New Build Homes
We design new homes from the ground up - shaped by your site, your budget, and the way you want to live.
Falcons Rest
Castle Hill, New Zealand
Shark House
Christchurch, New Zealand
A home designed around you, not adapted to you.
A new build is the rare chance to get everything right from the beginning: orientation, light, warmth, flow, and a plan that fits your life rather than a previous owner's. We start with the site and the brief - not a preconceived style - and design homes that are calm, functional, and built to last well beyond their consent documents.
Building new in New Zealand means designing for real conditions: steep and compact sites, extra-high wind zones, seismic requirements, and district plan rules that reward early, careful planning. We design confidently within these realities - and we've delivered new homes on sites from the Kāpiti Coast to Queenstown.
Every new home we design is drawn, in detail, by the same team that observes it being built. From feasibility and concept design through consenting, procurement and construction, one studio carries your project from first sketch to completion.
Selected new build projects
Your new build questions, answered
Hole in One
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Ridge Road
Mahurangi East, New Zealand
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Build costs vary widely with site, size, specification and region, and they move with the market - so we'd rather give you a real number than a stale one. Early in Pre-Design we establish your target budget, and we test the design against it with a Quantity Surveyor's estimate at an appropriate stage, before documentation begins, so there are no surprises at pricing.
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As a guide: design and consenting typically takes 6–12 months depending on complexity and council timeframes, and construction a further 10–18 months. We map the full programme with you at the start so you can plan around it.
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Yes. We offer site feasibility assessments before you buy - reviewing the district plan rules, wind zone, geotechnical risk, access and orientation so you know what a section can actually deliver before you commit to it.
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Both. We can design for a builder you already trust, run a competitive or negotiated tender on your behalf, or introduce you to builders we've worked with and would recommend for your project type.
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It's our default, not an add-on. Every home we design prioritises orientation, insulation beyond Code minimums, and healthy, low-energy performance - and we can take that as far as Homestar certification or full Passive House design.
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Our fees are structured around the stages of our design process, so you can engage us for the full journey or defined stages. We confirm our scope and fee structure in writing before design begins - talk to us about what fits your project.
Contact First Light Studio.
If you're interested in working with us, complete the form with a few details about your project. We'll review your message and get back to you within 48 hours.
Why First Light?
Design Led - Architecture that enhances how you live and adds long term value.
Sustainable outcomes - Better performance, comfort, and lower environmental impacts.
Collaborative process - Clear communication and guidance from concept to completion.