Sunset West Apartments.

The housing crisis has prompted developers to pursue many different solutions to providing lower cost, high quality housing in the main cities. In Wellington, there is a particular difficulty in increasing housing supply as the land is finite, compared to Auckland and Christchurch where the city sprawls out further and further. Since intensification is the only real solution in Wellington, one developer made the bold move of creating an inner city apartment building that provides premium spec open-plan studio units exclusively.

The tight 903sqm building site is effectively an island, sandwiched between State Highway One, bustling Victoria Street, a paper road called Kensington Street and a right-of-way. Designgroup Stapleton Elliott associate and senior designer Chris Gilby says this created many challenges in delivering the project, including having to immediately relocate the right-of-way which cut through the middle of the site.

“It was challenging in terms of it being a noisy site, and then logistically, the contractors had a challenge in front of them to be able to build on that small piece of land with four active roads around them.”

However, the expansive views from the elevated levels of the seven-floor building justify the difficulty of the site. A panorama that spans from Mount Victoria to the east and the western hills of Kelburn offer an exceptional aspect from the balconies of each apartment.

In keeping with the sensational views, the client’s brief required a development of a very high standard, breaking the mold of apartment developments that have been undertaken in the area in the past. An “iconic” building was the mandate from the developer, with each of the 64 apartments approximately 45m2 in size, each with a balcony and highly specced kitchens and bathrooms.

Designgroup Stapleton Elliott managing director Nigel Dong says the response to the relationship between the building and the inner city context was crucial to informing the design of the building.

“Given the strategic location of the site, we knew this site would command a landmark structure and required special attention to contrast and compliment the surrounding diverse structures and contribute to the richness of the area.”

The bulk, form and siting were carefully considered, with the height established to fit within the existing level of surrounding buildings. The bulk of the building has been minimised where possible by setting the building back from site boundaries on all sides, allowing a landscaped edge and a faceted facade, which is activated by balconies, and bookended by white monolithic concrete structures, creating an interesting play of light.

The exterior materiality comprises concrete precast panels on either end of the building, with a long run metal tray profile detail contrasting the cedar detailing on the soffits inside the balconies.

Chris says the idea behind this was to create an interesting and earthy palette that draws in the unique setting.

“We were trying to create a warm material palette on the exterior, through a combination of materials that take in hues from dark bronzes, deep browns, to warm cedar – paired with frameless glass which creates transparency from within the unit.”

The interiors of the units express a similarly restrained materiality and warmth, while maintaining a premium experience. The fit out was designed in modular units to minimise bespoke aspects and to maintain affordability.

However Nigel says the quality was never compromised, as shown by the generous 2.7m ceiling height and high spec fittings.

“The brief was about having an apartment that was of a compact size but also high on amenity, with quality finishes, so more akin to what you'd see in a penthouse apartment, than in a traditional apartment of this size.”

This meant that functionality was a key driver of the design, and the apartments, while compact in size, offer an extensive amount of storage to minimise clutter and a clever configuration where the bedroom can be closed off or used as part of the living space.

Nigel says the attention to detail in the design is key to its success.

“We’ve had feedback that people really appreciate the architecture. I think the developer had amazing foresight to push the boundaries for compact living and show that small can be beautiful and still be incredibly functional."

Words: Jo Seton

Photography by Andy Spain