Those familiar with Sumner may have spotted Apartment 41 on Nayland Street – a striking modern build by MC Architecture Studio. As a three-storey mixed-use building, the project incorporates a ground-floor retail space and two storeys of an apartment that embraces the scenic view.

The project simultaneously complements the surrounding structures yet has an empowering presence. As Apartment 41 stands tall, each elevation was treated as a visible façade, or canvas, highlighting the rhythm and movement created on the frontage of the street.

With the expert skill and assistance of PTL Engineering, the project’s Corten steel panelling runs up the wall from the footpath canopy. The sculptural steel grids line the east and west façades, which create a shading effect on the clean white plaster cladding that evolves the building with the sun throughout the day. Principal Architect Massimilano (Max) Capocaccia mentions that the entire team worked carefully to enhance the ‘human scale’ of the building, adding the metal details on the elevations, achieving a level of ‘façade fragmentation’.

Atop the apartment, a timber pergola frames the continuity of the overall form and once more offers a sense of movement and rhythm in its construction where independent members intentionally misalign.

Max notes the narrow section as being a unique challenge. “The street frontage, being so limited, presented as an opportunity to do something quite unique in its proportion. In the limited space, we intended to create an interesting entrance whilst providing accessible access to the commercial ground floor and allocating enough space for the stairs leading to the apartment at [the] first and second floor.”

Special consideration for the urban dwellers within means the importance of the acoustic treatment was paramount. Triple glazed timber windows create a highly comfortable interior space with noise cancellation from the busy street below. A balance has also been found in designing for optimal access to the surrounding scenic views of the southern hill-scape and ocean to the north while still preserving the interior’s privacy to protect the residents from the busy surrounding buildings and streets below.

“In the Sumner Village, there are few examples of mixed-use development, and I believe they are all quite successful in creating a vibrant community. Buildings that cater for different human activities allow the urban environment to be more lively. Mixed-use spaces allow for casual, unplanned encounters, bringing people together while they are carrying out different activities during their day-to-day routine; they ultimately create interest and stimulate curiosity.”

03 384 9469 | mcarchstudio.nz

Sumner, standing tall