100 | ARCHITECTURE Redbox Architects T T Ange Davidson Thriving inner city focus for firm The Redbox team, Nick Burn, Amy Burn, Pete Stichbury, Brad Beazley and Justin Fletcher Architectural practices working in New Zealand’s regional towns are exposed to a wide range of projects and require a broad range of skill sets. Redbox Architects in Nelson thrives on the challenge of tackling projects from residential through to education and commercial. The small but highly geared team of five at Redbox are actively involved in all areas of architectural projects including multi-residential and greater density housing with a focus on bringing more life into Nelson’s inner city. Director and senior Architect Brad Beazley says the practice has been commissioned for more apartment and townhouse projects which is positive for the city. “It’s a great opportunity to bring back more vitality into the inner city especially in the evenings. A lot of what we’re seeing lately is multi-residential projects and adaptive reuse where an empty office downtown might be converted into town houses. “There will always be people who want a house on a section, but the reality of housing is moving towards the townhouse scenario. People can enjoy the city’s parks and beaches rather than stay at home maintaining their property,” says Brad. Multi-residential housing is increasing as people want to make the most of their space. This could be young families building a home that can be extended and upgraded rather than having to shift sites as the family grows, or people downsizing where half the house can be easily converted to a separate studio or rental accommodation. “The big goal at the end of a project is creating a home that people feel comfortable living in for a long time. “It’s crucial that we understand where our clients are in their life, who they are and where they’re coming from. Once we understand what our clients want and need, we can start to problem solve and experiment with what’s going to work for them,” he says. Creating an architectural design from scratch takes time. After the initial brief and the sketching up of concept designs, there’s a cooling off period where clients will sit with the design after the initial excitement. A preliminary design is drawn for resource consents, and finally the design is developed fully with the focus on the individual parts of a build. A new approach to multi-residential living is co-housing and the Redbox team are involved with a not-for-profit project in Tākaka. The Tākaka Co-Housing Neighbourhood consists of 34 homes in three clusters that people buy into with the intention of living as a supportive community where amenities such as laundries are shared. T T to page 102 Proud to work alongside Redbox Architects Superior architectural construction focusing on the craftmanship of building Specialising in new houses, renovations, light commercial, project management and budget control. Get in touch Mick 0274 421 140 mick@foothold.co.nz www.foothold.co.nz Proud to be Associated with Redbox Architecture
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