| 85 ARCHITECTURE Construkt Architects Battens • Supply • Fix • Stop • Paint We are proud to support Construkt Architects Ltd NZ Ceiling Battens built to last. Engineered for the way New Zealand builds - Strong, Reliable and Consistent. info@nzceilingbattens.co.nz 07 849 4818 41 Mckee Street, Te Rapa, Hamilton nzceilingbattens.co.nz GET IN TOUCH T T Virginia Wright Creating a sense of place and community The Muse has already won both the ADNZ (Architectural Designers New Zealand) and the NZIA (New Zealand Institute of Architects) Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional Awards for MultiUnit Housing. “That sense of identity is really key, like having those three blocks which are all very different to each other but share a common thread in terms of materiality and feel.” Construkt Architects celebrated its 20th year as an Auckland practice last year and opened a second permanent office in the Waikato. When Managing Director Madushin Amarasekera, and his two fellow directors Karl Barker and Glenn Kevey, took over the practice from its founder David Gibbs in 2018, it was a boutique architectural practice with a staff of six. Over the years it has grown and developed into the multi-disciplinary team of 20 it is today, offering architectural, masterplanning and urban design services across New Zealand, working on projects ranging from bespoke one-off homes to master-planned multi-unit communities. Regardless of the project specifics or the particular people involved the Construkt team shares a belief that architecture is not just about the design of a building. It’s about the culture, the city and the community the building or development sits in, and its ability to enrich the lives of those it touches. “We’re a strong design-led architectural practice, and today we have an extensive record in Master Planning and Urban Design and take on projects of considerable scale and complexity,” says Madushin. Construkt Architects was the team behind the brownfield development that transformed a disused 167-hectare former Air Force base in Hobsonville into a new residential suburb. Their master-planning expertise brought over 4000 new houses to the growing city of Auckland in what has become almost a blueprint for master-planning developments in the years since. “We excel with those sites that are very difficult to develop successfully and have developed a strong reputation with councils in providing solid, design-based, community-focused outcome,” says Madushin. A recent award-winning Hamilton project, The Muse, saw them working with Tristan Jones. Every commercial project of necessity starts with a feasibility study but, like Construkt, Tristan aspires to create genuine, high-quality developments. “There’s a level of real want and pride from our side in terms of understanding who the end user is and in what way a development contributes to its wider community context,” says Madushin. “So, we appreciate working with someone like Tristan who’s aligned and understands you’re building for the individual but also for the community. This then translating into built form is a huge credit to him and his team.” Construkt were working with odd-shaped and proportioned sites while taking into consideration things like their individual orientation to the sun and, at a community level, how to give residents a sense of identity and pride in their living situation. They came up with three blocks of terraced houses with a beautifully landscaped, shared lane carefully planned to bring a sense of safety and a place for children to play along with its primary purpose of providing access. “It needed careful planning and a bit of clever design application,” says Madushin. “We pushed hard for elevated landscape treatments so it’s not just a dull tarsealed road; it’s patterned, coloured, textured concrete and together with great soft landscaping the lane generates a sense of place and community for the people who live there. “That sense of identity is really key, like having those three blocks which are all very different to each other but share a common thread in terms of materiality and feel. “It’s these almost subconscious elements, that were implemented into the design and successfully carried out by the developer, that set it apart.” The Muse has already won both the ADNZ (Architectural Designers New Zealand) and the NZIA (New Zealand Institute of Architects) Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional Awards for Multi-Unit Housing 2026, with more nominations yet to be decided. More importantly it’s providing quality housing and a sense of community to the many people proud to call The Muse home.
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