I'm an architectural designer based in Mangawhai, Northland. I run OTO Group Architecture, a small residential practice designing homes, cabins, renovations, and minor dwellings across New Zealand.
I trained at the Aarhus School of Architecture in Denmark and worked in Scandinavia for several years before coming back to Aotearoa. That time shaped how I approach buildings: honest materials, human scale, passive solar thinking, and spaces that are designed from the inside out around how people actually live.
I work with hand drawings and physical models. Not because it's nostalgic, but because a model you can hold tells you things about light and volume that a screen can't. I also run a workshop in Mangawhai where I design and build custom details for each project. Door handles, light fittings, handrails, furniture. The things you touch every day should carry the same care as the building they sit in.
Our projects run from the Far North through Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Wellington, Nelson, Queenstown, and Central Otago. The Mangawhai Dune House, a home I designed for my parents at Tern Point, was featured on Grand Designs New Zealand and in Home Magazine. Our work has also been covered in Business North and Junction Magazine.
I bring builders into the design process early. I'm upfront about fees from the first meeting. And I think architecture should be accessible to more people than it currently is. A well-designed small home is a better place to live than a poorly planned large one.
If you're thinking about building or renovating anywhere in New Zealand, I'd welcome a conversation.
nick@otogroup.nz
022 309 0531
otogroup.nz