58 Killarney Street
58 Killarney Street
Project
Accommodation / Residential
Multi-dwelling units
Location
58 Killarney Street, Takapuna
Client
Willis Bond & Co
Value
$6.74 Million
Period
14 Months
Consultants /
Mott MacDonald Structural Engineers
Aecom Architects & Landscapes
Aurecon Fire Engineers
Protech Design Engineers
Marshall Day Acoustic Engineers
Thurstons Mechanical Engineers
ECS Electrical Engineers
Built for Willis Bond & Co on behalf of Housing New Zealand, this development of social housing apartments was the ultimate ‘tight squeeze’, with residential neighbours in close proximity on one side, and a women’s health clinic on the other.
Further complicating things, the design specified precast construction for all elements, including concrete wall and floor panels weighing as much as five tonnes. A very large crane would be required, on a very narrow site.
The solution was counter-intuitive. The Haydn & Rollett team effectively painted themselves into a corner, installing the 250-tonne, eight-axis mobile crane at the far end of the site, erecting the building then extracting the crane when its work was finished with some deft manoeuvring – the heavy-machinery equivalent of a 30-point turn.
Another challenge was the diversity and sheer number of structural connections arising from the prefabrication approach. This was a narrow building, involving a wide range of materials and non-standard detailing, and it all had to be intricately put together.
Given the current state of the Auckland building market, it’s no surprise to learn that practical completion was deliberately delayed to be certain of achieving the desired standard of finish and provides an exceptional social housing outcome.
When tested, the 16 one- and two-bedroom apartments over-performed the design brief thermally and acoustically. Equally satisfying, despite the awkward nature of the building site location, good relations were maintained with those close neighbours throughout the 13-month process, thanks to a focus on maintaining clear, personable communication.