As senior architect, Stacey brings more than 30 years’ experience to her role, including over a decade in her own practice. But it’s a shared set of values that makes her such a good fit; her design philosophy is grounded in sustainability and efficiency. “Reduce. Reduce. Reduce. That’s my ethos,” says Stacey, a previous winner of Home NZ magazine’s Green House of the Year award: “I try to make things concise to lessen the impact on the Earth.”
Her portfolio not only includes residential dwellings in spectacular landscapes – “I always relate the form to the land and the materials to the form” - but large-scale education projects and she was even involved in designing a church. With her own home in Queenstown, Stacey also helped with the build. “Getting my hands dirty gave me a hands-on appreciation of process. I learnt so much,” she says.
This acumen translates right through from the initial design concept to the tiniest details. In her new role at RTA Studio, she is currently working with the team on the design of a mid-century style house in Fairlie and the conversion of an old woodshed to retail and office space on a farm at Lindis Crossing. “The clients have a focus on making things better for generations to come. They have installed solar panels on the land that are part of the water management on the farm and wish to recycle materials,” she explains.
When Stacey’s not at the drawing board or on the road completing site visits, she finds her Zen in yoga, skiing, walking or baking. She feels energised by the collaborative nature of being part of a multi-studio practice, with a line-up of exciting projects on the go. Right here, right now, it feels like the right place to be. As Stacey says: “I feel like I’ve landed on my feet.”