Urban Form Design

RC granted through hearing

Urban Form Design was engaged to provide site master-planning, architectural design and initial urban design assessment of an infill development in Orakei, Auckland, in late 2021. The resource consent application was lodged in March 2023. Since the lodgement, our client has received various types of 'resistance'. Hence, the consultant team and our client collectively decided to voluntarily public notify the resource consent application at the beginning of 2024. The public hearing was held in September 2024. Today, the independent hearing panel "resolved that this application be granted with conditions".

In our opinion, infill 'rear-lot' developments have been more than common to deal with intensification/population growth in existing suburbs of New Zealand for the last 2 to 3 decades. Many of recent developments have been criticised for various reasons. However, we believe that, before the nation comes up some other solutions (such as local councils designating new streets or lane ways for parcels to front onto and to reduce the dimensions of existing street blocks), infill developments will have to remain dominant and perhaps the only way, to deal with urban intensification in the built-up areas.

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/have-your-say/hearings/find-hearing/Pages/resource-consent-hearing-documents.aspx?HearingId=472

A bungalow-extension - one of recently 'occupied' projects