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Tūāpapa Apartments

Apartment buildings can vary in size from three storey walk-ups to high-rise developments, and provide a range of opportunities for creating quality compact and sustainable living environments.  In this section you’ll find guidance on how to design apartments that contribute to the identity of a street and neighbourhood, create a sense of community, and provide for the day-to-day lives of residents. 

Apartment Design Guidance

Updated May 2025 V1.1

PDF download 12 MB

North Wharf Apartments on the left side of the photo with someone walking away, and a person running across along the footpath. Image has lots of green bushes and trees

Example designs

Example of a 16 apartment option shown on a site plan on a particular site

Example Design 3 - 16 Apartments

18m wide site, mixed housing urban zone. A low cost, high yield development that supports a good quality of life for residents and safe, green neighbourhoods.

PDF download 4 MB

Example of a 38 apartment option shown on a site plan on a particular site

Example Design 5 - 38 Apartments

35m wide site terraced housing and apartment buildings zone. A low cost, high yield development that supports a good quality of life for residents and safe, green neighbourhoods.

PDF download 5 MB


Apartment case studies

The Isaac

Cohousing is often designed, built and lived in by people who plan to be long-term residents. This helps to create a shared sense of community responsibility for the development.

Cohaus terraces and apartments


Other related information

Design statement guidance

Design statement guidance

Design statements are an effective way to explain your design proposal, and how it enhances the surrounding context, and aligns with the design and planning requirements for the site and area. This section provides things to think about when preparing a design statement.
Life in medium density housing in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

Life in medium density housing in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland

The Life in Medium Density Housing in Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland investigates how Aucklanders are experiencing living in recently built medium density housing (MDH). 

Multi-Unit Development Waste Space Calculator

Use this tool to:

  1. Calculate the amount of organic waste, recycling and refuse your proposed Multi-Unit residential or commercial Development will generate. 
  2. Calculate the amount of space you should allow in your Multi-Unit Development for accommodating waste bins using Auckland Council assumptions on waste volumes.     The tool considers the frequency of waste collections and the size of bins you plan to use. 
  3. Create a sample waste plan that can be printed and attached to your consent application. 

V3 R2 beta

XLSX download 740 KB

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