Auckland Design Manual Blog

Known for their extensive work redesigning and re-imagining some of Auckland’s most celebrated spaces, including the Britomart Precinct and City Works Depot, Cheshire Architects have recently turned their design focus to transforming old into new, redeveloping a former office tower into quality density living with their SKHY Apartments. Don’t be surprised if you double-take the first time you […]

With the NZPI Annual Conference taking place this week in Wellington, urban planning briefly finds itself in the limelight. To celebrate, the ADM takes a look at the ‘art’ of  planning. When I decided to commit four years of my life to a planning degree, my parents didn’t quite jump for joy.  For some time they […]

Christchurch and Auckland Urban Design Panel leaders have been exchanging ideas on how to do things better. “The concept of a ‘network approach’ is a strong one. Networks generally relate to people. So when Rachael Annan from the Christchurch Urban Design Panel and Lisa Dunshea from the Auckland Urban Design Panel met recently, they knew […]

The word airport conjures up images of large utilitarian buildings, filled with billboards, long blank walls, and countless windows. To me, airports permeate a general ambivalence to the human experience, with the key activities being: long hours waiting in queues, eating fast food, looking at hobbits (if you’re lucky enough to be at Wellington Airport), […]

Auckland is now on the path toward becoming a more compact city and what we build today will shape the neighbourhoods of tomorrow. Density done well can foster thriving neighbourhoods and help to sustain public amenities such as public transport and great local parks. However, density done badly can isolate people, and even contribute towards […]