With visions of snowboarding and mountain biking on weekends, architect Nick du Bern couldn’t believe his good fortune when an opening at our Wānaka studio aligned with his professional goals and outdoor interests. In fact, he calls it a ‘double win’. Nick, who studied at the Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne, says one career highlight was collaborating with sculptor Rangi Kipa on the Te Puna project at the National Library. Another is working on the Hangar 4 development for Air New Zealand in his previous position at Studio Pacific Architecture. At RTA Studio, he’s translating his considerable experience on big projects to the smaller scale, working on an exciting house design in the Wakatipu basin.
In Auckland, Nina Boyd, who recently returned home from Paris and also previously worked at Studio Pacific Architecture, has joined the Living House team, turning her talents to developing a two-bedroom typology. It’s a natural fit for Nina since her role at Paris’ Cutwork Studio involved design collaboration on a large-scale co-living space in Prague, an emerging typology that is reimagining the way people live in European cities. Nina, who has been a registered architect for four years, has also lived in Milan so she brings an international perspective to our local context and was attracted to RTA Studio’s reputation for sustainable design.
Architectural graduate Isabella Zeng was recently named a Student Winner of the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP), an international award to advance the appreciation of architectural design worldwide and she’s looking forward to attending the glamorous event ceremony (usually held at the Guggenheim, Bilbao). Izzy, as she is known around the office, was born in Sichuan province, China but studied at the University of Auckland. She loves that architecture sits at the intersection of art, culture and the built environment and the way design can bring meaning to cities and communities. Contributing to a commercial heritage building renovation in Ponsonby Road is her first RTA Studio assignment.
Architect Sunita Devireddy was born and brought up in West Auckland where her father, recognising his young daughter's burgeoning interest in house design, would take her along to open homes for fun. Graduating from the University of Auckland allowed her to bring a childhood love of hand-drawing plans and making cardboard models of buildings to the work realm.
Sunita has a growing portfolio, including international projects in Fiji and Canada, and experience abroad in Australia and Bengaluru. And with recent work on the Auckland and Canadian rail transport network, she's going places fast.
She says her chosen career continues to challenge her and keep her creativity flowing; she loves the technical and problem-solving aspects of architecture. At RTA Studio, Sunita is currently involved in a warehouse conversion to office retrofit (including looking at existing weathertightness of the façade). When she’s not in the office, you can often find her on the badminton court.