The Squeeze: Racecourse study inspires real-life ideas for Blenheim
An academic architecture project has sparked concrete interest from a Blenheim landowner and the construction industry hoping to meet demand for small affordable homes.
The Waterlea Racecourse study was a hypothetical development designed by architecture graduate Sarah Morris, formerly of Marlborough, to trial medium-density housing.
She was able to fit 468 houses on the 31.13-hectare racecourse site, nearly 40 per cent more houses than a typical Blenheim suburb, while also increasing green space by 34.8 per cent.
"Something that is viable and also helps the community."
Wilhelm still took on architecture projects alongside his work as senior lecturer at Victoria University, but only where he saw mutual benefits between academia and communities, "making advanced professional and scientific knowledge more easily accessible, or enabling valuable experience for architecture students".
He gave the landowner some questions to consider before starting the project, Wilhelm said.
"Who are your potential clients? Is it for rental or selling? Is it sold with plots, or on a leaseholder model, or body corporate? How does the development deal with required infrastructure and environmental resources?
"You don't need to have definitive answers, but architects can help get that worked out as much as possible."
Wilhelm had also been in touch with the Marlborough District Council's town planning advisers.
"Typically it's much more difficult to get consent if it's something bigger than two units. Then you need full resource consent, and that can be a deterrent for private developers. But early involvement with councils can help create legislation around a project and make them easier to do in the future."
Wilhelm said he hoped the pandemic would not dilute interest in the project. Parts of the construction industry were at full capacity before lockdown, with long waiting times and high cost, but post-pandemic could be a good time to start a project, he said.
A Neighbourly poll following Stuff's article in March found 53.3 per cent would live in a medium density development like the Waterlea Racecourse design. None of the respondents minded how close it was to central Blenheim, but 33.3 per cent would only live there in a standalone house.
Concrete NZ architect Ralf Kessel had also been in touch, seeing an opportunity to promote the use of concrete by offering advice and funding the work of students supervised by Wilhelm.
Kessel said he had worked with Wilhelm before, on a student project for the Salvation Army in Wellington.
"Concrete NZ wants to reach out and help young students ... and we constantly think about supporting other student projects," Kessel said.
"Ultimately, the project would benefit all New Zealanders."
Medium density housing brought a special set of challenges so experience was invaluable to students, Kessel said.
"You have to address so much when you're living next to a neighbour with only a separating wall
between you. There will likely be sound issues, the fire risk is much higher and the apartment blockis usually common property, it's not like owning a standalone house where you could do work on the weekend to improve the home."
Pre-cast concrete was a quick and affordable option for larger developments, Kessel said.
A concrete wall 150 millimetres thick reduced urban noise, and concrete walls absorbed and store the sun's heat energy, radiating it back into the room when temperatures dropped, Kessel said.
"That's thermal mass ... Every stone, every rock does it. If the sun is shining on the rock during the day, the rock will still be warm later at night."
The main challenge was usually finding investors to bring projects to fruition, he said.
The South Island's fault lines were another issue, but engineering measures could offset earthquake movement, Kessel said.
The concrete and glass Christchurch Art Gallery survived the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes undamaged, built on a concrete "raft slab" that dispersed movement through the building.
National museum Te Papa Tongarewa used base isolation, where the building was built on two concrete slabs separated by lead and rubber bearings, so the earth could move with the building rather than shaking it. The concrete precast seismic structural system known as PRESSS was another low-damage method.
Concrete piles and raft slabs could also reduce liquefaction.
But those measures were often expensive, and likely only economical for larger projects, he said.
Kessel said he hoped a Blenheim development would inspire the industry to consider other materials and design possibilities, rather than carrying on with the standard Kiwi standalone house.
Article Supplied By - Jenifer Eder at Stuff