In discussing Winton’s design philosophy with the development company’s core design team — James Burgess and husband-and-wife duo George and Alex Watts, I quickly note that a refusal to rush and an unfaltering dedication to longevity underpins everything the developer does — and it shows.
Time, I’ve come to learn, is what sets Chris Meehan’s property development company apart. From taking the time to get things right across the entire spectrum of a project, to labouring and re-labouring over every minute detail to deliver a finished product that will hold up over the decades — time, it seems, is Winton’s modus operandi. It’s providing an incredible tool indeed.
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Chris Meehan has become known for his penchant for perfection, but I discover it’s not only this that drives Winton’s emphasis on considered design — unmatched in not only the development space but across the full spectrum of architectural pursuits. It’s also a steadfast commitment to bettering the future. Winton factors longevity into every planning decision, which seems a given when working in the property sector — but, as with everything this company does, Meehan and his team take a meticulous approach, with a considered eye to elevating daily life for decades to come. “Winton and Chris hold a longer view than the project,” James tells me, with George adding, “In Northlake, Wanaka, for example, from the start we implemented design guidelines and a review process to protect everyone’s investment, the benefit of which is now showing.” It’s these rigorous high standards that, James tells me, are integral to Winton’s success. Meehan is a “student of design,” as James puts it, with an incredible eye, a commitment to progress, and a deep reverence and passion for quality design that has formed the foundation of a company that goes well beyond developing properties, to create thriving communities.
At Winton, things are done differently. The team approach enormous projects with design at the heart, prioritising experience over short-term economics, with a steadfast belief that quality not only creates but holds enduring value. This focus comes from the top down, with Meehan having an unrelenting resolve to get the design right, but is upheld and executed by the exceptional wider team at Winton. A group who, according to Alex, are all at the top of their game and have an incredible ability to get things done, with George adding, “The number eight wire attitude is multilateral across the entire company.”
With some of the country’s most significant residential, commercial, and hospitality developments in their oeuvre, Meehan and his team are undoubtedly shaping the future of our urban landscape — a charge they take very seriously indeed. A set of instantly-observed features tether all of Winton’s projects to the business’ broader design ethos, with each of the three core designers placing particular emphasis on a different (but equally fundamental) pillar, dependent on their roles within the business. Where James, Head of Vertical, is focused on the big picture; the company’s ability to deliver on a vision, George, Senior Design Manager, is honed in on the merit of quiet, considered details across the breadth of each development, with an eye to how each project will function and present itself at different scales. Alex, on the other hand, as the company’s Visual Stylist, is wholly focused on creating meaningful experiences within all of Winton’s spaces, “From the beginning of each development, the design discussions are mostly about how we want people to interact with the space,” she tells me, “It’s about holding on to the experience at all times.”
But whether it’s a sprawling hospitality precinct, or a residential development on the outskirts of Auckland, according to Alex, “From a project’s conception through to completion, every aspect has time dedicated to it.” Time to centralise the human experience through carefully considered design; time to research, finesse, perfect, and continue to set the bar high and higher again; and ultimately, time to realise the end goal long before anyone picks up a hammer.
Looking at how this materialises in practice, there are a number of projects in various stages of development delivering on Winton’s vision to stunning (and incredibly impressive) effect. Take Ayrburn, for example — Winton’s sprawling hospitality precinct on the outskirts of Arrowtown, the company’s first large-scale food and beverage project. Here, the concept of high-quality design is taken to new heights, with every detail meticulously considered to inspire those visiting to leave their schedules behind and “be in the moment,” as Alex puts it. “With Ayrburn, every design decision came back to how we can keep people engaged, inspiring those visiting to put their phones away (not an easy task, given how ready we all are for easy and immediate entertainment) and switch off to enjoy themselves for a few hours.” She tells me, “With so many venues in one precinct, we needed to really think through each space, outlining who will be using them, when, and with whom, so as to ensure each is unique and a perfect response to these questions.” This is an objective the team has delivered on implicitly across every facet of the Ayrburn experience. From the jaw-dropping gardens (something George spent many months/years perfecting) to the series of carefully restored historic farm buildings, to the spatial layout, planned and re-planned to create the perfect experience for everyone who visits, Ayrburn is an incredible showcase of Winton’s extraordinary vision and unmatched execution. But perhaps the most impressive thing about the eye-wateringly large undertaking, that I notice the design team modestly fails to note, is that in this precinct, Winton has created something truly profound from nothing at all. From the incredible dining and entertainment venues to the public spaces, gardens, and a series of later living residential developments to come, Ayrburn stands as a newfound community; an entire mini township that has seemingly popped up out of thin air. For me, this is what’s so impressive about what Winton is doing. Their ability to create these incredible, novel places that weave together public and private, living and leisure, harnessing the power of great design to enrich the lives of not only those with a slice of the pie, but everyone else, too.
Northbrook, the company’s later-life offering, takes this on in a different capacity. “The clientele of Northbrook knows quality, so this is crucial to every design decision that is made,” Alex tells me. Quality, it seems, touches every edge of these developments, which are setting a new benchmark for sophisticated retirement living and will, I think, change the face of later life living in New Zealand. In each Northbrook development (there are sites underway in Auckland’s Wynyard Quarter and Launch Bay, as well as Wanaka, Queenstown, and Christchurch, with many more to follow), residential offerings are combined with commercial hubs, with every aspect of the private and public areas following a strict set of creative codes and design guidelines across all venues which ensure an unmatched level of luxury that is usually only reserved for single dwellings. From the location of the sites themselves to the materials and finishes to the thoughtful design of shared spaces — imagined to foster social connection, Northbrook is in the business of not only changing where people live, but how they live, and in doing so, adding to the overall experience of a city.
The fact is that Winton, through its work and meticulous and thoughtful approach, is already improving the lives of many. By remaining steadfast in the belief that quality design is the bedrock of meaningful and enjoyable experiences, and staying true to its people-over-profits attitude — instead focusing on investing in the future — Meehan and his exceptional team are profoundly impacting how we live. And while the vision for Winton’s projects presents itself through Meehan’s eye, it’s ultimately the incredible team around him that bring the ideas to life — a task they’re proving very adept at indeed.
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