Meet the team
Behind every service we provide is a dedicated team of professionals, each bringing their unique expertise and enthusiasm to our business.
Allan Walters
Director
allan@gwa.co.nz
Nina Adrian
Design Manager
nina@gwa.co.nz
Johnny Fuyu Lin
Designer
johnny@gwa.co.nz
Aron de Lange
Technician
aron@gwa.co.nz
OUR STORY
1979
Like many good Nelson stories, ours started small. After qualifying as an architectural Draughtsman and later a quantity surveyor Allan Walters worked for several years for architects and building companies before setting up Allan Walters building design in 1979. He worked from home, a small holding at Wai-Iti where feeding pigs, shearing and doing the lambing beat was fitted into the working day. For the first few years as a client base built up, he worked with a local builder getting valuable practical experience.
Around year 2000 with a staff of 3 and internet becoming an important means of communication it was becoming obvious that things had to change as rural connections were very poor.
2004
In 2004 the business joined wit Brian Gowans to become Gowans Walters & Associates Ltd based at Gladstone Road Richmond.
As the workload grew, Allan teamed up with Brian Gowans, and the business became Gowans Walters & Associates. With Brian on board, projects picked up pace, and it was clear they needed more than a shed and patchy rural broadband. The solution? Buying a property on Gladstone Road in Richmond, a place with space for the growing team and, most importantly, reliable internet.
Brian retired several years later, while Allan is still going strong at a proud age. Many local builders remember him from his time on the tools before he founded GWA, and they still joke that he’s the only one in Nelson who hasn’t retired yet. Having had on site building experience Allan brings a builder’s practicality into every design conversation, something that makes him truly irreplaceable.
Allan spent many years serving on the committee of the New Zealand Design Association. And represented them on 2 revisions of the new Zealand standard NZS 3604 From those early days, the business has always been about practical, down-to-earth design and building strong relationships with clients and builders. From humble beginnings the business is now a well-established practice known for balancing creativity, compliance, and a good laugh along the way.