ARIA Apartments, Lot 7 Vinegar Lane, Ponsonby

Aria Apartments is a stunning, high quality boutique complex of just 20 freehold apartments by Legacy Property.

The Aria Apartments are an exciting example of urban re-development and medium-density living. Located in the heart of Ponsonby, one of Auckland’s most desirable suburbs, Aria sits on the site of the former DYC Vinegar company.

TOA Architects worked with Q Commercial Construction to achieve the unique design that challenges New Zealanders’ mindset of what a home should be. Twenty boutique one- and two-bedroom apartments are now contained on a site the size of a typical Ponsonby villa section.

Client
Legacy Property
Floor Area
3500 m²
Project Value
$7 Million
Completed
July 2017
Consultants
TOA Architects
Markplan Consulting Engineers
Awards
2018 NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards Winner - Multi Unit Housing

“The team is particularly proud of bringing together a challenging design and achieving a high standard of finish within the confines of the tight Vinegar Lane area with multiple builds overlapping."

Brendan Gray
Director, Q Commercial

The challenge

The narrow streetscape called for careful consideration of the façade articulation. The geometric curtain wall, inspired by tukutuku patterns, obscure the more intimate spaces within the apartments, while creating dynamic interior spaces.

“The modular façade had to reconcile split levels, stringent energy efficiency performance requirements and reduce the reflective ‘noise’ to the neighbouring occupants,” says Nicholas Dalton, director of Toa Architects. In contrast, the deep reveals of the balconies open up the living spaces to engage with the laneways below. The opportunity to utilise 100 percent of the site area was abandoned in favour of embedding a light well with a vertical garden deep within the building. A PV array on the roof generates enough energy to power much of the common-area lighting and vehicle turntable in the basement.

How we made a difference

Environmentally passive design elements helped achieve a 6-Star Homestar rating. The build had its complexities, says Q Commercial director Brendan Gray. “The split-level design meant we were effectively building an apartment block twice the size in half the time,” he says.

“The team is particularly proud of bringing together a challenging design and achieving a high standard of finish within the confines of the tight Vinegar Lane area with multiple builds overlapping.”

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