The Isaac apartments

The Isaac is a contemporary apartment development in the city fringe suburb of Grey Lynn. There are 75 apartments of a range of sizes as well as two commercial tenancies on the ground level.

The development is within walking distance of West Lynn Village, the Grey Lynn shops and the local school is right next door. The site is well linked to the city centre and other city fringe locations. The street facing site faces a listed heritage building and many other character villas which surround the site. Regional connections are good and the development is well connected to the road network and bus service.

The three buildings are designed to address Surrey Crescent – with two commercial tenancies providing an active edge to the street – and the internal lane. This is designed to be a high amenity, walkable space which provides an outlook area for the apartments, as well as access to the car parking.

The site slopes down from Surrey Crescent, and a major selling point of the buildings are the large, landscaped roof top terraces and associated communal facilities. All residents can gain access to the panoramic 360 degree views over Auckland, including views of the harbour, Waitakere Ranges, and the volcanoes and houses of the inner suburbs. The height on the lower building was limited to ensure that the buildings closer to Surrey Crescent could still see over the top.

The design is influenced by the work of Sir Isaac Newton – in particular his work in optics. The detailing on the pre-cast panels on the front of the building references light interference patterns. This theme has been used as a reference to tie different parts of the design together – and can be seen in the landscape treatment, interior design as well as the front facades of the buildings. As shown here, using an external influence as an inspiration can add richness to the whole project.

The development is a well designed, high quality development that sits well within it’s existing environments, and makes the most of a challenging site.

Project information

Rohe/ Location: Grey Lynn, Auckland
Project Type: Apartments
- 75 Apartments
- 2 Commercial tenancies
Date of Completion: 2013
Owner/Developer: Ockham Residential
Architecture/Urban Design: Ockham Residential

A bird's eye view of the apartment block; there is a patch of lawn with cushions and plants where people can sit and relax.

Design elements

Understanding the neighbourhood

The development is within walking distance to West Lynn Village, Grey Lynn shops and services and Grey Lynn School. The site is well linked to the city centre and other city fringe locations.

The site faces a listed heritage building, is close to a historic church, and many other character villas which surround the site. The use of brick references the church, but overall the building is a contemporary, modern development.

The rooftop open space is a key design feature of the development. It includes landscaping, a lounge and kitchen facilities, and allows 360 views over the city. The site falls to the south, allowing views over the surrounding suburbs.

Other sites in the immediate area include substantial commercial buildings in the direction of Great North Road to the South, an iconic brick church to the East and a modern mixed-use building on the corner of Richmond Road which includes retail activities as well as a panel beaters.

In order to provide natural light into the apartments on the western side of 64 Surrey Crescent the building line is stepped back by 5.5m from the boundary, also the existing office building is 1.7m away from the boundary.

Placing the buildings on the site

The apartments are arranged across 4 levels (excluding basement) that provides a continuous street edge to Surrey Crescent, whilst protecting a generous landscaped lane at the middle of the block.

Prior subdivision of the site created a private lane (with existing rights of way easements applying) that divides the site on the North/South axis and provides access to the commercial buildings located at the rear of the site toward Great North Road. This lane naturally forms the heart of the development, and creates three distinct building sites. It also creates additional public frontage and allows many of the potential impacts of the building to be internalised to the site.

The design works well with the topography - car parking is accessed at a lower level and is concealed from view.

Creating a residential scaled connection with the lane was an important consideration in designing the form of the buildings. The walls are angled and have large corner windows to enable the residents to have a northerly visual connection up the lane looking towards Surrey Crescent.

Looking down the joal lined with trees, with the buildings set back from the street.

The private land well designed lane provides a residential scale to the overall development.

Site design

Speed reduction devices - Traffic is slowed down by utilising wide ‘speed humps’ with rough textured basalt pavers at the main entry from Surrey Crescent, and then intermittently at the apartment and car park entries.

The change in texture and material contrast to the asphalt of Surrey Crescent clearly identifies to drivers that they are leaving the main road and are entering a pedestrian orientated environment.

The alternating strips of smooth and rough basalt paving of varying widths is a reference to the patterns on the front façade. The development uses patterns of optical interference from an experiment by Isaac Newton to guide design detail in different parts of the development.

Street lighting - Included is a mixture of in-ground lights, low wall lights, bollards and soffit lighting demarcating the main entries and pedestrian paths.

Having a central road through the middle of the development provides separation between the buildings, outdoor garden spaces, vehicle/pedestrian circulation spaces and provides a sense of openness to Surrey Crescent.

The lane is always safe and secure due to the ‘eyes on the street’ from the balconies and windows.

The lane is 14m wide from building face to building face and is designed as a low speed environment. No on street parking is provided to maintain openness and visual appeal of the street.

Looking down at the street with plants and trees planted on the sidewalk.

Birds eye view looking down the private lane towards Surrey Crescent.

Planters provide seating adjacent to entries for both apartment dwellers and visitors.

Bicycle stands for visitors are located at main entries in addition to those located in basement car parks for residents.

