Imagine, Design, and Live In Your One-of-a-Kind New Zealand Waterfront Home
Create a life in New Zealand that reflects your style, values, and sense of adventure. Build abroad seamlessly so you can focus on what matters most: making your dream a reality.
Design your custom home with confidence from both sides of the Pacific
Your Priorities, Realized
You deserve the perfect team that puts your unique needs first, whether you want to create a retreat, make an investment, or plan your relocation.
Your waterview home becomes a true reflection of you, with every detail carefully crafted to suit your lifestyle. Blend exceptional experiences with everyday comfort and sustainable living.
Enjoy a Stress-Free Experience
You can relax while we take care of everything. We handle local regulations, project oversight, and sourcing the finest materials, working closely with you to ensure your journey feels smooth and exciting.
Your finished home will showcase the unparalleled quality and exclusivity that make your New Zealand waterfront sanctuary truly yours.
Blend American comfort and practicality with New Zealand’s natural beauty and innovative design.
Cross Pacific Signature Design Service™
Full Architectural and Interior Design Services
Embark on a uniquely curated architectural journey created exclusively for you.
Bold North American design vision seamlessly integrates New Zealand's breathtaking landscapes and luxurious lifestyle.
From dreaming and exploring feasibility to capturing your land's true essence, every detail is thoughtfully designed for you.
Experience masterful design excellence, expert construction management, and bespoke furnishings meticulously crafted to bring your home to life.
Create your personal waterfront sanctuary with visionary artistry and care, inspired to delight and honor the spirit of both sides of the Pacific.
The Pacific Inception Package™
See your lakeview vision come to life with our Pacific Inception Package.
Beyond consultation and feasibility, elevate your dream with inspiring initial design concepts.
Bridge the gap between your lifestyle aspirations and your land's unique potential.
Gain early insights and clarity to confidently guide every decision as your design unfolds.
Make your New Zealand waterside home vision effortless, exciting, and uniquely yours.
Artist impression
Design Prelude Collection™
Discover our thoughtful entry points into the Cross Pacific Signature Experience. Every step is designed to bring clarity, connection, and confidence to your journey.
Architectural Discovery Consultation™
Explore your ideas, discuss project questions, and assess whether there’s a mutual fit with an online video introduction.
Pacific Foundations: Pre-Design Feasibility Study
Make smart, confident decisions with due diligence that examines your site’s potential, legal parameters, and development possibilities.
The perfect option to discover your ideas and see what’s possible for your New Zealand luxury shoreline home.
Artist impression
Our Services
Your luxury waterview home on New Zealand's pristine lakes and beaches awaits. Choose the service that's perfect for you and begin your seamless journey to the home of your dreams.
Design Prelude Collection
Explore the possibilities for your luxury waterside New Zealand home through a refined introductory phase of our architectural services.
Pacific Inception Package
Transform insights from what’s possible into a unique preliminary architectural design tailored for your lifestyle.
Cross Pacific Signature Design Service
A comprehensive architectural service guiding your New Zealand waterfront home from first vision to refined realization—delivered with precision, discretion, and seamless cross-Pacific expertise.
Site Selection
If you need help selecting a site, we have a team and a process which can help you choose the right site for you. This is a stand alone service that can be added to any package.
Optional
Optional
Optional
Architectural Discovery Consultation
One-on-one online video conference with Dawn and Pru to explore your ideas and assess mutual fit.
Complimentary
Complimentary
Pacific Foundations
Pre-Design Feasibility Report—a research-driven due diligence service necessary to establish the basis for design.
Concept Weaving
Site visit to artistic analysis to reveal design potential.
Design Diagnosis and Discovery
Refined concept architectural plan, elevations, 3-Dimensional exterior modeling + preliminary costing.
Refined Vision Development
Detailed Development of Architectural Design.
Interior Storyboarding (Phase 1)
Preliminary Interior Design Concept for all key spaces
Technical Artistry
Technical Development and Coordination of Design for permit
Curated Bidding
Bidding or Tender process to provide build cost for project
Masterful Build Management
Pru leads Administration of the Contract between Client and Contractor from New Zealand
Design Excellence Observations
Observing the works at critical points to ensure construction is in accordance with the documentation
Pacific Lifestyles Interiors (Phase 2)
Development of Detailed Interior Design, Sourcing, and Coordination
Final Flourish
Application for the Code of Compliance from the council
Our Work
Extraordinary waterfront living begins with intention.
Create a refined lake retreat, beachside sanctuary, or sophisticated urban waterside residence—thoughtfully designed to honor the character of its site while expressing your personal vision.
