Auckland based architectural designers, X Studio, specialises in delivering great value to developers undertaking intensive housing developments.
“Particularly in Auckland there exists a big problem with housing shortage and families are finding it harder to afford a home.
“Developers are beginning to play an important part in delivering affordable homes to the market and X Studio works closely with planners and civil engineers to help deliver greater building densification for each site through council and the new Auckland unitary plan/AUP,” explains X Studio design director Han Chen.
He says that where a typical developer and architect would approach a section of empty untouched land and see four 200sqm houses, X Studio would be able to deliver five 180sqm houses.
“If you do the math, the actual building area we are able to achieve is far greater and that is because we specialise in pushing for higher densification by stretching the controls of the unitary plan.
“It’s not something a lot of architects are comfortable in doing and it requires a team of consultants all on the same page, however through over 80 projects we have had a 100% success rate in at least delivering at least an additional 6% of the total site as building area.
“What this densification ultimately means for our clients is more value in terms of getting the most out of their section, what this means for Kiwis is a greater range and more supply of affordable, well designed homes.”
He says that X Studio has undertaken extensive research to better understand the new zoning and controls of the Auckland Unitary plan to offer clients the best advice.
It’s no surprise then that last year X Studio doubled in size and plans to continue to expand. Projects undertaken range from subdivision development housing to private lifestyle homes.
“We take the process of architectural design very seriously and while the high budget private home projects give us more freedom in terms of design exploration and flexibility, we can also work with a more restricted budget to deliver an attractive, modern looking home,” says Han.
He says that a good example is a recent terraced housing project in Mountain Road, Mt Wellington. X Studio developed a concept which involved a bespoke fire rated wall build-up which could achieve fire rating through a variation of the typical detail, which removed the need for any rigid air barriers, saving the client cost and making construction much easier for the builder, says Han.
“Of course despite the limited budget, we still found a way to compose the materials and cladding systems in response to the form to achieve a modern and sophisticated look.”
X Studio is located in the new B:Hive building at Smales Farm. “We welcome all new clients to approach us with their ideas and look forward to working with them to establish successful solutions.”
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X Studio, specialises in delivering great value to developers undertaking intensive housing developments.