Planting schedule - The plant species mainly consist of native miniature flaxes and shrubs, Hebe type ground covers, cabbage trees and deciduous silver birches were selected allowing light to enter the apartments in winter but provide green leafy shade in the summer.

While the buildings have different material and textural treatments to their facades, the planting, hone and splashed concrete retaining walls and hedge types are consistent – creating a landscape theme through the development and reinforcing the sense of identity within the site.

Looking up at the building from street level; the buildings have nicely textured brick walls and modern glass balconies.

The entrance lobbies are well-connected to the street and has generous dimensions.

Street to the front door

Ground floor apartments have useable private open spaces. A combination of elevated ground floor level relative to the street, a concrete up-stand and permeable balustrades balances privacy for the occupants with overlooking of the street.

Access to the apartments is via communal apartment lobbies and internal corridors. The entry space is well designed – generous in scale, has a large covered outdoor area, is easy to see from the lane and is welcoming.

Providing access for people in wheelchairs would have improved the building and allowed ease of use by people with a range of abilities.

Looking into a lobby from the street, a man is walking past.

The entrance lobbies are well-connected to the street and has generous dimensions.

Extensive overlooking from upper apartments contributes to the safety of the street.

The corner of the site contributes to and integrates with Surrey Crescent and the private lane, which in turn accentuates the entry and identity of the commercial tenancies.The two commercial spaces are accessed off Surrey Crescent – which has the greatest footfall and is the most visible part of the development.

The commercial entrance is located in close proximity to the street and the lane and incorporates an accessible ramp - allowing for easy pedestrian circulation.

The two commercial tenancies create an active edge to the street, and a sense of entry into the development.

Looking across the street at the ground floor, there are offices and people milling about.

The commercial entrances are well integrated with the Surrey Crescent interface.

The building

The main pedestrian entrance at the street corner provides clear legibility to the building entry, which also successfully addresses Surrey Crescent and the private lane.

Building materials are designed for long-life and low maintenance with thoughtful detailing to modulate the façade.

All habitable rooms except for bedrooms on level 4 open onto recessed balconies between 1.6m and 2.5m wide.

Masonry walls give a good level of acoustic privacy, both inside and out. Deep balconies offer a buffer between the interior of apartments and the street edge, whilst also providing protection from the elements.

High thermal mass of the building (in situ and pre-cast concrete elements, concrete block work, brick and exposed aggregate panels) contribute towards minimising temperature fluctuations within apartments and help to delay and reduce solar heat gain.

The pattern on the precast panels is in direct reference to the light interference patters created in Sir Isaac Newton’s ‘double slit’ experiments. This pattern has been used elsewhere to help give the building a unique sense of identity.

On a blue sky day looking across the street at the Isaac apartment blocks.

Looking towards the overall development from Surrey Crescent.

The ‘public’ face of the housing has been carefully designed with integrated balconies and shading screens that give a sense of quality.

The houses have been designed to be easy to heat, light and cool naturally. The shallow floor plans allows the maximum penetration of daylight –to heat and light the building; while also allowing effective cross ventilation to cool the building in summer.

A cosy back yard with a garden table. Two people are sitting having a cup of tea under a tree.

Looking at a terrace housing block –entry to these three storey townhouses are from Fisher-Point Drive.

Outdoor spaces

A range of secluded and shared open spaces are provided, including a communal courtyard area, roof top area and individual patios for ground and second floor units.

All internal living spaces on the ground floor apartments are closely linked with shared outdoor deck areas. Privacy is maintained and balanced against the communal space via planting and hard landscaping features.

The building is stepped back from the neighbours to provide natural light into the apartments, the circulation space, and the adjacent building. Even though planning controls allowed this building to be built up to the boundary, providing a spacious, light area for outlook and circulation adds value to both buildings.

Roofs gardens and communal spaces have been included on each building to take advantage of the spectacular views from the Surrey Crescent ridge. Ground level communal space was not viable given the substantial area of the site that is taken up by the private lane. The roof gardens have been orientated to be shielded from the south west prevailing winds.

A luxurious, modern internal courtyard with plants, copper spouting, wooden floors and glass balconies.

Looking into the internal courtyard which opens out on individual units on the second floor.

The balconies are large enough to allow the residents and guests to have a bbq, and sit down together around a table.

Internal living areas are well integrated with the balconies. Almost all of the apartments have either east/west or north facing balconies for good solar access, with only 2 apartments have south facing balconies. The lack of sun is balanced with having views over the Waitakere ranges.

All of the apartments have double glazing to minimise heat loss and reduce noise transmission. All habitable rooms have good natural solar access.

The floor to ceiling height is 2.7m. This is a more generous floor to ceiling height than the standard 2.4m, allows daylight to penetrate further into the apartment and gives an increased feeling of spaciousness.

A modern apartment interior, looking out at the recessed balcony. It has a great view of one of Auckland's maunga.

Internal living spaces are well integrated with the balconies for added comfort and refuge.

Accommodating the car

There are 2 levels of basement car parking for each building. The design of the parking levels works with the slope of the site – at the ‘top’ of the site next to Surrey Crescent the parking is half a level above ground. At the bottom of the slope, where it is less visible it is a full floor above ground level.