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Practice/Tikanga

Reset Urban Design offers a broad scope of services within the specialist areas of Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. We also actively engage in research and have contributed two published books on the history of design in New Zealand.

Private Land Owners
Preliminary land reviews; site visit, briefing and initial findings report
Development analysis and option reports
Concept designs and detail design
Plans for staged construction

Commercial Clients
Site analysis and development Plans
Residential subdivision layouts
Urban design reports
Landscape design reports
Landscape visual assessment Reports
Design Services : Concept to detail to construction monitoring

Government Agencies, Iwi, Councils & Institutions
Urban design support, analysis and reporting
Spatial plans
City and town centre regeneration plans
Open space and reserves planning and design
Waterfront development; Strategy and design
Streetscape design

 

Meet The Team

Garth
Falconer

Director

James
Paxton

Associate / Studio Manager

Janet
Zhang

Urban Designer

Linda
Joll

Director

Nick
Regal

Landscape Architect

Sherry
Berg

Landscape Architect

Justin Meek

Director

Sophie
Roberts

Landscape Designer

Ana Becker

Landscape Architect & Urban Planner

Tom
Greer

Landscape Architect

Publications

Harry-Turbott

Awards

awards

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Garth Falconer

Director

Director of Reset Urban Design, Garth Falconer is one of New Zealand’s foremost designers with over 30 years of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design experience. Former founding Director of the Isthmus Group (est 1988), Garth formed Reset Urban Design in 2008 as a specialist urban design and landscape architecture practise to concentrate on the design and delivery of strategic projects.

Garth is foremost a designer and he leads from the front. Individually he has a great sense of understanding of places and vision of what it could be, combined with an allround ability to initiative conceptual designs, develop and detail designs. For him overseeing the construction of a design into a functioning and uplifting place is one of the most satisfying dimensions to a role which he believes has a critical responsibility in improving the quality and sustainability of life for our people and the wider ecology.

Garth has over 30 years of leading experience in a wide range of design work. He has led multi disciplinary teams that have taken innovative conceptual designs through to successful implementation. These projects range from regional, town and city centre projects, public open space networks through large-scale infrastructure works and commercial developments. Garth’s work combines a strong social and environmental concern with a developed theoretical understanding. A leader of teams he has the ability to motivate and coordinate others with a broad range of understanding and visionary skills.

Garth graduated in Landscape Architecture from Lincoln University, completed a Masters in Urban Design from Oxford Brookes (UK) and is a fellow of the NZILA.

James Paxton

Associate | Registered Landscape Architect

James is an NZILA Registered Landscape Architect and is the Studio Manager for Reset Urban Design.

He is an accomplished landscape architect and brings a highly creative and strategic approach to complex urban and public realm projects. His passion for creating healthy, smart, sustainable, and vibrant places underpin his design thinking approach to resolving the complex issues that confront the cities of our future. His commitment to the design of a vibrant and dynamic public realm is informed and inspired by the ecologies of place, people and nature.

James has extensive professional experience across a variety of projects including urban public realm, large scale transportation infrastructure, streetscapes and town centres, medium and high-density residential developments, urban regeneration, master planning and campus projects across New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. 

He has worked at all scales of the design environment, developing projects through the conceptual and consultation phases to leading large multidisciplinary teams in the development and delivery of complex projects.

Janet Zhang

Urban Designer

Janet Zhang is an Urban Designer whose extensive background in urban planning allows her to think strategically and work across a wide range of scales and contexts.

She holds a Master of Urban Design from the University of Auckland, a Master of Urban Planning from South China University of Technology, and a Bachelor of Engineering from South China University of Technology. Janet’s work focuses on providing conceptual ideas, collaborative approach and technical expertise on a variety of projects ranging from large scale master planning, residential and commercial developments, as well as a the finer details of design.

She places particular emphasis on achieving design excellence through employing interdisciplinary perspectives and utilising integrated design tools to ensure creative solutions.

Linda Joll

Plantswoman / Project Supervisor

Linda comes from a landscape construction background, a founding partner of Reset Urban Design. She is a leader in her field of plant knowledge, is passionate about arts, landscape, and business.

Linda is based in the Wānaka Studio, thriving in the big landscape of Central Otago. She contributes to community projects through her support of the Karerearea project in Cardrona, Te Kākano nursery development, and the Lakes District Arts Trust as a current trustee.

Being a local Ignite Chamber of Commerce member adds to her diverse range of interests. When not in the studio, Linda can be found being inspired by the wilderness of surrounding mountain ranges and rivers.

Life is a journey not a destination, live it!

Nick Regal

Landscape Architect

Nick is a Landscape Architect with considerable experience across an array of projects, such as schools, coastal boardwalks, luxury residential design, medium and high-density residential developments, large scale subdivisions, streetscapes through to major infrastructure and urban realm projects.

