“One of the biggest fears for all architects, I think, is being pigeon-holed,” says Sam Brown, Founder and Director of Arête Architects.

“When I started the practice four years ago, the ambition was to develop residential projects that responded really positively to the environment. Since my business partner, Johnny Fletcher, joined the practice as a Director in 2022, we’ve grown into a practice that delivers highly detailed, high-performance, sustainably minded, and responsive architectural solutions, primarily in the residential space, but also diving into the hospitality and commercial realms. And we’re still evolving.”

Sam’s passion for performance is personal, and he’s determined to provide that for all of his clients. “I’ve lived in some pretty terrible houses over the years,” he says, “and I now live in a great one, built to Passive House standard. It’s 21 degrees in here right now with no heating on, even though it’s only four degrees outside. Once you’ve experienced a space that’s well designed, you can’t look beyond it, and it’s important to me to fundamentally change the residential sector so that anyone can experience that, not just high-end, bespoke architectural clients. It’s all about finding a middle ground between beautiful design and functionality.”

Arête is bridging that gap with supply and build partner, selectSIP, whose structural insulated panels (SIPs) provide a cost-effective solution that is adaptable enough to support a range of architectural visions. “One specific product we have worked on is SIPtris: modular, off-the-shelf design solutions that challenge the group home market. We even used SIPs in my own family home, Tiu Studio.”

Tiu Studio is stage one of what Sam expects will eventually be a much larger family home. “For now, it’s a holiday house and studio that I use monthly when I come down from Wellington to Lake Hāwea to work. The design intention was to challenge convention and buck the Central Otago suburban housing trends with a structure that mirrors the natural environment, rather than the more uniform houses around it. The modest yet highly functional 36m2 studio apartment is rated to Homestar 6 and is a glimpse into the future of high-performance housing.”

Many of the elements of Tiu, including its SIP construction, are also evident in The Village, a symbiotic design by Arête featuring two interconnected homes. “That project started with a little 70sqm cottage on an incredible site in Queenstown, with a clear view of the Remarkables and the lake. You couldn’t ask for a better site, but the house that was on it was outdated. We worked with the owner to reimagine it as two interconnected homes with shared aspects, spaces and utility, while maintaining privacy. The intention was to create a cross-pollinated, intergenerational family space where the owner’s adult children and their families could come back and visit. We wanted the volumes and the forms of the home to be quite sympathetic to the Queenstown landscape and, perhaps, a bit more responsive than some of the extravagant houses that surround it. The result is soft and welcoming - a really successful design solution.”

This outside-of-the-box thinking is present across Arête’s portfolio, with projects that have been given the creative space and energy to grow. “Our Karaka Tower project started with clients who wanted a modest window extension,” Sam says. “But as we worked with them, that concept evolved into a tower annex surrounded by native bush in Eastbourne, Wellington. It’s a place to reflect and retreat, and so much more than just an additional bedroom. Its stacked, modular volumes were prefabricated off-site and then helicoptered in. It’s a great example of our willingness to innovate and create unique solutions. Karaka Tower is more like a piece of joinery than a house. It’s a really beautifully crafted piece of work that has become a jewel in our portfolio.”

Their flagship project, Hill House, has only recently been fully realised, after being one of the first designs in Arête’s portfolio when the practice started four years ago. “Hill House was commissioned only two or three months after the practice started,” Sam says. “The design was for an extremely challenging site with a 55-degree slope straight into rock and incredibly strict covenants on the development. I was so excited that they took a chance on us, as a new practice, and I saw it as an opportunity to maximise this really unique space to create a statement home for the client. The resulting house nestles back into the Wellington hillside at the rear, but erupts forward as well in this great juxtaposition with huge attention to detail. The client is a building contractor; working alongside him enabled us to be extremely ambitious.” The result, Sam says, is a showcase of Arête’s biggest strength: collaboration. “In an environment that can be so rife with stress, it’s really important to us to work with our collaborators on a level playing field. We want them to enjoy the process. Hill House was a great example of that.”

When he’s not busy building his practice, Sam co-hosts the Design Principles Pod podcast with fellow design professionals Ben Sutherland and Gerard Dombroski. “There were a few of us who used to go to the pub in Wellington and catch up about the industry and the highs and lows of whatever we were working on. It was always really interesting and inspiring, and I’d leave with a new take on things. And then, a couple of years ago, Ben pushed us to take those conversations into a podcast format. Design Principles Pod is meant to provide an accessible understanding of the profession to anyone who wants to listen, as opposed to something super niche or nuanced, which I’ve found is what you often get when a bunch of architects start talking shop. For us, it’s more about bringing what’s on our minds to the table and talking about it - no topic is off limits. We’ve been lucky to have some pretty great guests, and I’ve really enjoyed the feedback from people, particularly students, about what they’re learning from us or how we’re changing their thought processes.”

Looking ahead, Sam is keen to keep growing and evolving his work. “In some ways, both Karaka Tower and Hill House were proofs of concept. Through those projects and our work with SIPtris, we’ve showcased what we can do, and I’m excited now to push myself into new kinds of projects. Arête is currently working on a big rebrand that we’re planning to launch next month, which I think will help to better position us and express who we are as a practice. Small, young firms can sometimes get lost in the industry, and we want to spread the word about our capability. The key message, I guess, is that we’re really adaptable. We have the innovation, experience and vision to deliver any kind of project - we just need the right client, brief and budget.”

To learn more and connect with Sam, follow him on LinkedIn, keep an eye on Arête’s Instagram for project updates and their upcoming rebrand, and check out the Design Principles Pod podcast.