Clifton Road

Background: Located on the Central Fringe of Hamilton, the client wished to build a low-rise apartment development to cater to Urban Professionals requiring an up-market apartment close to the CBD. The apartments would need to be similar in size to a large house, with open plan living areas and 3 car garaging. The style of the apartments was to be contemporary and the overall design should follow good urban design principles.

Solution: The site presented several challenges. There was approximate a meter of fall from the back of the site to the road front, and it is surrounded by low rise commercial buildings and car parks. The solution was for the apartments to face the tree-lined street. The driveway access was positioned in the middle of the site frontage, with two apartments either side of the driveway, and the triple car garaging for each apartment facing the rear of the site. This allows the apartments to address the street, without presenting and imposing façade of garage doors. The front entrance of each apartment faces the street, and is accessed up steps through an entry courtyard. The ground floor level rises above the street, and terraced gardens have been built on the street front to soften the transition from footpath to the apartments. Three bedrooms, an office and bathroom are located on the ground floor, as well as three car garaging. Stairs off the entry take you up to the open plan living spaces. A covered balcony addresses the street with large sliders linking with the Kitchen and Family areas. Cavity sliders into the Living room allows this space to be used as a private lounge or home theatre, or open up to increase the size of the living areas. The Master Bedroom and Ensuite are accessed via a short hallway, with the Master Bedroom having its own private balcony. The visual form of the exterior reflect its commercial setting, and Solid Plaster has been mixed with Composite Aluminium Panel claddings to accentuate the key architectural features of the raking roof parapets and wall "jut-outs".