Hills Residences
2023
Typology: Apartment Building
Completion: 2023
Location: Hamilton
Builder: SJR Builders
Images: Simon Wilson
Originally a thriving Hills Laboratory building, The Residences at Hills Village now features 19 opulent apartments that redefine urban living. The project involved stripping down the existing building to its structural frame, strengthening, re-servicing, and fitting out as an apartment building. With each apartment sold prior to construction, this adaptive reuse has significantly contributed to the rejuvenation of a city area that was previously overlooked. The complex features two and three bedroom apartments, ranging from courtyard apartments to mid-level lofts, to luxurious penthouses with stunning views of the city and the Waikato River.
Working with the existing building structure was a difficult proposition but the architect and client have achieved a landmark result for Hamilton East. Transitioning from a laboratory to residential apartments with capacity for future commercial spaces, this project exemplifies a thoughtful approach to adaptive reuse. The existing structure has been expressed internally, with concrete columns stripped back to reveal the history and original patina. The new apartments are warm, inviting and reflect high-quality residential aesthetic with timber cabinetry and stone benchtops. A quality reuse of a building that has revitalised a corner of Hamilton East.
- Te Kāhui Whaihanga NZ Institute of Architects