Safe as houses

The number of retirees in New Zealand, those people aged 65 and over, has doubled in the last 25 years and many of them have chosen to move into retirement facilities where they can enjoy a ‘lock up and leave’ lifestyle.

One of the newest of these is Country Club Huapai, operated by Hopper Living and located 35 minutes north-west of Auckland on the site of the former Nobilo Estate winery. Once fully completed, Country Club Huapai is planned to have more than 250 dwellings along with an aged-care facility.

Recently completed is the four-storey main building, which houses the reception, a bar, restaurant and meeting facilities, as well as 46 apartments on the upper levels. There is also a wellness centre with pool, spa and gym and a number of outdoor leisure/socialising areas and gardens, says Noel Priestley, General Manager of Provista Balustrade Systems.

“Ignite Architects has designed a modern structure with classic lines and was after a balustrading product that would complement the architectural style while keeping sightlines open and safety to the fore.

“The main contractor for the project, Form, has worked with us before and recommended our Panorama semi-frameless glass balustrade as an ideal choice as it not only suits a multitude of architectural styles, such as the classic lines of Country Club Huapai, but can be teamed with a variety of post and rails styles to really complete the look.”

In total, the Provista team installed 360-metres of Panorama balustrading on the apartment balconies, says Noel.

“The balustrading features a matt black powder coated finish, in keeping with the joinery, as well as other structural elements and secondary colour schemes and consists of Provista’s rectangular, ‘Retro’ handrail profile, ‘Ultra’ three-way post profile and 10mm Toughened Safety Glass from Metro Performance Glass.”

Noel says the architects designed the balustrading to mirror the other architectural features so the resulting solution comprises three panels with the posts 1.2-metres apart and has the glass panels recessed into both the posts and handrails.

“From an aesthetic standpoint, the posts line up with the mullions on the joinery, helping keep the look symmetrical. To also help keep the overall look seamless, the Retro rectangular handrail was chosen. The Panorama semi-frameless style has the glass panels full height and rebated into the handrail, whereas a solution such as our Summit semi-frameless style leaves a gap of around 50–60mm between the handrail and the glass panels.

“Given that the balustrades were being used at height, Ultra posts were chosen as they’re engineered to extra high wind zones. The balustrades throughout the country club are 1.1m-high, as required for such a development.”

Completion of this main building followed a staged programme of works beginning in late-2019 and finishing at the end of last year.

“As this project proves, Provista semi-frameless solutions are very adaptable to different architectural types, looking great on modern or classical residential or commercial structures and, in this case, have provided a safe, practical and modern solution that complements the timeless design and attractive appearance of Country Club Huapai.”

Provista has recently added a new, no-handrail solution ‘Horizon’, to its line up, which consists of glazing and posts only, with laminated safety glass rebated into the aluminium post structure. Provista Balustrade Systems’ solutions are compliant with all New Zealand regulations and suited to A, B, E and C3 residential and commercial applications.

Learn more about the semi-frameless balustrading options available for your next project.