wind and the way the light hits the coast.
We also work throughout Northland, from Te Arai and Pakiri through to Kaiwaka and beyond. Mangawhai is home, not a limit.
Residential Architects Mangawhai New Zealand
The thing that makes our process different is that we spend a lot of time at the start figuring out how you actually live. Not how you think you should live, or what looks good on Instagram, but the real patterns. Where do you dump your keys? Where does the morning light hit? How do you move between cooking and eating and sitting down at the end of the day?
Nicholas works with hand drawings and physical models. Not because it's nostalgic, but because a model built at real scale tells you things about volume and light that a computer render simply can't. The process is personal: long conversations, sketches on trace, models you can hold.
Our residential work covers a lot of ground. New builds on coastal and rural sites. Renovations in Auckland's inner suburbs. Holiday homes and baches. Minor dwellings and granny flats that are designed with the same care as a larger house. We've also done salons, offices, and hospitality fit-outs.
Nicholas works with hand drawings and physical models. Not because it's nostalgic, but because a model built at real scale tells you things about volume and light that a computer render simply can't. The process is personal: long conversations, sketches on trace, models you can hold.
Our residential work covers a lot of ground. New builds on coastal and rural sites. Renovations in Auckland's inner suburbs. Holiday homes and baches. Minor dwellings and granny flats that are designed with the same care as a larger house. We've also done salons, offices, and hospitality fit-outs.
Sustainable Architect in Mangawhai
For us, sustainability isn't a feature you bolt on at the end. It's just how we design. Nicholas's time in Scandinavia instilled a deep respect for material economy and for buildings that do most of the work themselves.
In practice, that means orienting buildings to capture winter sun and shed summer heat, so you're not relying on a heat pump to do what a well-placed window could do for free. It means using timber, brick, stone, and glass, chosen for durability and honesty rather than trend. It means designing compact homes that feel generous because the spaces are well proportioned, not because there's a lot of square metres. And it means thinking about how a building performs and ages over decades, not just how it looks on handover day.
We're actively interested in Passive House principles and how they apply in New Zealand, particularly on the Northland coast where wind and humidity create their own set of challenges.
In practice, that means orienting buildings to capture winter sun and shed summer heat, so you're not relying on a heat pump to do what a well-placed window could do for free. It means using timber, brick, stone, and glass, chosen for durability and honesty rather than trend. It means designing compact homes that feel generous because the spaces are well proportioned, not because there's a lot of square metres. And it means thinking about how a building performs and ages over decades, not just how it looks on handover day.
We're actively interested in Passive House principles and how they apply in New Zealand, particularly on the Northland coast where wind and humidity create their own set of challenges.
Architects Mangawhai New Zealand: How We Work
OTO stands for One To One. It refers to the personal relationships we build with clients, and to the full-scale details and models that are part of how we design.
Nicholas maintains a large workshop in Mangawhai. For every project, we design and build custom elements: door handles, light fittings, handrails, cabinetry. These carry the thinking of the wider building right down to the things you touch every day. It comes from a Scandinavian tradition of connecting architecture to craft, where the quality of a building is measured by how it feels to inhabit.
Our work has been featured in Home Magazine, Business North, and Junction Magazine, and on Grand Designs New Zealand.
Nicholas maintains a large workshop in Mangawhai. For every project, we design and build custom elements: door handles, light fittings, handrails, cabinetry. These carry the thinking of the wider building right down to the things you touch every day. It comes from a Scandinavian tradition of connecting architecture to craft, where the quality of a building is measured by how it feels to inhabit.
Our work has been featured in Home Magazine, Business North, and Junction Magazine, and on Grand Designs New Zealand.
What Does It Cost to Hire an Architect in NZ?
There's a common assumption that architects are only for expensive houses. We work across a range of budgets because we think the kind of careful thinking that architecture involves shouldn't be reserved for million-dollar builds. A well-designed small home can be a far better place to live than a poorly planned large one.
We offer different levels of service. Full design through to construction is one option. A focused concept design package, where we establish the big moves and you work with a builder or draughtsperson for documentation, is another. We're upfront about costs from the start, and we bring builders into the conversation early so that what we draw can actually be built within your budget.
We offer different levels of service. Full design through to construction is one option. A focused concept design package, where we establish the big moves and you work with a builder or draughtsperson for documentation, is another. We're upfront about costs from the start, and we bring builders into the conversation early so that what we draw can actually be built within your budget.
Our Process
It starts with a conversation. We meet on your site or over a video call to talk about what you're after, what the site is like, what your budget looks like, and when you want to be in. No cost, no obligation.
From there, we move into concept design. Hand-drawn sketches and physical models, usually exploring two or three different approaches. Once we've agreed on a direction, we develop it into a full set of drawings, coordinate with engineers and other consultants, and prepare everything needed for building consent.
We handle the consent process, working with your local council and any specialists involved. During construction, we visit site regularly to make sure the design intent carries through and to solve problems as they come up.
From there, we move into concept design. Hand-drawn sketches and physical models, usually exploring two or three different approaches. Once we've agreed on a direction, we develop it into a full set of drawings, coordinate with engineers and other consultants, and prepare everything needed for building consent.
We handle the consent process, working with your local council and any specialists involved. During construction, we visit site regularly to make sure the design intent carries through and to solve problems as they come up.
Get in Touch
If you're thinking about building or renovating, or you just want to talk through what might be possible on a piece of land, we'd like to hear from you.
Nicholas Dunning, OTO Group Architecture Email: [email protected] Phone: (+64) 022 309 0531 Web: otogroup.nz
Based in Mangawhai, working throughout Northland, Auckland, and all of New Zealand.
Nicholas Dunning, OTO Group Architecture Email: [email protected] Phone: (+64) 022 309 0531 Web: otogroup.nz
Based in Mangawhai, working throughout Northland, Auckland, and all of New Zealand.