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Alki Design

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Alki Design, Architectural Designer, 38 Bernard Road, Albert Town.

Alki is a boutique architecture and design studio creating soulful, high-performance spaces that connect us — to our environment, to each other, and to our future.

12/10/2026

We’re opening the doors to our little Yakisugi Cabin as part of the Wao Summit 2026 Better Building Tour.

An opportunity to step inside, explore the details and hear a little more about the thinking behind the project.

From reclaimed materials and hand-charred macrocarpa to the innovative building system, the cabin is an exploration of how thoughtful design, natural materials and resourceful building practices can help us tread a little more lightly on the land.

Charlotte and Stefan will share insights into the design and construction of the cabin, while award-winning architect Charissa Snijders will bring a broader perspective on regenerative design, exploring how architecture can contribute positively to the land, climate and communities around us.

We’d love to see you there!

Thursday 29 October | 1pm–5pm
Yakisugi Cabin, Albert Town, Wānaka
Part of the Wao Summit 2026 Better Building Tour. Find out more and book via

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18/09/2026

The details are where the thinking becomes tangible.

At Yakisugi Cabin, sustainability wasn’t treated as a separate layer of the design. It informed the way the building was made, how materials were selected, and how the cabin responds to its site.

From the breathable StrawSIP walls and natural clay finish, to salvaged corrugate and a rain garden that returns water directly to the ground, each detail was considered as part of a wider system.

Nothing particularly complicated. Just a series of small, deliberate decisions that together allow the building to tread a little more lightly.
Architecture shaped by what is needed, what is available, and what can ultimately be returned to the land.

Yakisugi Cabin, Wānaka
Photography
Construction

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04/09/2026

Three awards for our little cabin, and this one feels especially meaningful. 🤎

Alongside its Regional Awards for New Home up to 150m² and Home Interiors, Yakisugi Cabin received the 2026 Regional ADNZ Resene Kaitiakitanga Award.

From the beginning, this project was about doing more with less. Working with what we already had, making careful choices, and finding ways to reduce impact without compromising the experience or beauty of the architecture.

To have that thinking recognised through an award for kaitiakitanga feels incredibly special.
The judges said:
“Through thoughtful material selection and resourceful design, this project demonstrates a genuine commitment to sustainability. Salvaged joinery, careful site planning, and innovative environmental strategies combine to minimise its footprint while maximising design outcomes.”

A pretty special night for a very little cabin. 🥹

Thank you , and to everyone who helped us bring it to life.

Photography
Construction

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03/09/2026

A second recognition for our little cabin. 🤎

Last Friday night at the 2026 ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards, Yakisugi Cabin also received a Regional Award for Home Interiors.

So much of the cabin was shaped slowly and by hand, with an emphasis on natural materials, their imperfections, and creating spaces that simply feel good to be in.

We’ve always believed the materials we choose have a profound influence on how a space is experienced, so to have that recognised by the judges means a lot:
“This interior is distinguished by its thoughtful and honest use of natural materials. Clay plaster walls, timber milled on site, and a breathable building fabric work together to create a calm, tactile environment.”

Thank you .

Photography
Construction

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25/08/2026

Timber is not passive.

It responds.

To moisture.
To climate.
To load.
To time.

Its grain, density, durability and stability are shaped by the conditions of its growth, and each species brings its own particular characteristics.

To design well with timber is to pay attention to these differences. To understand that movement and variation are not necessarily flaws to overcome, but qualities to anticipate and work with.

Performance comes from aligning design decisions with the nature of the material. From grain orientation and moisture allowance to species selection, flashing, fixing, junctions and protection. Often, it is these quieter acts of architecture that allow timber to perform well over time.

Because performance is not standardised. It is specific.

The Timber Series – Volume III: Performance explores the intelligence within timber and what it means to design with a material that is responsive, directional and inherently variable.

Read the full journal via the link in our bio.

Featuring The Log House, works in progress
Timber: Existing 1980s Oregon Pine logs from Southland, paired with a reclaimed Southland bridge beam used as a lintel in the new schist addition.

