Puriri Park Road

Client:
Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities

Location:
Whangārei

Completion:
2023

Size:
3,468m²

The project is part of Kāinga Ora’s build programme in Whangārei. The site at Puriri Park Road presented an opportunity to create higher density in the heart of an existing community, close to a local school and nearby main transport routes. As such, it was an opportunity to deliver increased housing choices within the neighbourhood.

The vision was to enable a housing community characterised by diverse family structures, encompassing small and large families as well as elderly residents, fostering intergenerational connections and accommodating a broad spectrum of life stages.

The project delivers 37 new homes: 15 one-bedroom, 4 two-bedroom, 7 three-bedroom, 8 four-bedroom and 3 five-bedroom homes. Kāinga Ora’s delivery strategy for the project was to use house designs from their suite of “standard house types” with selected housing typologies ranging from standalone homes, duplexes to terraces. This variety of housing types can accommodate a mosaic of households. A multipurpose community room with shared kitchen and terrace provides a focal point adjacent to the park and fosters community connections.

Following careful analysis of site and context, the design team established three principles that would guide the layout of the development.

Principle 1: Preserve vistas from Puriri Park Road towards the bush

Principle 1 underscores the preservation of visual connections from Puriri Park Road to the bush, considering it an integral part of the area’s character. The layout of dwellings on the site should be designed to maintain and allow for these significant visual connections.

Principle 2: Create a crescent

Principle 2 advocates for the establishment of a crescent to enhance connectivity within and through the development, aiming to prevent isolated pockets. Key components include minimising cul-de-sacs, ensuring the crescent accesses most dwellings and serves as their address, and incorporating an east-west pedestrian connection linking the crescent and extending to the park on the western side.

Principle 3: Manage the relationship to park and bush

Principle 3 emphasises managing the relationship between the development and surrounding public spaces, specifically the north and west. The approach includes positioning the crescent along the bush, preserving access to bush tracks, and ensuring a visually permeable western border to the park through the use of bollards instead of a solid fence.

Overall, the strategy has been to provide for the increased density within the site and away from adjacent neighbours. This arrangement integrates the project into the existing development pattern of the neighbourhood.

During the Resource Consent process, the project faced opposition from the local residents. Kāinga Ora voluntarily publicly notified the development to give neighbours the opportunity to make submissions. After hearing all parties, the independent hearing commissioners granted consent.

Kāinga Ora Developments win Property Industry Awards 2024

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