Trinity Apartments

Client:
McConnell International Property Ltd

Location:
Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Completion:
2005

Size:
8,700m²

Project Value:
$17m

Contact:
Patrick Clifford

The Trinity Apartments in Auckland occupy an important corner site opposite the Holy Trinity Cathedral and adjacent to the busy retail heart of Parnell. They are a model of sustainable, medium-density residential development.

The 32 apartments are arranged over six levels in an L-shaped form that provides a continuous street edge whilst protecting an extensive landscaped courtyard and garden.

A lap pool and reflection pond provides evaporative cooling that moderates the temperatures around the building.

The high thermal mass of the building itself, (insitu and pre-cast concrete elements, concrete block work and exposed aggregate panels), also contributes to minimising temperature fluctuations within apartments and to delaying and reducing solar heat gain.

Every apartment includes a private outdoor living area and is designed to maximise natural ventilation and day lighting.

The deep verandahs offer a buffer between the interiors and the street edge; connecting them with the surrounding environment while providing protection from the elements.

A variety of louvres and sunshades; timber shutters to internal courtyards and external sun filter blinds to balcony edges, can be operated by the residents to adjust the amount of sunlight and privacy as desired.

MoreLess

Careful analysis of intensive housing typologies and the particularities of the site have lead to a clever massing of form and an arrangement of apartments that produces a rich streetscape, a private garden realm within and a good mix of apartment sizes and orientations. The project is proof that apartment building design can provide high quality environments and make significant contributions to the urban landscape.

NZIA SUPREME AWARD Citation 2008