The Pine Harbour Construction project consists of four 3 level buildings, with apartments on the top two floors with carparking and retail (sleeving the marina edge) on the ground level below. There are 28 apartments in total, with 5 different apartment types. Apartments are generous in size and luxuriously appointed. With sweeping views out onto Pine Harbour, balconies open outwards on to the esplanade and across the marina. The apartments capitalise on their north facing water front location with a predominately glazed façade with louvred screen elements.

Luxury is enhanced with interiors boasting veneer kitchens with stone benchtops with feature cantilevering dining islands, European appliances, marble tiled bathrooms with European fixtures, tied together with a refined colour palate, hardwood flooring and plush carpets.

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Extending and modernising the available commercial floor space of a Victorian building presents unique challenges. The award-winning solution by PB&A maintains and enhances the heritage values of the existing building, while introducing unapologetically modern components to the rear.

Careful material selections and building forms were combined to create a pleasant and surprising commercial space enhanced by a sheltered courtyard. The new building is a simple composition of rough concrete walls supporting a folded roof which bridges the gap between the new and the old. The addition of a pavilion, service block and courtyard to the rear of the original building has activated an otherwise disused street edge and added a valuable hospitality tenancy to the site.

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A prime location overlooking Albert Park created an opportunity to create a premium building with strong design values. Working in a high-end city location was complex and challenging, involving urban design and council consents in relation to views and proximity to Albert Park, access issues during construction, multi-national suppliers and international purchasers. However, innovative design solutions – including vertical car lifts, overhanging balconies, and a suspended swimming pool – ultimately produced a landmark building and prime residential real estate.

To ensure the fiscal viability of the project a sustained period of value management was undertaken during construction. A number of apartments were customized to meet specific buyer interest, including the creation of a unique one-bedroom apartment with a private art gallery. By working closely with the client, consultants and contractors, PB&A was able to deliver great architecture on budget to a targeted market.

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An award-winning serviced apartment and hotel building, The Quadrant maximised the development potential of a narrow inner-city site to generate a total of 348 apartments and suites in a prime location.

Sandwiched between two existing tower buildings and covering significant level changes, the site presented critical design and engineering challenges. To meet these, PB&A designed three interconnected buildings of varying heights: two smaller scale entry buildings and an 18-level tower in the centre. The tower maximised the stunning sea and city views for apartments, while the two ‘gate houses’ addressed both street frontages in the historic neighbourhood appropriately.

To ensure adherence to the construction budget, the project was tendered on a schedule of quantities which required a complete and detailed set of documentation. PB&A worked closely with the quantity surveyor and main contractor to ensure that the entire scope of the development was effectively communicated.

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With a time frame of only 8 months from inception to ground works, Norwood Drive maximised site yield with 29 four storey townhouses on a new subdivision on Auckland’s rural fringe. With a client brief to maximise floor space in each apartment, Metrapanel’s solid laminated timber construction system provided an efficient solution. Fabricated in Huntly, these pre-finished wall panels allow for thinner walls, thus increasing overall floor space. Low maintenance construction methodologies and extremely low body corp costs – due to maximisation of self-managed space on site – combined to generate genuinely affordable housing for prospective purchasers.

This project is the second apartment offering in the prestigious Long Bay residential development, providing 84 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units on a north facing site within close proximity to the new town centre. The site has been developed efficiently with two buildings above basement car parking with a generous courtyard between allowing access to sun and views. A 14m height limit enables 4 spacious levels with nearly all units facing north. The central courtyard provides pedestrian and vehicular access as well as common space and landscape opportunities. Several apartment types and sizes are offered to cater for a range of predominantly owner occupiers. Creative use of material finishes which reference the immediate natural environment enhance the quality of the design.

Challenged with designing the tallest residential tower in New Zealand, PB&A delivered an outstanding project for consent. The proposed 52-storey building, incorporating a 5 star, 400-room hotel and a 6-level retail complex, is located above a new underground station in the CRL system, and facilitates direct access between the station concourse and the proposed mall/hotel.

The tower is presented as a very tall sleek form with its axis orientated in the north-south direction. Its narrow face presents to the waterfront and allows views towards the Waitemata Harbour. The tower form is broken into three parts, separated by the innovative use of sky decks which provide open exterior spaces for hotel guests and patrons. The glazing system design and the organisation of flush and exposed mullions provides three-dimensional modulation and detail.

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Clients Multiplex Construction briefed PB&A to develop the scheme from the original design to make it economically viable in a tentative market. While the sea front location had obvious potential, the brownfield site presented a number of critical challenges, including contamination issues, underground obstructions and proximity to sea level. In addition, 24 hour operation at nearby Ports of Auckland required a re-think of all aspects of acoustic design, including the reduction of overall window glazing areas, the specification of a variety of specialist glass types and the creation of enclosed balconies, to achieve the high acoustic requirements of the Resource Consent.

One of Auckland’s premium apartment buildings, The Connaught offers 155 apartments with park and harbour views, in a prime central city location. The client brief requested a quality apartment building in an historical style which maximised the site’s potential. The construction of a grand-scale development on a long, narrow section which sloped steeply away from the street, adjacent to a heritage building which had to be protected, presented critical design challenges. A close working relationship with engineering consultants enabled PB&A to produce a complex, multi-level design which facilitated the required combination of vehicle and pedestrian access. A seamless process from Resource Consent to practical completion, the challenging construction process came in on time and budget. The popularity of the design ensured strong sales off the plans and the project was a huge commercial success for the developers. Completed in 1998, The Connaught set a new benchmark for quality apartment buildings in Auckland and received a Property Council of New Zealand award.

This project offers quality residential design in a neighbourhood currently transitioning from industrial/commercial to mixed-use. The twin tower layout makes efficient use of the site while maximising light and outlook for each apartment. The split-level design utilises the fall across the site in the most effective way, using the two blocks to form different residential spaces and orientations. The internal courtyard space optimises daylight, privacy and green spaces within the development and provides a shared space for residents. Individual apartments are designed to capitalise on attractive views to the Hunua Ranges in the east, and west across the Pahurehure inlet to the harbour. A modulated façade treatment and innovative use of exterior materials in an industrial palette serve to reduce the impression of bulk while ensuring privacy and protection from wind and sun for residents.

Vincent Street was one of the first multi residential projects to emerge from the GFC. The re-use of an existing 80’s office building posed a unique challenge in optimising large deep floor plates that made light and outlook challenging. The insertion of a large light and air-filled atrium into the centre of the building enabled an apartment model to provide light and outlook to internal bedrooms. Situated on a tree lined avenue close to the heart of the city Vincent Street was the first of three such models that we undertook with Tawera Group over the next 5 years.

The site was a tricky one as it was sandwiched between existing buildings at the base of a substantial slope with extremely limited site access and it was very close to the water table.  The logistics of the excavation determined a number of the design decisions and informed the design.

The general structure, layout and landform response for the site was carefully considered to maximise the quality of the new neighbourhood. Block sizes were kept smaller than standard to create more connection through the site and retaining structures and level changes were disguised within buildings rather than being exposed. Existing vegetation on the southern boundary was retained and protected, and the site was separated into two smaller development pockets with a green space in between. In addition, a landscaped pocket park with playground and a pedestrian link were located centrally to the development, ensuring community and connections for residents.

Heritage building restoration incorporated into residential apartment tower design on prominent central city site.

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