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19/08/2026

Project: The Fold
Location: Luggate, Central Otago
Status: Construction & Consent Documentation

The floor plan has been carefully organised around family life — balancing togetherness with retreat while remaining flexible enough to support changing needs over time.

Living spaces occupy the northern and eastern edges of the home, opening directly to sheltered courtyards and gardens that extend daily life outdoors. Bedrooms are grouped separately to provide privacy, quieter sleeping environments and protection from the harsher western climate, while bathrooms, services and storage are consolidated to reduce construction cost and simplify servicing.

Designed with both a growing family and ageing parents in mind, circulation is intuitive, wheelchair accessibility has been integrated from the outset, and every square metre has been carefully considered to minimise unnecessary space while maximising function.

The result is a home that feels generous without being excessive — one shaped by landscape, performance and the evolving rhythms of family life.

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18/08/2026

Project: The Fold
Location: Luggate, Central Otago
Status: Construction & Consent Documentation

Conceived as a calm, high-performance family home, this project responds directly to the climate, landscape and rural character of Central Otago.

The architecture is shaped by the site's opportunities and constraints. Living spaces open east toward the Clutha River and Grandview Range, while sheltered courtyards protect outdoor living from the prevailing north-westerlies. Operable timber shutters temper the northern sun, allowing the home to adapt throughout the seasons while maintaining comfort and privacy.

Materiality draws from the surrounding agricultural landscape. Acid-washed corrugated steel, timber detailing and natural plaster create a restrained palette that references local farm buildings while celebrating warmth, durability and low-toxicity construction. A high-performance StrawSIP envelope quietly underpins the project, pairing passive solar design with an efficient building fabric designed for generations of family life.

The result is a home that responds to its landscape as much as it responds to the family who will live within it.

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12/08/2026

A new online home for ALKI.

Over the past little while, we’ve been quietly shaping a new website that better reflects who we are, how we work, and the architecture we believe in. A space to gather the work, ideas and questions that define ALKI.

Our new website brings these threads together. Our projects, our practice and our philosophy, all in one place, with room to continue evolving alongside us.

A little more considered.
A little more curious.
A little more us.

Our new website is now live.

https://alkidesign.co.nz/

Have a wander. We’d love to know what you think.

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11/08/2026

We often think of timber as inherently sustainable.

Renewable.
Carbon storing.
Natural.

But the environmental story of timber is more complex.

Its impact begins long before it becomes part of a building. In the forests it comes from. The way those forests are managed. The biodiversity they support. The time allowed for regeneration. And the longevity of the buildings we create with them.

Sustainability is never defined by a material alone. It asks us to look beyond what we build with, towards the systems, choices and stewardship that sit behind it.

The Timber Series – Volume II: Planet explores timber through the lens of whole-of-life thinking, responsible forestry and our relationship with the living systems our buildings ultimately come from.

Read the full journal via the link in our bio.

Featuring The Ryokan, works in progress
Timber: Untreated timber from the family farm, milled on site and crafted locally.

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06/08/2026

We often think we experience architecture with our eyes.

But long before we consciously analyse a space, our bodies have already responded.

To the light.
To the materials.
To the sound.
To the atmosphere.

Timber has occupied a special place in architecture for centuries. Not simply because of how it performs, but because of how it feels to live with. Its warmth, texture and subtle variation connect us to the natural world in ways we rarely stop to consider.

The Timber Series – Volume I: People explores the relationship between architecture, materials and human wellbeing.

Read the full journal: https://alkidesign.co.nz/philosophy/the-timber-series-volume-i-people/

Featuring Wawata Cabin
Timber: Reclaimed Australian Spotted Gum, supplied by LMA Timbers.
Photography:

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Address

38 Bernard Road
Albert Town
9305

Opening Hours

Monday	8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:30am - 5pm
Thursday	8:30am - 5pm
Friday	8:30am - 5pm

Telephone

+64272611588

Website

http://www.alkidesign.co.nz/

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