Award Winning Rangiora Housing Development

Single occupancy social housing is scarce throughout the country - and often, it is difficult to aesthetically integrate these homes in established low density neighbourhoods. This was the issue that needed to be addressed with this Rangiora development, which replaces nine 1950s state houses with 28 one-bedroom units.

In order to avoid the stigmatisation that can sometimes come with developments such as this one, the architects opted to group units into clusters of two or three, encasing them in a facade that appeared similar to the stand-alone family houses surrounding them. The units are then clad in a combination of colours chosen specifically for their ability to create community but also to deliver a sense of pride and individuality for the occupants of each unit.

The development proved so successful that it was awarded a finalist at the COLORSTEEL® Awards 2021 and was also a Canterbury 2021 New Zealand Architecture Awards Winner in the Multi-unit category. In Rohan Collett Architects’ COLORSTEEL® Award entry, the practice emphasised how colour was integral to the project’s success: “A consistent colour palette was chosen to achieve a shared sense of identity among residents and was used with purposeful irregularity to avoid a visual result stigmatised by uniformity.”

In choosing the colours - namely Desert Sand, Titania, Pioneer Red, and New Denim Blue - research was undertaken into the demographic of the proposed occupants, as well as the enduring appeal of the colours within the surrounding natural environment and streetscape of Rangiora. To further assimilate the buildings with their neighbours, a number are brick clad, while the clean lines of the Espan profile gives a sympathetic, yet contemporary look. With landscaped communal spaces between and accessibility features designed into the development, the occupants are provided with a sense of home and inclusion within the Rangiora neighbourhood.