The Team- Paul Dolphin Designs

Paul Dolphin - Director & Principal Designer

My name is Paul Dolphin, my parents knew I would end up working with buildings when I asked for a history of medieval gothic churches when I was 12 years old.

Well, many years later and I am still as passionate about design and construction. I have 20 years of experience working in design,construction and the built environment.  Myself and my team have worked on hundreds of projects together, and have a wide knowledge and understanding of building design.

What is my favorite project... that would be telling, but being privileged to design and have built my own house is certainly an amazing experience and we are here to help others develop fantastic designs. 

I am a registered Building Designer, I also have an undergraduate degree in Town Planning, a masters in Landscape Architecture and a masters in Building Surveying. My most recent qualification was as a SustainAbility Design Specialist. This means I am accredited to give the most up to date and accurate advice on ensuring any design is as energy efficient and economic as can be. 

I am based in Malua Bay and we cover a wide area  encompassing Eurobodalla, Shoalhaven and Queanbeyan Palerang.

I am a passionate and experienced designer and I am here to help with the smallest to the largest building design; commercial, residential or the garden shed!

Kiri- Tehani Wright -Lead Building Designer

My name is Kiri-Tehani Wright; I am a building designer based in Long Beach on NSW South Coast. I delight in my work and consider myself one of the fortunate who LOVES what they do.

I have been designing buildings passionately since I was eleven years old, and graduated with a Bachelor of Architectural Studies from UNSW in 2008. I was very fortunate to study under Glenn Murcutt in my final year and I value his influence among many others.

I seek to inhabit the imagined space, to understand the needs of a building’s users, and to carefully resolve the manifold relationships between spaces to best suit these needs. I enjoy this process on every design job, whether it be 300m2 of residential pavilions, a beach-house reno, a primate exhibit at a zoo or a public toilet block!

I am passionate about the environmental performance of my buildings and have a sound grasp of designing for climate and site conditions. I hold the belief that low-tech, passive environmental design principles have existed in vernacular architectures for thousands of years; they are not inaccessible, nor a luxury item, and this belief permeates my work.

I love to cook, I sew sporadically, and I am happy presently raising my son in Long Beach in a house of my own design. In the past I have enjoyed living in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and on Lord Howe Island.

Susanna Chung -Building Designer

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My name is Susanna Chung. I have recently relocated to Mystery Bay. For the last 10 years I have lived off-grid in a solar passive kit-home, with solar panels and rainwater tanks on 100 acres, filled with kangaroos, wombats and echidnas. I loved living in partnership with the natural cycles of the seasons, and believe that it is more achievable and easier than many people think.

I’ve had a fascination with buildings from a very young age, and was first taught how to read a house plan when I was 6 and my parents started drawing up plans for a renovation. I remember many hours making up my own rooms and house layouts for fun, while my parents discussed the ins and outs of renovating vs simply installing a shed.

I am deeply passionate about the environment and sustainable buildings, and spent many years working in the non-for-profit environment sector. My background is in communications, graphic design and photography.

I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to live in sustainable, low-energy, environmentally friendly designed housing. Your home can impact the way you live your life more than you realise, and the right house will change the way you live your life for the better.

Olivia Mackie -Building Designer

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Hello! I’m Olivia.

I am passionate about creativity and design. My parents owned a clothing and textile design business so I was constantly surrounded by it all from a very early age. I loved watching the whole design process unfold. From the early conceptual phases, the refinement stages and then finally seeing the finished product come to fruition before my eyes.

I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Creative Arts with a Major in Graphic Design. For me, good design is a bridge between creativity and practicality. My approach involves finding a harmonious balance between the two and building a concept from the ground up.

I worked for a number of years as a graphic designer and photographer before gaining 4 years of professional experience working in a Landscape Architectural firm where I had the privilege of being part of a team behind multiple international award winning designs.

I believe that building design has the ability to affect people in a powerful way to enhance life and wellness. I’m interested in how spaces influence the way in which people interact with their environment and with each other. 

I see the natural environment as a constant source of inspiration and building design as a way of connecting the built environment with nature; both to interact with it and to make the most of the elements through environmentally sensitive design.

I am currently in the process of designing my own home on our 7-acre bush block in Meringo for my 3 kids, 6 chooks and 1 husband. I love living on the NSW south coast and being by the ocean – my happy place.