“Our desire to be in keeping with the style of the house was met perfectly. The new designs and layouts just feel totally natural, work well and are lovely to live in………We had a pretty demanding wish list for the space available and it was a challenge to achieve what we wanted, but the team took it on with great communication and discussion where plans had to change in the face of reality. The outcome could not be better we're very happy with it. The end result with our 2nd bathroom, laundry and storage room in a very tight space just works really well and much better than I thought could be achieved”
The clients for this project approached Wright & Gray Architects to enhance the amenity of this 1970’s apartment close to the city. The brief was to explore some wins for the property that would make noticeable improvements to the function, thermal comfort and living/ working dynamics of a family of four. Along with this, the client wished to preserve the architectural character. The original design had features for a different time in New Zealand and made for competition for space, amenity pinch points, and a cold house to heat in winter. It was not originally designed for family life and working from home. This made it difficult to live there all year round in comfort. However, testament to the original architect’s design, only a few things required tweaking to make big differences in comfort and livability. The design included retrofitting and enlarging a family bathroom; converting a tiny basement space into a new laundry, shower room and storage space; new cabinetry and modern modifications in the kitchen; additional storage, new modern heatpump radiator space heating and water heating, retrofit double glazing into timber windows, plus many other maintenance and landscaping improvements. We essentially had to make improvements in efficiency in what was already an efficient well-designed apartment from well-respected New Zealand Architects. This was a challenge Wright & Gray Architects were up for and we felt the weight of an imposing responsibility, that this must be done well, and by Registered Architects like ourselves.
Being an important part of Wellington’s rich architectural history it required a level of sensitivity that suited the client’s new needs but also respected, and worked with the apartments essential architectural qualities. The original architecture was a profound statement of honesty which included exposed block, exposed timber joists and flooring. This was all visible and understandably familiar. The details are simple, unfussy, and spaces, fittings and joinery are all well-proportioned and functional. There was nowhere to hide. Our approach was to similarly expose copper service pipes, honestly express materiality where we could, and ensure proportions were correct but functional.
We believe we achieved both goals of meeting the brief and respecting the former architects’ conceptual philosophy. We brought the small apartment on a journey from the 1970’s with roots of London mews living, turning it into a livable home with modern comforts for a family of four, without compromises in the original architectural spirit.
