Proxima Residences

Proxima Residences consist of 67 high-end apartments within walking distance of the CBD and University campuses.  Offering views of Waitmate Harbour and Mt Eden, the apartments provide all the advantages of City living in an area ready for urban regeneration.

The overall design is bold and unapologetic, reflecting the busy urban environment through a layered aesthetic that builds up to the facade top, creating a scale and proportion that’s imposing without being overbearing.  

Louvres are used for shading and thermal control for occupants behind glazed frontage and those enjoying the fresh air and openness of the boxed balconies.  Finished in the same two colour tones as the external cladding, their use is subtle and clever, working to soften and blend parts of the facade by breaking up expanses of solid colour. 

Strips of Caldera 150 louvres run from levels four to nine on the North and South elevations.  Fixed at 140mm centres, they are differentiated only by their tilt, which is either 45 degrees or 75 degrees.  Their purpose is the same though.  They offer shading for occupants and also privacy from nearby balconies that would otherwise enjoy a clear line of vision inside. 

Solaris 100 louvres are used on East and West elevations, where they enclose the ends of the balconies.  Offering the obvious advantages of privacy and shading, they also help reduce the effect of wind whipping around the corner, creating a more relaxing balcony area where occupants can unwind and soak in those views. 

Crowning off the facade are Solaris 110 louvres, placed in front of larger windows where they can provide shading and help control thermal gain.  Finished in a Dulux Duratech powdercoat, their presence helps establish the building scale and completes the architectural intent.  

The design of Proxima Residences is clever.  Insol louvres are used for all the reasons louvres are used, like privacy and shading.  But they are also used to blend the facade from section to section where, like conjunctions in a passage of text, they take the reader (or in this case, the viewer) on a journey that reveals the whole story, or architectural intent.

Client  Trading Trust                   Architect  Construkt Architects

Contractor  Kalmar                    Location  Auckland