Natalie Stebben

Stepping into the domain of architecture just as computer technology began to intersect with built design, Natalie has long used 3D modelling to explore the boundaries of possibility.
A graduate of the University of Auckland, she carries the precepts of her digital generation within but also an ancestral grounding in the bricks-and-mortar world. A maternal relative was the builder of Riccarton’s first house on the Canterbury Plains in 1843, and her parents and brother are in the construction industry.
Natalie, who joined RTA Studio in 2010, brings these pragmatic and imaginative qualities to a range of projects within the retail, residential and commercial sectors. As a member of the New Zealand Green Building Council, she also takes the sustainability lead across her portfolio, tracking baseline data to monitor the practice’s progress in our goal to design 100 per cent carbon-zero buildings by 2040.
Integral to the formation of the Women’s Group within the studio, she mentors more-junior female staff members, has helped instigate better return-to-work policies, advocates for bridging the gender gap and champions the diversity agenda.
Motherhood has awakened a greater appreciation of the significant role architecture plays in societal and planetary wellbeing. Natalie believes that all typologies, from large-scale buildings within the civic realm to a set of toilet blocks, deserve the same level of critical thought.
After hours, you’ll find her balancing family responsibilities, enjoying notable moments with her musician husband or out on the boat big-game fishing.

“Being a parent makes you look at the future and question your architecture. Huge challenges lie ahead and we need to do things differently.”