Galway Street Apartments

Client:

Kāinga Ora

Location:

Onehunga, Auckland

Completed:

2020

Awards:

2021 NZIA Auckland Local Award: Housing – Multi-Unit

2021 Property Council New Zealand Merit Award – Community and Affordable Housing Property Award

“The Galway Street Apartment development for Housing New Zealand aims to enhance the neighbourhood by replacing eighteen existing poor-quality townhouses.”

The Galway Street Apartment development for Kainga Ora, formerly Housing New Zealand, aims to enhance the neighbourhood by replacing eighteen existing poor-quality townhouses. The existing terraced townhouses, which had poor sunlight access and poor-quality outdoor space, contained substantial moisture damage and thus required a high quality integrated development to replace the existing. With generous common areas and increasing density on site, the project takes advantage of the sites excellent access to public transport, amenities and nearby employment opportunities.

The selected Galway Street concept arranges the two apartment buildings within the centre of the site. Well set back from residential neighbours, maximising the amount of sunlight opportunity while also maximising common landscaping. Excellent daylight access is provided to all apartments, with south facing living areas avoided and apartments maintaining a Northern axis within building A and East-West axis in Building B. The scale of the new buildings is broken down by recessing balconies into the facade and using a series of changes in material to divide the facade into elements which have human scale. Each apartment is able to be identified from the exterior of the building providing a unique form of identity.

Robust, durable materials with an ‘earthy’ palette are used to compliment the surrounding neighbourhood, which transitions between light industrial, commercial, and residential development. This neighbouring architectural language is replicated throughout the two buildings through simple, low pitch roof forms which also minimise building height and provide a durable, low maintenance design solution. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) principles have been considered throughout the design development. CPTED techniques such as passive surveillance is provided to all common areas from living areas or circulation routes.