JERVOIS APARTMENT

In the central Auckland suburb of Herne Bay, Monk Mackenzie Architects worked with bespoke developer Artifact Property to create a very singular small-scale apartment block.

PRIVACY AND EXPOSURE

Located on one of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland's main arterial routes, Jervois Apartments is an early adopter of a housing model for Auckland that supports increased density and more cosmopolitan living. To the south, the undulating, shutter-like metal screen has been carefully calibrated to give privacy from the street while letting in light. To the north, the floor-to-ceiling glazing provides panoramic views of the Waitakere Ranges and the always dynamic Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Project Type: Apartment Building

Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Architect: Monk Mackenzie

Interior Design: Amelia Holmes

Photographer: Simon Wilson

INDOORS/OUTDOORS

The interior living spaces are divided between bedrooms to the south and the kitchen and indoor-outdoor living spaces to the sun-facing north. Between the two, there is an internal glass-walled courtyard that brings in light and air. To maximise useable space, the covered balcony or wintergarden that borders the kitchen-living area was designed with stacking concertina windows that can be completely opened or closed depending on the weather. As architect Hamish Monk says, “You can open up the whole elevation depending on how much shelter you want. It's taking elements of home life that you might have had in suburbia into more condensed areas and urban living.”

TIMELESS SIMPLICITY

Designed for entertaining, the kitchens have a robust, tactile and natural material palette that includes slate counters with brass inlays, a central marble island and stained-oak cabinetry. Within this composition, interior designer Amelia Holmes and Artifact's Sophie Wylie have distributed Minimal Style and integrated Fisher & Paykel products in an ergonomic way. The wall-mounted ovens “work well with the dark stain of the oak and the aesthetics we wanted”, Sophie says. The integrated DishDrawer™ dishwashers either side of the sink are a “great ergonomic solution – you don't need to bend down, it's just easy to access”. And the concealed Column Fridge-Freezer disappears seamlessly into the wall unit beside the integrated wine cabinet, with the batten handle a unifying design device.