Thoughts on the ‘Exhibition of medium density housing schemes’ [Update] WINNER ANNOUNCED

Written by Ben Ross - Talking Auckland

Sorry to say but the final 5 just did not do it for me

 

Update: Winner announced

Akepiro finalist - S3 Architects
Akepiro finalist – S3 Architects

 

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Last week I ran commentary via my “Architects respond to Auckland’s housing challenge” post on a design competition for a mid-rise apartment block, the winner would see their’s built in the Mt Eden Special Housing Area.

A recap:

“Architects respond to Auckland’s housing challenge”

/ 4 days ago

Five Mid Rise Apartment Block Designs on display for competition

 

The New Zealand Institute of Architects Incorporated are running a design competition on mid rise apartment blocks here in Auckland. The winner (chosen from one of five finalists) will have their apartment block design built at the Mt Eden Special Housing Area.

From the NZAIA

Architects respond to Auckland’s housing challenge

More than 60 architectural concepts from a competition to design an exemplary apartment building for a ‘brownfield’ site in Mt Eden will go on display at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki from 10 August until 12 August.

The medium density housing project will be sited on Akepiro Street, a cul-de-sac overlooking the rail line near the Dominion Road flyover that falls within one of Auckland Council’s proposed Special Housing Areas, the districts slated for more intensive residential development.

The competition was organised by the New Zealand Institute of Architects in partnership with developer Ockham Residential and with the support of Auckland Council.

Pip Cheshire, President of the New Zealand Institute of Architects, says the competition and exhibition are opportunities to inform the public about a housing type that is needed in New Zealand’s largest city but which has encountered some scepticism.

….

The photos of the five finalists can be seen here:

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Source: https://voakl.net/2014/08/07/architects-respond-to-aucklands-housing-challenge/ 

 

So I trundled down to the Art Gallery today and had a look at the five finalist entries (as well as the other entries). After a brief glimpse through all the entries I got out my notebook and took a thorough look at the five finalist entries. Now if I was to pick a “winner” from one of those five entries then you would know why I was going backwards and forwards over the finalist entries for a considerable time. That is because none of the five entries really struck at me as a clear winner.

Sorry to the five finalists but for me personally nothing really grabbed me and said “outstanding.”

 

Ironically I found two non-finalist pieces that did strike me as not only “outstanding” in my opinion for the site that one of the five finalist entries (so the winner) would be built on, but also outstanding as these two non-finalist entries could be easily translated out into our Terraced Housing and Apartment Building Zones, Town Centre Zones, and even out Metropolitan Centres.

Unfortunately I do not have their concept drawings but those two non finalists were:

  • #127 – Eliza Crocker
  • #128 – Adams de le Marc

Nice work there 🙂

 

Now I suppose I should pick the best from the final five despite not one of them standing out to me personally.

And so the Leuscheke Group design in the end would be the one (from the final 5) would be the one I pick

Akepiro finalist- Leuschke Group
Akepiro finalist- Leuschke Group

 

 

That said the Andrew Sexton Architecture design while it did not stand out to me for the Mt Eden site, it did stand out as a design that like the other two non-finalist selections I chose that could be easily translated to our THAB Zone and our Centres.

Akepiro finalist: Andrew-Sexton-Architecture
Akepiro finalist: Andrew-Sexton-Architecture

 

Now the finalist from the top five will be chosen later today by a panel of judges. The winner will get to further develop their design and have it built on the Mt Eden site.

All the best

 

And on that note I wonder if I will be given the heads up again if another such competition is held 😛

 

8 thoughts on “Thoughts on the ‘Exhibition of medium density housing schemes’ [Update] WINNER ANNOUNCED”

  3. DOUBLE STANDARDS EXIST BY DEVELOPER AND COUNCIL

    I too went along with interest to look at the apartment designs. I was taken by the of hum excitement that filled the lobby as people went from one design to the next. There felt like a sense of hope for the future architecture of Auckland. I felt comfortable with the designs and felt hope too.
    That is until I read the brief and realised why…. the specification by Ockham was for 25 apartments with 10 carpark spaces and a car share facility. No wonder I felt good looking at them. Ten carparks and car sharing is in keeping with the future sustainability of our city and works well for apartments so well serviced by Public Transport.

    But will the winning design be the final one submitted for resource consent? Here is where the double standards lie. Just down the double tracked railway line in Grafton. The Auckland Council has approved (with complete secrecy) resource consent for Ockham to build a 57 apartment building with 77 car parks. This development is beside Grafton Station, next to a bus stop and 20 minutes walk to the CBD. There is no need for 77 carparks. The Council and Ockham have proudly shown us all in their wonderful Public Relations design competition.

    Using the same ratios the 246 Khyber Pass development should have 23 carparks. But…. this development is in the Double Grammar Zone and the bottom line is profit for Ockham. Why throw away millions of dollars when you can get the Council without any notification to the public to grant consent for 77 apartments.
    Its a no brainer for the developer but for Auckland it’s a travesty.

    No matter about the traffic congestion and accidents created and the impact of traffic on the small residential one suburb of Grafton. Profit is the bottom line and this is what drives Ockham and other developers who have been given carte blanche to build on SHAs all around Auckland. Aucklanders’ have no rights to notification or to make submission on these developments. So beware – the final design submitted for resource consent on Akepiro St SHA may actually have another basement or two carpark added. And if not in this one most definitely in another one that pops up in secrecy. Consultation stopped at the design competition and all we actually got to do was look at the posters and comment between ourselves!

    It is time to speak out against Special Housing Areas and the process that surrounds them. The Government and Council needs to hear that we want our civic rights back and to have meaningful input into the future of our city.

  4. Hi Ben

    Maybe I am missing some of the available information but all I have ever seen in any media is the elevations of these five finalists – no floor plans, estimated prices, specs. list etc. Do you have a link to these?

    Thanks

    1. The floor plans were there at the gallery viewing but there was nothing much on prices, specs and etc.
      The thought did occur to me last night that this information was missing.

      I shall send an email to the competition organisers to try and see if this information is available electronically so that I can get it up into the blog.

      1. There was information about what the developer had asked for in the designs on the first stand as you entered.
        Scant but enough for me to see that to their credit it was a design for 25 apartments, 10 cars and a car share arrangement. How likely is this in reality given with PAUP they can max out on carparks and there record suggests they do by Resource Consent stage?

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