Nature-led activities are prioritised in the outdoor spaces of this medium-density development.

This Kāinga Ora medium density development, which is located between Great North Road and Community Lane, Avondale accommodates 236 homes over five buildings, which will predominately be made up of a state housing complex for older people, alongside a component of commercial space and homes for small families.

A new lane running from Tait Park in the east to Great North Road in the west establishes a publicly accessible link through the site and connects the individual buildings to each other and the neighbourhood.

Location

Auckland

Worked with

Architectus
Riley’s
Enovate
CMP Construction and VSL Landscape
Rebecca Freeman
Naomi Rosser

Project date

2019 - ongoing

The landscape spaces are integral to the success of this development and for the on-going health and wellbeing of the future residents. The desire to minimise carparking this lowed the northern laneway to be prioritised for pedestrians and market day uses. Staggered landscape courtyards undulate between the buildings on the northern frontage, creating a community heart which benefits from the retention of two large Pohutukawa trees and a borrowed landscape outlook to the established trees along the northern boundary to Ash Street.

The landscape design includes the ‘weaving’ of cultural and historic narratives within the outdoor spaces that support six key principals being fundamental to the design: community living, sense of place, accessibility, biodiversity and designing for use.

Nature-led activities are prioritised with fruit and vegetable productive gardens, glasshouses for residents to use and socialise in, native planting and informal play areas within existing established Pohutukawa trees.

Consideration for water harvesting and reuse, achieving Homestar 7 and the re-use of existing site materials formed an integral part of the project with the process of deconstruction and re-use of existing buildings and re-use of timber and brick both on and off site, including within the within the communal outdoor spaces and glasshouse floor.

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