“With some architects, it’s their way or the highway. But Graeme describes himself as the builder's architect. He respects our skills, and says, if you've got a better way to do it, you tell me. That openness was at the forefront throughout our project. There was a lot of collaboration and give and take.”

“When we first met Graeme, we discovered mid-century Christchurch architecture is one of his loves. In fact, he’d written his thesis on our original architect’s work and understood how the building worked better than we did, so when we came to renovate, he was the obvious choice. It was nice to feel we had someone very invested in the build.”

“If you work with an architect, make the most of them. There's no point engaging a professional unless you're going to listen. We could have hired a draughtsman to translate our ideas into drawings, but we wanted to be challenged. Working with Graeme has brought unexpected pleasures.”

“Graeme has crafted all these lovely little touches we don't realise are there until we use them. Stunning details we’d never get in a house that hadn't been designed by someone who really knows what they’re doing.”

“Graeme is one of the most knowledgeable architects we know. We used to come away from meetings with him and comment on how experienced and wise he was, because he’d answer all our questions, and come up with other options.”