Public housing developments scoop multiple industry awards

The awards not only recognise innovative design and construction, but also assess nominees on their economic and social contribution, sustainability and vision, as well as the owner and end user satisfaction.

The Bader McKenzie development in Mangere, and Brookfield Ave in Onehunga, both received excellence awards in the Community and Affordable Housing category. The Galway St, Onehunga and Waterview Court, Waterview developments achieved merit awards.

General Manager Construction and Innovation Patrick Dougherty is thrilled with the outcome. “These developments stand out for their quality urban design outcomes and the ways in which they contribute to thriving communities.

“A big congratulations goes to our in-house development teams and people in the wider organisation, as well as to our architects and build partners who designed and delivered these projects for us. We couldn’t do it without their commitment to excellence.

“These partners include Precision Construction, Peddlethorp, Home, Monk MacKenzie, Bracewell Construction, Latham Construction and Ashton Mitchell.”

Patrick says it’s notable that all four entries include multi-level apartments. “This reflects our goal to continue to scale up our programme while making better use of land and improving the quality and sustainability of our developments as we help to transform the changing urban landscape of our cities.”

Sustainability is also key to the way we design and deliver new homes. “All new public homes are built to the New Zealand Green Building Council’s 6 Homestar rating as a minimum,” Patrick says. “This means the homes far exceed Building Code standards for warmth, dryness and health.”

Bader McKenzie development
Sixty five new, warm and dry public homes replaced 16 houses in the heart of the Mangere Development.

The three-level walk-up apartments were built using Cross Laminated Timber (CLT). This is a building system, which Kāinga Ora has been among the first to adopt extensively in New Zealand. CLT uses timber panels, which are manufactured off-site, are fast to install, and are 100% renewable.

The development also includes extensive landscaping, a children’s playground and a shared multi-purpose community room for residents.

Bader McKenzie development

Brookfield Ave development 
Sixteen new, beautifully-designed homes replaced just three ageing houses at Brookfield Avenue in Onehunga. Careful consideration was put into landscaping and the external finishes of the duplexes and three level walk-up apartments, with a combination of brick, linear weatherboard and Titan cladding utilised.

Brookfield Ave development

Galway St development
At Galway St in Onehunga, 71 homes replaced 34 terraced houses within a five level apartment block. In addition, seven of the ground floor apartments are build to our Universal Design standards.

Galway St is within short walking distance of Onehunga town centre and public transport links. Kāinga Ora improved this connection by partnering with Auckland Transport to install a secure set of steps leading from the back of the site up to Waller St above.

Galway St development

Waterview Court development 
At Waterview Court on Great North Rd, a redevelopment ratio of 6:1 was achieved, with 20 older houses replaced by 120 new homes contained within terraces and multi-level apartments.

The concentration of mid-riseapartment buildings around the boundary of the site creates space for a large central pocket park for residents to come together.

Waterview Court development