About

Architectus is an architecture and urbanism practice designing places and spaces tuned to their communities, context and culture. Advocates for integrated design, we apply a rigorous and tailored approach to create environments that are inspiring and enduring.

About Us

For over 30 years, we have been realising innovative and bespoke projects around Aotearoa New Zealand, shaping precincts and campuses with people and sustainability at their heart.

Architectus was founded in Aotearoa New Zealand in 1986 by Malcolm Bowes, Patrick Clifford, and Michael Thomson. The practice of today is led by nine Principals and has evolved into a Trans-Tasman partnership where we enjoy a strong relationship and joint ownership structure with Architectus Australia – a relationship established over twenty years of collaboration.

Architectus is one of Australasia’s largest and most diverse architecture practices with more than 770 talented designers and specialists working across twelve studios.

Founding Principals Patrick Clifford, Michael Thomson and Malcolm Bowes in 1995

Our Purpose

We believe architecture begins with a social agenda. It must nurture and grow communities and individuals, and enhance its neighbourhood and city. Appropriate, efficient and elegant architecture for today becomes the urban fabric of the future – we design for this longevity, to create places that will serve generations to come.

Design Philosophy

While a good project must firstly solve practical needs and be viable, a truly great project must embody a community’s broader cultural context: its urban and architectural setting, its local geography and ecology, and the stories of its people. The more meaningful a place becomes through a true sense of belonging, the greater the value and longevity it has for its community.

We believe placemaking in Aotearoa is grounded in a bicultural creative process. We partner with mana whenua to embed their aspirations and cultural narratives across functional, ceremonial, spatial and artistic dimensions.

Underpinning these human stories is our responsibility to be judicious with natural resources. Environmentally sensitive architecture requires us to be energy-efficient and space-efficient, and to use low-carbon materials and ethically sourced products.

This is a holistic approach that embeds our practice in a continuum of artistic and technical progress, so the architecture we are responsible for will be relevant for decades to come.

Our Principles

Enduring
Efficient, contextual and adaptable design that stands the test of time.

Progressive
Continual assessment and integration of advanced materials, technology and best practices.

Sustainable
Optimised spaces, materials and energy use, so that projects perform environmentally.

Bicultural
Creative partnership with mana whenua to embed cultural values, aspirations and narratives.

Rigorous
Critical research and analysis backed by extensive project experience.

Our Services
  • Architecture
  • Urban Design
  • Interior Design
  • Workplace Strategy & Design
  • Building Information Modelling (BIM)
Environmental Performance

Architectus is a Toitū carbonzero certified organisation. We are committed to sustainable working practices and prioritising our responsibility to safeguarding our planet. Our aim is to steadily reduce our operation and business-related carbon emissions each year and offsetting our emissions through Toitū certified credits.