Why do you want to do this? How does it tie to "new build."

We are building a new house, I want a clean border from the street if that makes sense

We need to know where you are. What might grow well and fit your criteria is not going to be the same in all locations.

Keep in mind, even though small, what you're adding is a type of barrier. If it's going to enclose a walk, it's going to make the walk seem narrower. About 99% of the time, they are too narrow to start with. It'll make walk and drive seem penned in. Unless your front yard is extra small, surrounding it with a diminutive hedge is likely going to look like a mismatch of scale. And you''d be adding a lot of maintenance to the landscape maintenance regimen. (I have no problem with it if you don't.) Is it really a good idea. I'm not convinced yet that it is.

Gardengal48 we are building in Central Otago (Wanaka), I have done my homework and the area has a hardiness rating 4. I have done some homework and roughly and have an idea of what I want, just need some guidance on the plants as I want the garden to look semi formal (if that makes sense). I want a shrub that can be pruned to box size so that I can create a layer system (hard to explain on text)