86 | ARCHITECTURE First Principles Architects: Edgewater Villas T T Kelly Deeks Sensitive development in Tauranga The front block has amazing views over Memorial Park and the Tauranga Estuary. With the future of solving the housing shortage in Tauranga to be found in medium and high density urban residential development, the local First Principles Architects & Interiors (FPA) is fully committed to creating sustainable urban environments as reflected in one of its latest projects, the elegant and spacious Edgewater Villas at the dream location on Memorial Way, opposite Memorial Park. “This location is brilliant,” says FPA owner and director Graham Price. “When you intensify a development, you don’t get a lot of private space. Having Memorial Park with its beach right across the road, its proximity to the city, schools, and shops, and its connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists makes this an attractive proposition for buyers.” FPA worked closely with its client who had a very clear vision for this development, and took a thoughtful approach to creating this community of 10 bespoke townhouses. Graham says the problem with intensification is in coming up with a solution that is sensitive to neighbouring properties and residents. First Principles senior architectural graduate Chris Davies says key to this solution was ensuring Edgewater Villas didn’t eclipse the relative scale of its low to medium density neighbours, which would also increase its likelihood of gaining resource consent. “That’s why we’re broken Edgewater Villas down to three separate blocks of two and three storeys,” he says. “Neighbours don’t have to look at a continuous block, and the height variations even add shadows which further break up the form of the buildings.” This configuration also allows Edgewater Villas to maximise another sought-after attribute, the view. The front block has amazing views over Memorial Park and the Tauranga Estuary, the middle block gets views down the boundary of the site, and the three-storey block at the back has views over the top of the two-storey forms in front of it. This project’s main contractor Framed Up Building & Construction came on board early on and assisted with materials selection. A combination of white render and Innowood composite timber was selected to clad these homes in a bright and beachy style, reflective of their location close to the inner harbour. Internally, the floor plan is repeated for the front two blocks, ensuring layout consistency as well as allowing for variations in roofline designs for architectural diversity. Each home has an open and generous main entry with a double height atrium and a stunning floating oak staircase leading to open plan living on the second level. FPA co-owner and interior designer Kate Price says the interiors at Edgewater Villas have followed the same theme as their exteriors with relaxed and beachy neutral colour schemes and high quality fixtures and fittings, including 100% wool carpets and strong engineered timber flooring. As well as collaborating with Framed Up Building & Construction, FPA also leaned on the expertise of Tall Poppy real estate agent Janet O’Shea, whose knowledge of the local property market helped to ensure Edgewater Villas had everything her buyers were looking for. “Everyone wants European appliances, Italian tiles, quality wool carpets, plenty of daylight, and the ability to put their own stamp on their home,” Kate says. Graham says Edgewater Villas is the latest example of high quality urban intensification. “When you think of the number of units on that site, you would think it would have a really obvious difference to what’s around it, but it doesn’t. “It doesn’t feel like a big block of intensification. It has harmony with its surroundings and when you get that right, you get happy neighbours and happy new residents.” Your Eastern BOP Electrical Solution Here to handle your residential, commercial & industrial electrical needs. Proudly supporting First Principles Architects 027 415 1370 info@tmelectrical.nz www.tmelectrical.nz 021 0222 6293 | snowy@ingrain.co.nz Proud to support First Principles Architects
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