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Master Builders Regional House of the Year Award

Hi Mark,
We’re thrilled to let to you know that our House won two awards at the Regional House of the Year Awards last night.

Roger entered our house into the event and we won a Gold in our category. We also won the Sustainable and Environmental Excellence Award for the whole Region. The professional design and thought that you put into our home was recognised by the industry last night, which was a huge thrill for us and we wanted to share that with you. Thank you once again for being our designer and giving us such a wonderful home. We love the house and it has really exceeded our expectations due to your great design and the outstanding build quality by Liam and Eden, led by Roger.

You can find all the details here: https://houseoftheyear.co.nz/houses/2022/nmw-52218-2-5/

Regards
Steve and Karen (September 2022)
Gibson House


Fabulous Design

Well, it's almost finished! We've been in our new home since mid-October.

Your design is absolutely fabulous, both inside and out - it's super warm and so lovely and light. I think the biggest surprise was the amount of sunlight we get in the back garden, and also how much space there is in the back garden! Even when we came in late July it was getting sun almost in the whole area, so we should easily get sun most of the day there from late winter/early spring through to late autumn which is fantastic.

We still get lots of 'cruisers' around looking at the house! You should be well pleased with yourself Mark for such a fantastic design. Everyone remarks on it.

Loveday (December 2020)
Loveday / Phillips House


Warm House & Stunning Looks

Hi Mark,
When talking to Huddy, one of the builders, he said they've had lots of people, even a whole crowd once, on the pavement outside admiring your design, everyone loves it and the comments are nice to see something different. All Chris' golfing mates, and the girls I know think it's great.
The outside looks stunning - the contrast of iron with wood vertical and horizontal is knockout! I'm not surprised people have stood and gaped! It's interesting the comments we've had from people generally who are really interested in the solar passive energy and whole design of the house and the fact that it doesn't have to cost more than a normal house.

When Chris opened the (outside) kitchen door the other evening, the heat poured out! And last Tuesday when we had snow and it was -1º to 1º outside, the chap doing the floor was working in a T-shirt!!!

Sitting here in the rental it's hard to imagine!!! Great work Mark even though TDC was enough to make you lose your hair!

Kind regards
Loveday (September 2020)
Loveday / Phillips House


Appreciate your professional advice

Thanks Mark. Karen and I really appreciate all of your professional advice, input, and awesome design for our future home (if we can get back, that is!). You might be interested to know our budget line for consulting with you was established way back in 2017, from memory, and we only came in a little over budget, so your estimates back then were almost spot on.

We have really enjoyed this process with you and we are very grateful for your assistance.  The clarity you have provided consistently over the last few years has made the process a lot easier for us.

We both hope you get the opportunity to pop over the hill to see Pirihitia as it develops. If you are over that way, even if we are not there, don't hesitate to have a look at the shed; it looks great. 

You will always be welcome in our home.

Steve and Karen (September 2020)
Gibson House


Unique build for Greymouth

Thanks Mark,
have just paid final invoice. Appreciate your part in helping us in the journey towards our desired lifestyle (this is a very unique build for Greymouth!!!). Your swift response and expertise in dealing with issues as they arose was fantastic. We would welcome you and Debbie visiting at any time.

Jade and Steph (February 2018)
Blackman House


What more could we ask?

Thought you'd like to know we are in the house! Thought you'd also like to know that at 9:30 pm tonight it was 19.5C inside and 1.9C outside! This follows a fairly sunny day but not sunny all day. We have had no fire since a brief one on Saturday evening and we don't have curtains up yet!! Wow, show me a standard spec house that would manage that. We absolutely love the house, concrete floor is great, negative detail ply fantastic, earth brick wall looking great and an enormous kitchen island - what more could we ask?

Gill and Geoff Odell (September 2017)
Odell House


A Well Designed Sustainable Building

We have been living in our two storey passive solar house for about two months now and are very pleased with it’s beautiful design and performance. It’s just what we wanted. After a sunny day we usually don’t require any heating because the temperature commonly doesn’t drop below 19 degrees the following morning – even after a frosty night, which is fantastic. The house is attracting a lot of interest and positive feedback.