 

Nick has extensive experience in producing concept, developed, and detail design packages for resource consent, building consent and construction. He has successfully produced multiple landscape and visual assessments for resource consent approval. He also has experience working in a multi-disciplinary team within an alliance format, leading the design delivery of public realm and station plaza packages for the City Rail Link (CRL), NZ’s largest ever transport infrastructure project.

 

He is a highly creative designer who enjoys problem solving, collaborative design and is passionate about creating lasting environments that improve both the ecological and human conditions. He believes as designers we have the unique position of creating, intertwining and presenting collective ideas to resolve issues and produce positive output. We can alter perceptions of place and space. The notion of design, the innovation, the freedom, problem solving, and opportunity to instigate change is why he became a landscape architect.

 

 

nick@reseturban.co.nz

Sherry Berg

Landscape Architect

Sherry is a landscape architect with over 30 years’ professional experience in the private and public sectors designing and delivering a variety of landscape architectural projects in New Zealand, Singapore and Canada.

Her core strengths include project management and working on projects ranging from concept planning through to detailed design and construction documentation and implementation.

She values working within multi-disciplinary teams comprising architects, civil and traffic engineers, and planners.

Sherry’s particular focus lies in the design and delivery of high quality public realm spaces for public enjoyment and for all ages and abilities.

Her experience in working in Singapore, where land is extremely scarce, provided Sherry with a deep respect of the value of land and in designing landscapes in the most efficient way.

sherry@reseturban.co.nz

Justin Meek

DIRECTOR

Reset Urban Design is excited to welcome Justin Meek to our team. Justin, who has recently returned to New Zealand, is a highly experienced designer with over 25 years of experience in large scale projects including master planning, infrastructure, residential, mixed use and public realm. His roles have included Client Representative, Development Manager, Lead Project Manager and Design Director for projects of substantial scale. Justin has recently relocated back to Auckland from Thailand after the completion of a term contract for an international property developer, Frasers Property. In Thailand Justin was dedicated to the One Bangkok project, as design lead within the Project Management Team and then VP of Design. One Bangkok is an integrated district with over 1.8 million m2 of GFA including hotels, retail districts, apartments, offices and the associated infrastructure. One Bangkok has been in construction since 2018 with Phase 1 opening scheduled for 2023.

Prior to Frasers Property, Justin was with the TDIC, a quasi-government entity in Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. Here he was part of the Client-side Design and Development Team that has conceived and managed the design and delivery of numerous projects including infrastructure, hotels, residential, public realm and cultural projects. Over 30 projects were delivered and are now in full operation. A number of these projects have received international awards.

justin@reseturban.co.nz

Sophie Roberts

Landscape DESIGNER

Sophie is a Landscape Designer with experience working on various projects, such as commercial amenity rooftops, affordable & supportive housing, luxury residential, high-density residential developments, and urban acupuncture planning.

She enjoys working in a multi-disciplinary team and values collaboration to ensure the best project outcome. She has experience taking projects from initial design conception through to construction documentation and construction management.

Sophie is a passionate designer focused on creating equitable public landscapes that foster cultural and social identity through placemaking.

Her interest in landscape architecture sparked when she focused on human and non-human relationships with landscapes in an urban setting. Bringing her background in spatial design, she focuses on how the human body identifies with the built environment—drawing attention to how users move through a space, alongside interactions with materials, surfaces, and site furnishings.

sophie@reseturban.co.nz

Ana Becker

Landscape Architect/Urban Planner

Ana is a landscape architect and urban planner with a Master’s degree of city planning from Pierre Mendès-France University. She has a wide range of project experience including town centre and residential master planning, landscape and mobility analysis, and public space design, working mainly in France and Switzerland with ARTER Agency. 

She particularly enjoys working collaboratively within multi-disciplinary teams and believes that sharing and challenging design ideas is the best way to achieve successful outcomes that balance the needs of all users. She also attaches a great importance to heritage and access and mobility issues. Attentive to detail, she focuses on high quality and integrated landscape & urban design outcomes. 

ana@reseturban.co.nz

Tom Greer

Landscape Architect

Tom is a landscape graduate who has a keen interest in design and analysis at the medium-density to urban scale, the use and promotion of NZ natives, designing play spaces, and water sensitive design.

He has a broad skill set, with a background in ecology, and experience delivering designs, plans, 3d renders and research services to private and commercial clients.

Tom has a natural proclivity towards 3D modelling and design, as well as ecological and botanical expertise.

Tom is driven by a deep appreciation of the natural world, and seeks to create designs that integrate the built and natural environments, and that better connect people to them.

Aesthetically, he tends towards minimalist built environments that embrace simple materials, and that make room for vibrant natural elements. He is particularly interested in the use and promotion of NZ natives, and enjoys the challenges and opportunities that come from working with this palette.

tom@reseturban.co.nz

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