Vinegar Lane in Ponsonby, Auckland, is an exciting example of urban redevelopment and high-density living. Located on the city fringe, Ponsonby is a development hotspot on the Auckland city-fringe, jam-packed with light industrial buildings covering 100 percent of some freehold lots.
Aiming to maximise his return on investment, the land’s owner/developer decided to subdivide the original 1.3 hectare piece into small blocks rather than building one monolithic structure. And to add interest and diversity to the development, each of the small apartment buildings that fill the site were designed by different architects, giving each building its own signature.
On average, it is estimated Vinegar Lane will yield 280 dwellings per hectare (net), yet with huge spontaneity and variety in the building shapes and facades, with all buildings constructed from precast concrete panels.
Precast concrete fabricator Concrete Structures Limited has been involved from the outset, building seven of the street’s buildings, all with concrete supplied by Firth.
Ray Baker, Site Manager for Concrete Structures says, “It looked a bit strange when the first concrete panels went up, as they are very narrow sites. They have a six metre frontage, are 15 metres deep and no more than five storeys high”. The company was responsible for completing each structure, with Firth providing valuable support at every step.
Each of the buildings has a markedly different façade, requiring diverse concrete mixes and colours. “I’ve worked with Concrete Structures for about three years,” says Paul Martinovich, sales representative for Firth. “Vinegar Lane has been a very big job for them and at times it was tricky getting concrete trucks into some very tight inner city streets and spaces. But they are a very good customer, know their stuff, and the result is pretty spectacular.”
Paul says that Firth supplied a variety of special mixes for these high-end buildings, with white, black and titanium oxides required. “There were also different strength mixes from 10 MPa to 40Mpa, depending on where it was going.”
“Some of the panels were coloured, some had triangles in them,” says Ray. “There were all sorts of fancy things in these panels. We rely on Paul and the Firth team to get us the concrete we need, and they consistently deliver.”
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