Thanks very much for your ideas, your commitment and support. It has been great working with you and we will continue to recommend you to anyone potentially interested in creating a well designed sustainable building.

Beate & Joachim Baden (July 2010)
Email Us


The Winter of 2009

Mark’s brief was to design an environmentally friendly adobe (mud brick) home that would comfortably house us through the severe winters in our remote rural valley (Baton Valley).  We thoroughly enjoyed the design process which produced a passive solar home that has worked brilliantly through the cold winter of 2009.  Mark’s passion for incorporating earth into sustainable building design, coupled with a highly professional attention to detail, enabled us to easily meet all relevant standards and building deadlines.  We have no hesitation in recommending Mark Fielding as a building designer.

Helen Walker & Jay Shapiro (Nov 2009)


Wonderful Progress

Thanks for all your hard work over the last month, and of course Gavin and Chris too.  It has been great to see such wonderful progress in the development of the designs. Pete and I are very pleased and excited about the project.     

Kathy and Pete Harcom (Sept 2008)
www.kathyharcom.com


Who Could Ask For More?

My initial brief described a desire to build a warm, simple home, incorporating maximum energy efficiency and within a limited budget. Mark felt confident we could achieve all of these goals. I have now lived in my beautiful home for three and half years and have truly enjoyed the warmth and comfort experienced using passive solar design. By incorporating many eco-friendly principles, we have created a very special house, with the added bonus of incredibly low everyday running costs. Who could ask for more?

Heidi Cooke (2008)


Flight of Fancy

We approached Mark Fielding with a very broad design brief for our new house.  We said please take maximum advantage of the magnificent views and could we have an aviation theme.   From this Mark has produced an absolutely magnificent design which captures the exact feel we were after and suits the site perfectly. The house has surpassed our (and I suspect even Mark's) expectations in terms of the views and practicality of the house.

Throughout the design process we found Mark to be very approachable and open to the inclusion of some of our own ideas into the design.  There are so many of our ideas included in the final design that we feel that while the overall concept is his, that the house is more of a joint effort.

The builder and all the sub contractors have said that they are happy to be building from Mark's drawings as they know that they will be very comprehensive and clear.As we near the end of the building process we continue to receive Mark's support and enthusiasm for the project and look forward to viewing the final product with him over a glass of wine.

Dave Horrell and Tania Robb (2004)


Le Petit House

It is our pleasure to write this testimonial for Mark Fielding, the architect who designed our home and which is currently being built at 17 Windsor Drive, Tasman Heights, Nelson.

We were impressed by what we had seen of Mark’s work and, having already purchased the section, decided to engage his services whilst we were still living in Dubai. Distance did not pose a problem as regular and detailed communication was achieved via e-mail, the use of MSN Messenger and, on occasion, via telephone conversations. In all our (often protracted) dealings, we have never found Mark’s service to be anything other than first class. Right from the start of our working relationship, Mark was fully receptive to the ideas we had for the design of our home and integrated these into his own vision of how the finished product should look. Furthermore, he was relentless in pursuing the project to its fruition and in advising us of the best way forward in terms of the cost, quality and overall aesthetics of the finished construction. Additionally, Mark also assisted us by presenting the relevant planning documents to the council. 

Since starting the project, it is readily apparent (even to the untrained eye) that the quality of Mark’s documentation far exceeds the expected standard. Indeed, even the builder has commented on the fact that his job has been made all the more easier due to the exacting and meticulous attention to detail of the final plans. Moreover, as part of his highly competitive fee, Mark has made himself freely available to address the very few minor issues raised both by ourselves as well as by the builder.

We would have no reservation in engaging Mark’s services again should we ever decide to build again.
Yours faithfully 

Gary and Dee Le Petit (2004)


Everts House

Mark recently designed a new house in Richmond for my wife and me. We have been very impressed with his work right from the start of the project. Mark went through our scrapbook, which contained about a hundred pictures of various houses or bits of houses, and cleverly recognized a pattern or theme on which he based the new design. When we saw the new design we loved it straight away - it was exactly to our taste and entirely original and unique. The floor plan incorporated every single one of our wishes. The final drawings were more detailed than any architect's plans I have ever seen before.

