Manaaki, Ockham’s first development in Onehunga, celebrates the suburb's vibrant spirit

A striking picture of pastel blues and pinks, Manaaki is Ockham’s first foray into the vibrant suburb of Onehunga. The development broke ground in October 2021, and is on track for completion in October/November 2023 — at which point, its residents will move in and bring the energy of Manaaki to life. We caught up with Peter Malcouronne, Head of Content and Communications at Ockham, to learn more about Manaaki, its place as a new Onehunga landmark, and Ockham’s vision for the future of the development. 

ArchiPro: Manaaki is Ockham’s largest development to date. Aside from size, how is it different from other Ockham projects?

Peter Malcouronne: For a short time, at least until Facebook grammar pedants became irksome, we marketed Manaaki as “our biggest, brightest, brilliantest development to-date”. 

Certainly, “the brightest” claim stacks up — while we’ve used white glazed and metallic black bricks at other developments, in addition to various shades of red, we’ve never unleashed the gleaming pastels you find at Manaaki.

It’s also “bigger” in some important respects. Manaaki will deliver almost as many KiwiBuild apartments — 87 in all — as we have built across our other part-KiwiBuild developments. And for the first time in living Ockham memory, we’ve included a number of three-bedroom apartments.

AP: How has the suburb of Onehunga, and its vibrant community, informed the design?

PM: Our brochure captures our fondness for the People’s Suburb best:

“Set beside a secret park, bordered by a no-exit cul-de-sac, Manaaki is 400m from Onehunga Mall, the wonderful main street that centres Auckland’s most characterful suburb. With the unmistakable grandeur that comes with being one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, leavened with a little light industrial grit, Onehunga is 'the beating heart of everything that’s good about Auckland'(so saith The Spinoff).”

The design — and brick patterning of Manaaki — also pays homage to the Kāinga Ora Star Flats that were previously on the site.

AP: What inspired the material palette?

PM: Think Ockham and you probably think brick. It’s no secret we favour classic, timeless materials, partly because they’re enduring and low-maintenance, partly because they look great.

Manaaki is faithful to our blueprint, but with a tweak. We wanted it to look different. We wanted it to look light. We started looking around the world for inspiration — mining our memories, daydreaming a little. The architectural team began thinking of a pastel colour palette — baby blue, mint green, pink, lilac, and lemon.

The colours we settled on for Manaaki are reminiscent of the five fishing villages of the Cinque Terre on the Italian Riviera, but also a world heritage treasure closer to home — the beautiful Art Deco buildings of Napier, built after the 1931 earthquake.

AP: How did sustainability factor into material and design decisions?

PM: Sustainability and hassle-free durability were at the core of the project brief. Apartments typically require less energy than standalone homes. The brick façade is (almost) zero maintenance and has excellent thermal properties. The apartments use energy carefully — with energy-efficient heat pumps to heat and cool, LED lighting and low water use appliances, power and water bills are kept to a minimum. There are also EV charging options available.

AP: A trademark of Ockham developments is the community spaces; what amenities does Manaaki offer?

PM: A ‘commitment to the commons’ characterises our developments: we set aside some of the best spaces in our buildings for everyone.

Manaaki has some of our standard amenities — a large residents’ lounge with a full kitchen inside, extensive landscaped gardens with a swimming pool outside — but also some exciting extras. Manaaki has an in-house café out front where you can caffeinate and meet mates for brunches and lunches.

Taking lessons from lockdown, we have a work-from-home office in each of the development’s four buildings. This allows our residents to enjoy the camaraderie of the office without the commute (perhaps even in their PJs… or perhaps not).

AP: What is the significance of the name Manaaki — meaning to cherish, sustain and protect — to the project?

PM: Manaaki is the fourth collaboration with Marutūāhu iwi. As with our earlier projects — tuatahui (‘the first’), kōkihi (‘new growth’), and aroha (‘love, compassion’) — the name was gifted to the project by Marutūāhu.

Like Marutūāhu, we look long term: we recognise we are building for generations to come and we hope to leave a legacy for the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.

We’re particularly proud that half our future residents at Manaaki are first-home buyers, many of whom bought a KiwiBuild unit (all 87 have been sold).

AP: What has been the most complex part of the development?

PM: The long shadow of Covid — with lockdowns, supply chain issues and sharply increased costs — has hovered over all construction projects, big and small, over the past three years. Happily, we were able to keep disruptions to a minimum at Manaaki: we have excellent, long-standing relationships with our suppliers and subcontractors — the Ockham extended whānau — and quickly adjusted the programme whenever issues arose.

AP: In your opinion, what are the benefits of purchasing an apartment in the Manaaki development?

PM: You’re buying into a fantastic existing community — Onehunga is a marvellous mix of the gleaming new and gritty old. It has some of the finest heritage buildings in the city and if there is a strip more eclectic, fun and bustling than Onehunga Mall, then I have yet to mooch along it. There’s some stunning park action — One Tree Hill is just a short walk up the hill — and a bunch of adorable new beaches.    

You also have the benefit of joining another smaller community: the Manaaki family. And it is a real community — eager first-home buyers, older down-sizers, couples, singletons, young professionals, and a few families too — who can hang out in the residents’ lounge, the café, the pool.

AP: What is Ockham’s vision for the Manaaki development in the next five to 10 years?

PM: We aspire to lead by example in the industry; we try to show that quality, durable and relatively affordable developments are better for all. Manaaki offers a template for Onehunga that we hope is followed.

But we can’t build all the apartments Auckland needs over the next few decades. It’s heartening to see other quality developments in the area, like FABRIC, O.M.C. and NZ Living’s 340 Onehunga Mall.

While many of the apartments, ranging from one-bedroom to three-bedroom, have been purchased, there are still a few opportunities to buy.

Learn more about Ockham and the Manaaki development.