The runaway housing market in Wellington, NZ motivated six friends to get together, turn developers, and build four terrace homes on a 600sqm property.
The pathway to their completed homes at Block Party was not easy, with the project taking more than five years, but the six friends – two couples and two individuals – worked through the challenges, and are now the owners of independent three-bedroom homes with carpark, along with a shared communal building, maximising both space and amenities for the residents. All the houses enjoy generous sunlight and views.
The primary trigger for the cohousing idea was the unaffordability of the local housing market. By developing the property themselves, the friends knew they could save on the developer’s margin and be able to build the homes at cost price.
Once the property was bought, they worked with Spacecraft Architects’ Tim Gittos and Caroline Robertson on the design. Given the small 88sqm footprint of each home, a shared building, which houses a laundry, a kitchenette, a toilet, and even space to host dinner parties, was included in the plan.
One major hiccup in their cohousing journey involved finding a lender to finance the construction of the project. While they had approved plans, it still took them 18 months to secure funds since existing lending rules imposed constraints on financing cohousing projects.
All their efforts paid off though, with Block Party winning the 2023 Wellington Architecture Award in the Housing – Multi Unit category.
“This triumph of out-of-the-box ideas and collaboration carefully curated by the architect is one-part urban design, one-part innovative architecture. Achieved on a modest budget, every design decision responds well to the brief: spatial order, paring back of materials, and the inclusion of intermediary spaces (decks and porches) to convey a generosity of space. The inclusion of a loft, accessed via a side stair, and the clients’ choice of colour, paid dividends. An appealing offering for prospective first-home buyers,” the NZIA Wellington jury says.
Photos: David Straight
