"We had the pleasure of working with Duncan to design our new and forever home.Duncan has vision, architectural integrity and a raft of experience and knowledge in designing buildings that are not only functional but environmentally sustainable.

He listened to our desire for a home with simple elegance that was warm and comfortable and gave us exactly that. Duncan was mindful of our budget, had excellent communication skills, provided us with innovative design solutions for our particular site limitations and was a pleasure to work with.

Our beautiful home is a collaboration of our wants and needs and Duncan’s vision and expertise. "

Graeme and Cathie Calman

"Duncan and I have collaborated on some of the residential projects in Palmerston North.

He is one of the most reliable professionals I have come across. All work was usually produced before time and with great accuracy. I really enjoyed is honesty towards timelines and workloads.

Communicating with Duncan is very simple as he is always calm and has a smile even in the most stressful situations. So thank you Duncan for being such a thoroughprofessional."

Monika Puri, Principal, 242AM Architects Ltd

"Jigsaw Whanganui is a well-established local charity assisting whānau and families provide great care and nurture to their children.

Last year in our team engaged with over 700 local families. Concerned for the suitability of our premises, our Trust recently commissioned Duncan of Black Pine Architects to provide them a Briefing Report on the design and office fit-out out that would best support our team (currently 22 staff) working effectively into the future.

Duncan was great to work with. He went the extra mile to understand the culture and values that underpins the agency’s services. He consulted extensively with staff and other stakeholders who found him a very astute listener. For me it was eye opening - Duncan posed questions we had not even considered. He really wanted to find out what makes our very diverse team tick and then apply his extensive design knowledge. Duncan’s final report was extremely well informed, clear and concise, enabling our Board to make a very well informed decision.

Commissioning Duncan was an extremely wise investment. I recommend him very highly. He’s an astute, very personable, able and affordable professional."

Tim Metcalf, Executive Officer

“Duncan, from Black Pine Architects, very quickly worked out our slightly unconventional style. He offered alternative ideas (including the initial concept of rubber cladding!) and eventually through his meticulous attention to design detail, delivered an incredible space and transformed our living” (Andrew)

“When we first saw the house, we quickly saw the opportunity to retain the grandeur of the architectural features of old, and at the same time put a contemporary and even daring addition to the tired parts…so we did!” (Carolyn).

"Fast reliable service, friendly helpful communication.

Architype Ltd evaluated a number of companies to outsource Revit modelling to.

However, it was Duncan’s friendly and knowledgeable approach, along with his expertise as a practising architect rather than a Revit technician, that gave us assurance that the Revit modelling would meet our needs.

We knew we could communicate in ‘the same language’ so to speak and Duncan would understand the architectural and construction aspirations, as well as how to produce the 3d models in Revit.

We have no hesitation in recommending Black Pine for Revit modelling and documentation services."

Elrond Burrell, Associate, Architype Ltd (Hereford, UK)

"I had the pleasure of collaborating with Duncan on an educational project for the NZ MOE. True to the reputation of the Kiwis, Duncan was was very kind and hospitable to us foreigners on the project.

Duncan helped to organize and assemble the team, attended all of the meetings with the client, answered many of the clients questions, and served as the local architectural expert for the team. Though we spent over a month working together and meeting through Skype, we never had the pleasure of meeting in person. I hope one day to get the opportunity to travel to NZ to thank Duncan in person for all his help on the project.

I look forward to working with him and Black Pine Architects again when the opportunity arises."

Allen Post, AIA, LEED AP

"We found doing the Discovery Report with Duncan really beneficial. It gave us the opportunity to discuss concerns, gain information and design insight. It gave us traction and confidence to get the project underway, knowing that we had a creative expert to help us along the way. It was also a great opportunity to meet with Duncan, to get to know him, and to see if we could have a good working relationship, and if we related well on a personal level.

I would highly recommend this process to anyone. It was great value for money. Also the end product, the Report itself, meant all of our information was in one place and became a handy resource for others involved in the project to access our information. "

Alex & Peter Allen

Glen Spink, Production Manager at Pacific Helmets Ltd said…

“Working with Duncan was easy. He understood our [desired] outcome and respected the budget. He offered many solutions, both practical and visionary, often offering advice on areas we would not normally have thought of. The result is something quite different, but very functional. We would quite happily use Duncan again on other projects.”