|
Church community devoted to quality townhouse construction In Papatoetoe, Auckland, the local church congregation needed a larger church to service the community in the area. As redevelopment of the long standing Baptist Church on the site was not feasible, the decision was made to buy a commercial site for the new church and to use the three and a half acres of the old church site for a medium density townhouse development. The local community wanted something of quality. Not just a large quantity of residences to sell off. With this brief, the developer and the building designer set about transforming the site into "Landscape Park", trying out new materials and construction systems in the process. | Designed by Arne Cobb of Arne Cobb Design and Consultancy, the 65 single and double storey townhouses of Landscape Park are not crowded together in the typical 'sausage lines' of many modern developments, but are positioned in pairs with a fenced courtyard in the front and back. Each has a deck and internal garage space. The site is surrounded by native totara trees in an already established neighbourhood. | 
| The Trust formed to oversee the development were enthusiastic about the design. While the site could have supported up to 100 residences, it was confined to less than that. This enabled the developers and Project manager to do something different that was not dollar driven, but a legacy to its community. Project manager and developer, Craig McMillan has been employed to direct the construction by the church to put the whole project together and for him it was an interesting project working closely with the Church. One of his concerns was to keep costs down as the project, while requiring quality, was also an investment development. McMillan specified Hyspan LVL and Hybeam Engineered I-Joists for the floor system in the first floors of the townhouses. McMillan had used both on earlier projects and thought they were ideal for this one. He specified Hybeam joists to accommodate plumbing and other services in concentrated areas without the need for costly dropped ceilings. Large holes can be cut through the centre web in specified areas without loss of joist performance. As he says, "I have used them in the past in other projects and found them lightweight and very easy for the guys to use. The system goes together quickly compared to traditional timber joists and provides a good, solid and non-squeak floor system." Due to time saved on labour, McMillan picked up time in his program and the townhouses went up quicker than planned. Cobb was also pleased with the LVL system by Carter Holt Harvey in achieving his design ideas. Cobb explains that:"The Hybeam joists gave us greater flexibility in installing the services upstairs and there is no doubt that there has been significant cost savings in both material and labour content." Ease of construction and economising was an issue here. It is these savings that are going to translate to profit, but not at the expense of the quality and life of the homes for the residents. Stage 1 of the project, the first 20 houses, are now at painting stage and almost complete. Stage 2 is at frame stage. The measure of interest in Landscape Park is clear from the fact that 20 townhouses had sold even before advertising commenced and now most of the townhouses have sold. Buyers are from all ages, from their 20's to their 80's, singles and families. It seems that the Baptist Church congregation of Papatoetoe has achieved their vision for their community. 
For further information contact:
Carter Holt Harvey
Phone: 1300 658 8...
Fax: 02 9468 5....
Web: www.chhwoodproducts.com.au
|
