Auckland firm S3 Architects’ proposal for an innovative timber building has won a competition organised by the New Zealand Institute of Architects and developer Ockham Residential to design an apartment building on a brownfield site in Mt Eden.

The competition, supported by Auckland Council, was staged to produce a buildable design for 11 Akepiro Street, a site adjacent to the Western Line rail tracks and the city end of Dominion Road.

The result of the competition was announced 12 August 2014 by Mayor Len Brown at Auckland Art Gallery, where the 65 competition entries were on display.

The competition aims to promote architectural and community thinking around medium density development, a housing option that is increasingly relevant in rapidly growing Auckland.

“Aucklanders have made their views absolutely clear to us – having greater choice in housing is crucial to them,” the Mayor says.

Jury chair Richard Goldie, a director of Peddle Thorp Architects, said the competition was a bold and timely initiative that had produced an exceptional response.

“The competition called for innovative schemes that would make the most of a challenging site and demonstrate that good quality medium density housing can be achieved in appropriate places in our city. There was a wide range of compelling entries, but the winning proposal convincingly met several criteria, Goldie says.

“It uses green materials and energy-saving construction technology, provides very livable apartments, engages well with a small neighbouring reserve, contributes positively to a mixed-use street and offers the city an inspiring work of architecture.

S3 Architects director Stephen Smith says his practice’s design for the proposed six-storey apartment building, which incorporates 25 residential units and ground floor commercial tenancies, uses a cross-laminated timber structural system.

“This construction method allows for precise off-site prefabrication and efficient on-site assembly, which brings time and cost savings,” Smith says. “New Zealand can be a world leader with this timber technology.

S3 Architects will work with Ockham Residential to develop the competition-winning design into a completed building. 

Besides S3 Architects, the finalists were Leuschke Group Architects, Matthews & Matthews Architects, Waterfall Gunns Lowe Architects, and Andrew Sexton Architecture.

Joining Richard Goldie and Mark Todd on the competition jury were architects Maggie Carroll (Bureaux Architects) and Marshall Cook (Cook Sargisson & Pirie), along with Jacques Victor of Auckland Council.