Nicholas Stevens wanted to be an architect from the age of seven and subsequently it came true. Raised and educated in Auckland, he graduated from Architecture School in 1989. He has travelled extensively and was awarded the Moet et Chandon Art fellowship in 1995.

In 2002 he established Stevens Lawson Architects, a design intensive practice with a deep commitment to producing innovative buildings that engage with culture and landscape. His aim is to produce an architecture of humanism and spirit.
Their designs range from baches to concert halls, homes to homeless housing. They have won numerous awards for Architecture, including The Home of the Year four times, the New Zealand Architecture Medal for the Blyth Performing Art Centre and the NZIA Public Architecture award for HomeGround.

In his spare time Nicholas makes small paintings of domestic scenes. He lives in Auckland with his wife, the photographer Deborah Smith.