Mixed-tenure dwelling in the Westlight
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Authors
Schnoor, Christoph
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Date
2025-01
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Journal Article
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Glen Eden (Auckland, N.Z.)
Auckland (N.Z.)
New Zealand
mixed-income housing
public housing
apartments
housing in Auckland
domestic architecture
Auckland (N.Z.)
New Zealand
mixed-income housing
public housing
apartments
housing in Auckland
domestic architecture
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Schnoor, C. (2025). Mixed-tenure dwelling in the Westlight. Architecture New Zealand. 2025, Jan/Feb, (27)
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/7279
Abstract
In late 2020, the Westlight Apartments in Glen Eden were finished. The building complex comprises of two blocks, one of 10, the other of 11 storeys high, which sit on a shared parking garage of three levels. The podium that is thus created offers a communal ‘green’ space. Brand new, they are nevertheless situated at an historically significant location: directly between Waikumete Cemetery and the train line to Swanson (that used to continue further out to Helensville). The cemetery, which opened in 1886 on land of Kawerau ā Maki, became New Zealand’s largest cemetery. Waikumete literally means “Water of the Wooden Bowl”. Curiously, the location of the cemetery was determined by the train station – and not the other way around.
Apart from the location, the Westlight Apartments fascinate for a variety of reasons. They were initiated and financed by the Ted Manson Foundation – a charitable foundation set up by Auckland property investor Ted Manson – and they present themselves as a mixed-ownership model. Designed by mc2 architects from Auckland, the complex comprises 165 one- or two bedroom apartments, 90 of which are dedicated for social housing, administered by Home in Place (a not for-profit, regulated community housing provider). The other 75 apartments are privately owned (owner-occupied or rented).
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Architecture New Zealand
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