Repetition is central to the Pauanui Apartments brief. Darius Group asked Modal Architecture to design the multi-residential component of Hillswater with the ambition of creating an investment product that could be repeated around New Zealand.

That wider purpose shaped the questions behind the architecture. A repeatable unit needed to contribute to a building with privacy, usable balconies and a clear identity. Investment targets, an offshore prefabricated structure, New Zealand consenting and peer review also formed part of the project’s requirements. The design therefore had to consider the logic of construction alongside the experience of occupation.

The building mirrors and stacks a repeatable unit into a three-level building with stairs and a lift. This establishes the underlying order. Curves soften the mass, giving the exterior a different expression from the repeated arrangement within it. A soft palette and light horizontal cladding contribute to the building’s character and the brief’s emphasis on reduced maintenance.

The elements between floors carry several responsibilities at once. They provide shading, privacy, support and weather protection, combining functions that could otherwise become separate pieces of the exterior. Around the stair, their form changes to define the entrance. The same architectural device therefore participates in the building’s amenity and in the way people identify its point of arrival.

Balconies form part of the accommodation, giving the repeated units an outward-facing component. Together with the privacy and shading elements, they help connect the efficiency of the building to the quality of the individual homes.

Darius Group’s development brings construction logic, maintenance and architectural character together. Residents have private homes with usable balconies, shading and clear access, while the repeated unit arrangement provides a basis for the client’s wider development ambitions.