Nelson & Tasman · Custom home builders

Custom home builders in Nelson Tasman.

Q: How is custom different from a plan home?

A plan home starts from someone else's drawings. A custom home starts from your brief and your site: the sun, the slope, the outlook and the way your household actually runs.

Ecotectural designs and builds custom, one-off architectural homes across Nelson Tasman, shaped around your site and how you live.

Registered Master Builder· Passive House Institute NZ· NZ Certified Builders 5.0 · 18 Google reviews

Ecotectural are custom home builders in Nelson Tasman, designing and building one-off architectural homes shaped around your site since 2006.

Lounge opening onto the deck at The Black House, a custom Ecotectural home in Tasman — Lounge and deck, The Black House, Tasman

Custom home builders

Custom home builders across Nelson and Tasman, designed around how you live.

A custom home should fit the way you actually live, not the other way around. We design and build one-off architectural homes across Nelson and Tasman, shaped around your site and your brief.

Every project starts around one table, with the right architect and an energy-literate engineer brought in from the first sketch.
Design, budget and performance are resolved together at that stage, not compromised later.
The build runs in the open, with open-book pricing so every dollar is visible, all the way to a warm, healthy home built specifically for you.

Areas we serve near Nelson and Tasman: Nelson, Richmond, Motueka, Mapua, Tasman, Kaiteriteri and Upper Moutere.

Gable home under a big Tasman sky, a custom Ecotectural build on a hillside platform — Custom gable home, Tasman View

Why build custom

One accountable team, from the first sketch to the final coat of paint.

Every custom home starts with your brief and your site, not a set of standard plans bent to fit. We design and build under one roof, so the same team that draws the home is the team responsible for building it.

Keeping the design buildable and the budget realistic from day one.
Pricing stays open-book throughout, with every dollar visible as the build progresses.
Every home is built to perform: warm, dry, healthy and economical to run, whatever the weather does outside.

Sunlit living room with a timber ceiling and full-height glazing at golden hour in an Ecotectural home at Horton Road, Tasman

One-off homes, built

Real custom builds, not a showhome.

The Black House and the Blue House were each designed around a single brief and a single site. Real, finished, one-off homes you can see for yourself.

Building since: 2006
Designed to last: 50+ years
10-year guarantees: Master Build + Halo
Registered: Master Builder + Certified Builder

"I wanted a home I could wear shorts and a t-shirt in year round and never feel cold."
Colin Hayman, Upper Moutere

Selected work across Tasman, Kaiteriteri & Nelson.

Many of our homes are completed under confidentiality, so this is only a selection. To see more, simply ask and we will arrange a private viewing or reference project.

Schist stone architectural home framed by mountains, with black-framed glazing — Stone & GlassArchitectural build

Kitchen of the Passive Home at Horton Road, Tasman — Horton RoadEnergy efficient

Hardwood deck and black-framed glazing along the timber-clad facade of The Green House, Tasman — The Green HouseDeck and glazing detail

Interior of The Black House, Tasman — The Black HouseTasman

The Cedar House, a design-and-build home by Ecotectural, Motueka — The Cedar House, MotuekaDesign and build

Bespoke built-in joinery and storage in a Passive Home, Tasman — Bespoke joineryInterior detail

Exterior of the Passive Home at Horton Road, Tasman — Horton RoadEnergy-efficient exterior

A finished Ecotectural home shown through the leaf-in-house emblem

See how we design and build →

Why build custom with us

Bespoke by design. Shaped around your brief and your site, not a set of standard plans.
Engineered to feel better to live in. Warm, dry and low to run, with the option to build a Passive Home.
Built in the Open. Honest, open-book pricing, so you see where every dollar goes, from the first sketch to the final invoice.

What we do

Everything it takes to design and build your custom home.

You engage one company: us. We bring the architect, engineer and every trade together and manage them on your behalf, so you have a single point of contact and one team accountable, from the first sketch to the final invoice. You are our design partner, the home is shaped around what you want, and we look after everyone else.

Architectural homes

Bespoke, architect-designed homes shaped around your ideas, your site and the Tasman light.

Design and build

One accountable team from first sketch to handover, so the design stays buildable and on budget.

Energy-efficient, healthy homes

Warm, dry, energy-efficient homes built well above the minimum code. We build Passive Homes.

Renovations and extensions

Considered additions and reworks, built to the same standard as our new homes.

Complete project leadership

We coordinate every consultant, supplier and trade, and keep your build on time and on budget.

A personalised experience

A calm, communicative process, dealing directly with the people responsible for your home.

One-off homes we have built

The Black House at twilight, a custom two-pavilion Ecotectural home featured on Grand Designs NZ

Custom cedar-clad gable home by Ecotectural above the Motueka estuary

Custom gable home under a big Tasman sky, built by Ecotectural on a hillside platform

Good questions

Custom building, answered.

What does a custom build cost?

It depends on the design, the site and the specification, which is exactly why we price open-book: you see the real numbers from the start. Our guides to pricing and build costs set out realistic ranges.

How is custom different from a plan home?

A plan home starts from someone else's drawings and bends your life to fit. A custom home starts from your brief and your site: the sun, the slope, the outlook and the way your household actually runs. Nothing is standard unless it deserves to be.

Can you build from my own plans?

Yes. If you already have plans from an architect or designer, we will price and build them, and our plan pricing review will tell you honestly what they will really cost before you commit.