To get to the final plan stage, Mark put in an enormous amount of work. He visited the site with us and studied it in detail. He took photos of the building site and of selected other local houses to seek and define the best features for ours. He built models and took them to show local experts to make sure that they would work. He communicated with the builder-to-be throughout the entire project. Although we felt like he presented us with many choices along the way, Mark also did all the work for us in terms of liaising with Engineers and contractors, printing plans and researching options and Council limitations. During the building phase, Mark is available to make sure the plans translate smoothly into the final product.

Mark's electronic imaging is fantastic. He emailed and printed for us colour 3D images of the planned house from multiple angles - both panoramic and detailed. Mark's design assistance was not just limited to the house structure, but his plans included suggestions for decking, retaining walls and even an exterior colour scheme. He intelligently backed up his opinions when we were discussing options but was ultimately and graciously flexible when we drifted from his initial recommendations.

Mark is highly intelligent, hard working, creative, technically up-to-date, and an excellent communicator. I have heard only good reports about him. Judging by his website, Mark has been able to adapt to the needs of a variety of clients. He made the house-design project thoroughly enjoyable for and I give him my highest recommendation to other clients with similar projects.

Dr Richard Everts (2004)


Young House

When I decided to build a house in Nelson I met many of the local architects and on reflection I feel I was very fortunate that I chose Mark Fielding to design my house in Tasman Heights.  Mark is passionate about his work and listens carefully to find out exactly what kind of home that you want. 

I wanted a house built in a fairly traditional design in the typical kiwi open plan style and that is what I have got!  Everyone who has visited my house has gasped in admiration at the design and layout which has fulfilled my expectations in every way. The house was carefully designed to take maximum advantage of the stunning views as well as the sunshine.  Mark was also instrumental in sourcing an excellent builder to see my project through.

I have been extremely grateful to Mark for all the advice and support that he has given me and enabling me to fulfil my dream of a house built on the other side of the world, which demonstrated his integrity in every way.

Suzie Young (2004)


Bothwell House

I called past the office today but was told you are now working from home. Just wanted to tell you how pleased we both are with our new home. It is a great house to live in too Seems to be getting lots of favourable comment just about every day from people passing. Even contractors  working here commented on the amount of interest. Have put your sign on the fence along driveway side. Happy to leave it there or would you prefer not? Keep up the good work just checked out your web site again!!!

Annette & Kevin Bothwell (2003)


Goodall/Hooper Smith House

Stephen and I are rapped with the standard of drawings/detail you have produced, and working with you was so easy, even when we met challenges along the way.

No doubt we'll be speaking to you on and off till things are rubber stamped so catch up with you soon Mark.

Thanks again for all your commitment, very best wishes,

Linda and Stephen (2002)


Little Kaiteriteri House

On behalf of Jennifer, Grant & myself, we would like to thank you both for the very professional job you have done in creating our dream holiday home.

Firstly to Mark, for a terrific design created from our brief and incorporating our wishes and coming up with some great ideas we would never have thought about. The finished home is beyond what we originalally set out to design. It  really is a statement perched on the hill at Little Kaiteriteri and a great talking point from the main beach at Kaiteriteri.

And thank you to David for managing the project, at times being the “go between” through Mike and ourselves. It really did help with us not being able to be on the spot to keep an eye on the progress.

From the comments we have received from our guests who have stayed atLeisurely Views, they all agree with the concept of a realaxing holiday spot in a luxuary setting with the most made of the views.

We would have no hesitation in recomending you to future clients and would be happy for you to use us as references.

Nerilee (2002)


Jackson House

Thought you'd like to know that we've been in just under a month and everything's fine and we couldn't be happier with the finished (or almost
finished) product. There's been much positive and admiring comment from friends about your design and how well it takes in the aspects both far and close. Dennis & co have made a wonderful job and the whole process has been a very pleasant experience rather than the more usual hassle one hears about.

As you'd imagine, after our long wait, we are delighted with the result and are looking fwd to living out our days in the environment you created!

Jan & Tony Jackson

Solabode Home
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