Brougham wins NZ award

ŌCHT’s Brougham St development showcases how community housing providers and construction partners can better respond to New Zealand’s housing crisis, Southbase Construction says.

One of our newest developments has been hailed as a model for the rest of the country.

A development showcasing how community housing providers and construction partners can respond to the country’s housing crisis has again been recognised as among the best of its kind in New Zealand.

Ōtautahi Community Housing Trust’s three community Brougham St development won a Community and Affordable Housing Property Excellence Award at the Property Council New Zealand Property Industry Awards.

The 90-home project was built Southbase Construction and designed by South By Southeast Architects. Its new 1-4 -bedroom homes were opened in three stages over 2021.

ŌCHT chief executive Cate Kearney says the Excellence Award recognises the quality of the project and the team that drove it, setting it alongside community and affordable housing developments that were “the best of the best” in the country.

“The project delivers on our aspiration to demonstrate beautiful sustainable ways of building for community housing and communities, to constantly improve now and into the future,” Ms Kearney says.

“Korimako, Hoiho and Karoro lanes are now home to more than 100 people, living in warm, dry and modern homes that rival those of other new residential developments.

“The Excellence Award recognises the quality of the project work, and the homes, we want to continue to deliver as we continue to grow community housing in Christchurch.”

Members of the Southbase Construction, South By Southeast Architects and ŌCHT team with the Community and Affordable Housing Property Excellence Award at the Property Council New Zealand Property Industry Awards.

The Property Industry Awards recognise superior examples of stand-out projects in property development and investment across a broad range of sectors and design disciplines.

Entries are considered for their outstanding return or delivery of service potential on investment, and for creating value for owners, tenants and the wider community.

Southbase Construction chief executive Quin Henderson says the award recognises a project focused on providing safe and sustainable housing in a way that is worth emulating as the country tackles acute housing need.

“This development showcases shows how community housing providers, together with their construction partners, can better respond to New Zealand’s housing crisis.

“We hope more government departments and developers look to the success achieved by ŌCHT and consider embracing their model.”

ŌCHT embraced Southbase’s design and build construction technology, including their off-site manufacturing, allowing the company to accelerate the construction programme, reduce waste on-site, and deliver homes faster, he says.

“At Southbase we are committed to delivering safe and sustainable community housing projects for families and whānau to thrive,” Mr Henderson says.

“With these newly completed homes, individuals and families have the opportunity for a fresh start, to feel safe and warm, and to grow and thrive.”

Ms Kearney says Brougham St met or exceeded expectations across a range of metrics– important measures for a charitable trust that must make prudent, long-term investments.

Southbase completed the project in three stages, allowing ŌCHT to welcome new tenants from the Public Housing Register nearly six months before the final home was ready.

Overall, Brougham Street was finished two months ahead of schedule and significantly under budget despite the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and supply chain issues.

It delivered homes built with materials selected with clear sustainability benchmarks spanning from their whole-of-life carbon footprint and durability, through to their impact on tenant wellbeing.

Sustainability was also paramount during construction, with measures such as offsite truss manufacture and robust waste sorting and recycling programmes reducing embodied carbon.

The homes were designed to achieve New Zealand Green Building Council Homestar 7 rating, to provide spaces that will be warm, dry and efficient to run for decades to come.

In-home energy conservation was enhanced by thermally broken windows, heat pumps, heat recovery systems, smart hot water cylinders and mechanical ventilation systems.

Near the green spaces outside, EV charging stations are supported by underground infrastructure that can be expanded as EV use grows, as can the electric bike charging facility.

Ms Kearney says the development was purposefully planned through design and construction to deliver socially, economically and environmentally sustainable homes and spaces.

“In all respects, the lanes are built for now and for the future as we continue to improve community housing in Ōtautahi.”

The category winner was HomeGround, an Auckland City Mission-owned complex with 80 permanent apartments for people who are experiencing homelessness. It went on to win the Supreme Award.​​​​​​​

The Brougham St development has already received a Canterbury Architecture Award (Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Award) and a Civic Trust Award.