Harrison Lane Ltd handles equestrian and lifestyle build projects

A Pukekohe construction firm is making waves with its impressive portfolio of country homes and attractive equestrian projects. The firm specialises in the design and build of luxury, lifestyle and equestrian facilities, with particular expertise in equestrian ebb and flow arenas.

“Everything from minor dwellings or a simple barn, through to entire property projects that include initial site planning and design, earthworks and development of the land,” managing director Laura Daly explains. “Through to the design and construction of beautiful country homes and supporting facilities such as equestrian stables, barns, implement storage and shedding,”

There are 10 staff on the team, including builders, earthworks operators and an in-house architectural designer. Between them, directors Laura Daly and Scott Munro have more than 40 years’ experience in the construction industry, and have worked together for over 13 years building rurally through Harrison Lane, as well as both owning and developing their own rural properties and growing up rurally.

The firm can design and build anything from barns, workers’ accommodation and minor dwellings, through to the planning, designing, development and building of an entire rural or lifestyle property. This includes earthworks, fencing plans and putting in driveways through to the construction of the home and supporting barns or buildings, and the final finishing touches like landscaping and planting.

To ensure its homes withstand the rural environment, the firm chooses materials that perform well while blending in seamlessly in a rural setting.

A recent project was the construction of an equestrian lifestyle property at Clevedon, where they completed site planning and design, followed by the design and build of an equestrian barn with integrated two-bedroom apartment-style accommodation with open plan living and entertaining, an ancillary implement and truck storage barn and an ebb and flow show jumping arena.

Another key project was an award-winning luxury high-performance home at Mangatawhiri. The 445sqm home has three bedrooms – a master suite, a guest bedroom and a one-bedroom guest pavilion, each with ensuites. The home was recognised in the regional top 3 for craftsmanship in the Auckland/Northland/Coromandel area.

In 2022, two country homes built by the firm received gold awards in the Altus Window Systems new home $750k-$1million categories of the Master Builders House of the Year Awards, each receiving a gold award and scoring in the National Top 100.

A home built at Karaka won the Altus Window Systems new home $750,000 to $1 million regional category award, and took out the Regional Supreme House of the Year award. In total, the firm has collected 13 awards, including sustainability excellence. It became a registered Master Builder in 2018.

Laura says the firm’s in-house design service adds a huge value and efficiency to the design and build process for clients. “We consider the design brief and desired outcomes and balance these with practical design, materials and construction methodology that respects the budget – giving clients greater clarity and control over the numbers, while ensuring they achieve their aesthetic and functionality goals for the project.”

Its ability to take care of a project end-to-end ensures effective project management from start to finish makes it an enjoyable building process for the client, she says.

“I think one of the biggest benefits Harrison Lane offers is the value of having one team across a project from inception to completion,” Laura says.

“From designing value into the design itself in terms of practical building methods and materials, keeping budget top of mind, but also through to the efficiency of having an earthworks team that is coordinated within the building team, and a team that is all on the same page in terms of delivering a good experience for the client.”

“People often don’t realise the true value of this until they are faced with a challenge of coordinating multiple separate subcontractors to ‘do their part’ on a project, each of which is on their own schedule and is motivated by different agendas.” She says this can be stressful for the client, adding time to the build and cost.

“We’ve had the privilege of working for many clients on multiple projects spanning over 10 years, and we enjoy the strength of these relationships. No project comes without its challenges, but it’s the mindset to work through these constructively that makes a project a success.”