With deep expertise in New Zealand waterfront development, we guide every aspect of the journey—from assembling the right project team to navigating complex design challenges and regulatory approvals—ensuring your home reflects your lifestyle and celebrates its remarkable setting.
Beach House
Harbour Views
Modern Farmhouse
High Tech Modern Residence
Why Work With Cross Pacific Design Group?
US–NZ Luxury Design, Elevated
Typical Architect or Overseas Builder
(What most Americans experience when trying to design or build in New Zealand)
- Confusing, unclear process with major differences between U.S. and NZ systems, codes, consultants, and terminology.
- Lack of understanding of American lifestyle expectations, room sizes, and design sensibilities.
- Plans that don’t align with local NZ site constraints, topography, wind load, coastal requirements, or geotechnical realities.
- Communication gaps due to time zones, misaligned expectations, and unfamiliarity with NZ’s multi-consultant structure.
- Overwhelming for American clients who don’t know how to navigate architects, engineers, surveyors, geotechs, resource consent, or building consent.
- Homes that ignore the emotional experience, focusing only on function and code compliance.
- No guidance on the NZ lifestyle, locations, microclimates, access, or how to choose the right site.
- Architecture and interiors treated separately, leading to mismatched design outcomes.
- Designs that look good on paper but don’t reflect the land, views, or the dramatic beauty of New Zealand’s coastline and mountains.
- You feel lost — unsure what questions to ask, who to hire, or how to avoid costly mistakes.
Cross Pacific Design Group — CP1–CP12 Process
The Only Architect-Led, Experiential, U.S.–NZ Residential Design System Tailored for Americans Building in New Zealand
- Dual-Architect Leadership: An American architect (Dawn Christine) and a New Zealand architect (Pru Pinfold) working seamlessly together so your home honors both American lifestyle expectations and New Zealand building realities.
- A Clear 12-Step CPDG Process: From site selection to concept to consent-ready documentation — you’re guided with absolute clarity, no guesswork, no overwhelm.
- Experiential Architecture: Your home is crafted around how you want to feel, live, host, rest, and experience the dramatic New Zealand environment.
- NZ Site-Responsive Design Expertise: Wind patterns, ocean frontage, volcanic soil, bush privacy, sun angles, slope, stormwater, and coastal building requirements — all integrated from day one.
- Lifestyle-Driven U.S. Perspective: Room sizes, storage, luxury expectations, kitchen flow, functional needs — all aligned with the way Americans live and entertain.
- On-the-Ground New Zealand Team: Realtors, contractors, engineers, and consultants across the North Island — ensuring smooth navigation of local codes, consent, and construction.
- Architect-Led Site Selection Guidance: Piha, Raglan, Tairua, Lake Wanaka, Rotorua, North Shore — you understand where and why to build before committing.
- Seamless Communication Across Oceans: Time zones coordinated, expectations aligned, and a team that anticipates your questions before they arise.
- Architecture + Interiors Developed Together: Colors, materials, finishes, lighting, artwork placement, furniture flow — all intentionally integrated.
- Experiential Indoor–Outdoor Living: Dramatic glazing, wind protection, outdoor rooms, ocean-framed views, mountain silhouettes, fire, water, light, pathways — all custom-designed to NZ’s environment.
- Turnkey Clarity From Two Sides of the Pacific: Concepts, selections, cost expectations, structural coordination, geotech, resource consent, building consent, council requirements — all explained in clear, confidence-building language.
“The time zones were really killing me…trying to find times that overlapped, you’re looking at early morning or late evening… having someone to coordinate that would have been highly beneficial”
Gen Greer
From Boston to New Zealand
2 Architects from 2 Nations are an International Design Collaborative
We bring one-of-a-kind solutions to American Investors and Entrepreneurs designing and building waterview luxury homes in New Zealand. Our expertise overcomes challenges like assembling your ideal team, blending visionary design with practicality, navigating complex regulations, and securing premium materials to make your dream home a seamless reality.
Dawn Christine
Principal Architect – Dawn Christine, Architect PLLC (USA)
Co-Founder – Cross Pacific Design Group
Dawn Christine is an award-winning architect and pioneer in experiential design, honored in Marquis Who’s Who 2024 for her contributions to architecture and interior design.
Pru Pinfold
Principal Architect – Pinfold Architects Ltd Reg. Architect (NZ)
Co-Founder – Cross Pacific Design Group
With over 25 years of experience, Pru Pinfold delivers unique, sustainable designs tailored to New Zealand’s environment, working directly with you to achieve the best results.
We simplify the design and approval process by keeping ideas flowing smoothly.
Start Your Adventure
Let Cross Pacific Design Group help you build not just a house, but a home—and a future—in New Zealand. Share your dreams with us, and we’ll bring them to life.