83 Abel Smith Street

83 Abel Smith Street is a residential development of boutique one and two bedroom apartments located on a difficult triangular site on the corner of Abel Smith Street and Karo Drive in the heart of Te Aro. The challenging nature of the site and the choice of natural materials has led to a striking design on this prominent site, adjacent to State Highway 1. The building is a fully timber framed four-storey construction designed for speed of construction and flexibility, giving excellent seismic performance for the minimum of weight. Clad in white painted render and natural cedar that unwinds around the Karo drive elevation, the building provides a different aspect to each of its three elevations, articulated with recesses and changes of material. The two main elevations of the site are those on Karo Drive, emphasised by vertical cedar cladding left natural to weather with slot windows that increase in size; and that of Abel Smith Street, dominated by the white painted render and large openings (except around the cedar clad and expressed entrance), which meet at a ‘lantern’ of windows that express the triangular corner, increasing in size as they ascend the elevation. Due for completion to at the end of 2016 this development will add a contextual addition to the Te Aro Corridor, in context with the heritage properties of Abel Smith Street and beyond.