- Community housing catering primarily to Māori, but inclusive of all
- The building’s unique design is based on a waka (canoe), with a waharoa (main entranceway) designed to keep everyone safe
- Designed as not only a safe, warm and affordable home for tenants but also as a refuge, with a focus on wellbeing
- Tenants are supported by Kaupapa Māori mental health and addictions service provider Mahitahi Trust
Client
Mahitahi Trust
Timeline
2018 - 2021
Award
Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects 2022 Auckland Architecture Awards Winner in the Housing – Multi Unit category for our client TOA Architects
Benefits of the project.
The challenge.
A multi-year design process incorporating Te Ao Māori design principles
Mahitahi Trust is a Kaupapa Māori services provider committed to helping individuals and whanau achieve wellness through the delivery of integrated Tikanga Māori services. Mahitahi Trust aims to “acknowledge the beginning and end of all things and the intimate connections to our environment”.
The Kōtukutuku Kāinga project is a social housing development in Otara, Auckland utilising a range of innovative design and construction techniques, including timber construction. The development consists of 41 single bedroom apartments, a Whanau apartment, Whare Manaaki (community centre) with a mezzanine floor and covered outdoor areas.
In collaboration with TOA Architects, the Trust’s goal in the design and construction of the project is to provide social housing through a community-focused approach and utilising overarching design principles anchored in Te Ao Māori. A complex co-design process involving a series of hui (meetings) established an agreed set of values and a strong narrative for the project. These values and the narrative have been carried through into the architectural design, building materials and sustainability themes across all aspects of the development.
Imagine.
A highly collaborative approach
Egis was engaged to provide structural and civil engineering design services for this important community housing project. Our team has worked closely and collaboratively with the client, TOA Architects, the contractor (LEP Construction) and consultancy services providers 22Degrees and Bentley to overcome design and construction challenges on this project.
Egis’ work on the structural design began at the concept design phase and continued through developed design into the development and coordination of the detailed design for building consent and tendering. Our civil design work on the project has encompassed developed and detailed design, three waters supply and earthworks. Egis has also provided construction monitoring services and structural and civil engineering site observation services throughout the construction process.
Early in the project’s development, Egis facilitated an Internal Review and Coordination Workshop with the delivery and leadership teams. This provided a platform for the leadership team to get a full brief and understanding of the project, and to “optioneer” and scope alternative building form options, materials and analysis approaches and techniques.
A Design Features report was subsequently generated by the delivery team. The purpose of this report was to act as a method statement, outlining the project; setting design parameters and base assumptions; establishing structural analysis and design techniques; generating a delivery programme; and assigning work packages and accountability within the team. The report was made available to everyone involved in the project as required, ensuring all parties were on the same page and working towards the same common goals.
In line with the project’s wellbeing and environmental sustainability goals, the initial design and consultation process concluded that lightweight timber would be utilised as a fundamental element of the development’s construction.
Timber was chosen because it fits perfectly with the client’s ultimate community goals, being a more sustainable and environmentally efficient material than concrete. It is flexible, resilient, aesthetically pleasing, offers proven health and wellbeing benefits, and can be prefabricated. The Trust also chose timber to speed up the construction programme and create a lighter building, thereby reducing superstructure and foundation requirements and providing significant cost savings to the project.
While timber is commonly used in low-rise and mid-rise construction projects overseas, it is less common in New Zealand. The client and TOA Architects needed to work with an experienced team of structural designers and engineers with the ability to design and build this project here in Aotearoa.
The primary structure of the apartment units consists of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) walls and mid-floors, and the all-important communal building consists of a lightweight roof, concrete pre-cast walls and columns on three sides and a fully glazed front wall. The internal mezzanine floor space is made up of a CLT floor and walls. New Zealand Douglas Fir cladding features throughout the development.
The Egis team has worked to help ensure the success of the project by organising and driving internal challenge workshops with client people and stakeholders. These workshops allowed the management team to review and interrogate the design, ensuring it meets the project requirements and that a finely tuned and value-engineered solution was achieved.
Achieve.
An award-winning facility
The project’s design philosophy has ensured compliance with all seismic, safety and building standards. Buildings which utilise CLT construction are light and flexible, two qualities that reduce ‘seismic load’ - allowing them to more effectively move when an earthquake occurs and limiting damage. In the event of a given level seismic event the structure will remain elastic, with the seismic loads being taken by the concrete shear walls.
TOA Architects’ work on the Kōtukutuku Kāinga project was recognised as the Winner in the Housing – Multi Unit category at Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects’ 2022 Auckland Architecture Awards.