It’s a concept that’s helped raise $150,000 for charity and now Unitec adjunct professor and established architect Dave Strachan and well-known builder John “Cocksy” Cocks are at it again.

It’s a concept that’s helped raise $150,000 for charity and now Unitec adjunct professor and established architect Dave Strachan and well-known builder John “Cocksy” Cocks are at it again.

The duo were behind the Unitec KidsCan Holiday Home project that saw Unitec 32 Master of Architecture students design and build a three-bedroom holiday home that was auctioned last year during TV3’s Big Night In Telethon to raise funds for KidsCan.

Now Strachan and Cocksy – along with multiple award-winning architect Marshall Cook - are back with a similar project, this time with 16 third year Bachelor of Architectural Studies students.

The group, who call themselves Studio 19, already have a buyer in North Shore couple Andrew and Shiree Morrison and their young daughters. The family owns a section of land at Onemana Beach on the Coromandel Peninsula. They have wanted to build a family holiday home for some time now but have not been able to do so with their limited budget.

“I’ve known Cocksy for some years now and when he asked us if we’d be interested in being clients for this project, we were a little hesitant as we couldn’t really afford it but this was too good an opportunity to pass up,” says Andrew.

“We couldn’t be happier. The one thing we didn’t want throughout this project was another ‘kitset’ type house but that certainly hasn’t been the case with this project.”

Thanks to Strachan, Cocksy, Marshall and the students, the Morrison’s will become the proud owners of an architecturally-designed holiday home in mid-December.

“The whole purpose of bringing this concept back again is to give our students a unique, practical experience that they would not be getting studying anywhere else,” says Strachan.

“It’s not just about getting them to design something for someone else to build, but about getting them to see how practical or unpractical their design elements are when it comes time to build from their design.”

Following last year’s format, the students were split into four groups where they were asked to design a two-bedroom holiday home based the clients’ needs and budget. This was then presented to the Morrisons, and some Unitec programme leaders who selected the most suitable design.

The second stage of the project saw further refinements to include aspects of the other designs that the Morrisons liked before settling on the final design. Building consent documents were then prepared by students with help from Strachan’s architecture firm Strachan Group Architects (SGA).

The students are currently in the third and final stage of the project where they have spent the past month building the holiday home on site at Unitec’s Mt Albert campus under the watchful eye of Cocksy.

To help the Morrisons with costs, the students are also constructing the kitchen and bunk beds.

“Everyone benefits from this project,” says Strachan. The clients get an innovatively-designed holiday home that’s within their budget, and the students gain valuable experience on what they can expect when they go into the industry.”

The house is due to be completed in time for Unitec’s annual end of year Grad Show held between 23 and 27 November. The show is an exhibition highlighting the works of students from the Faculty of Creative Industries and Business.