Background

Rachel Howie, director of Becroft Howie Architects, graduated from the University of Auckland in 1989. In 1992, after gaining experience in residential design, and registration with the NZIA, she ventured into sole practice as Rachel Becroft: Architect. She has designed several large family homes, small commercial interiors and numerous alterations and additions to existing houses, especially those located in special character zones.

In 2010-11 Rachel lived with her young family in Broken Hill, Outback NSW and was the only registered NSW architect west of Wagga Wagga! In 2013, after returning to New Zealand, she established Becroft Howie Architects Ltd, based in Takapuna, Auckland. From May 2025 to June 2026 Rachel took a year out to accompany her husband to Cairns, Far North QLD. She returned in July 2026 and has resumed practice, working from her home office in Hillcrest, on Auckland’s North Shore.

Rachel has a passion for beautiful design. During overseas travels on an under-graduate gap-year she worked for an architectural practice in London, UK. Her BArch thesis investigated the origins of the paradise courtyard garden and its influences on Modernism. A love of overseas travel has informed her fascination with place-making and settlement patterns. Rachel is a keen gardener and musician who also loves the textile arts. She has enjoyed renovating her 1960s home and garden, which she shares with her husband, and two of their adult children.

How we work

Good architecture makes a genuine difference to our lives.  Light, space and materials are the ingredients of architecture; everyone benefits when these elements are combined with skill and creativity.  Architecture can be a powerful instrument to forge vibrant communities at all sorts of scale – from urban planning to individual homes.  When houses are designed with care and imagination our family life is enhanced and our relationships benefit.  We aim to promote elegant design solutions which enhance life by making the ordinary experiences of life extraordinary.   

This practice has a particular interest in the renovation of existing buildings – this is both a sustainable and therapeutic process for everyone involved.  Recycling existing building stock and sympathetically reworking structure can provide a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative to complete demolition.  We delight in transforming run-down or neglected houses into beautiful homes which remain sympathetic to their original design by conserving the best features and creating new spaces which embrace a modern aesthetic.

Many older houses in NZ were not designed in response to our local climate; vernacular timber cottages, villas and bungalows, while charming are often uninsulated and expensive to maintain.  But with the application of sensible energy efficient strategies and the addition of modern amenities, these homes can be conserved to be a link to our cultural history and thermally comfortable homes that will serve communities for another century.

We aim to make the architectural process from concept drawings to detailed design, consent documents and construction, as straightforward as possible.  Because each stage of a building project requires clear communication, we take great care to make sure that our clients receive useful information throughout their project. Every project is a collaboration between architect, client and their builder.  If you would like to know more about the process of working with an architect, refer to this link: https://www.nzia.co.nz/connect/working-with-an-architect