Stage 3 of Awatere Village, owned by Oceania Healthcare, features a new five-storey building that offers modern apartment living, complete with versatile communal spaces. Care has been taken in the design of the exterior to create a warm, inviting building that complements its surroundings. Aluminium fins and battens from Spectrum were specified with a naturalistic timber-look coating from Metwood, creating a striking architectural detail on the facade, while ensuring a perfect balance of looks and durability.

The Awatere Village project developed over 5+ years, designed by a wider team of people from Chow:Hill, past and present. At each step of the design, the architects looked to provide a warm, welcoming atmosphere — an important factor for residents who are often making the transition from freestanding homes to apartment living. 

“The clientele typically come from living in quite nice freestanding homes, and they’re looking for that next stage of life,” explains explains Chow:Hill Senior Principal, Rajan Hira. “So the building had to be really compelling to convert people to apartment living, which is quite a mind shift.” 

“The exterior of the building needed to have some elements of familiarity, so it wouldn’t be alienating,” continues Rajan. “Using materials like brick and timber allowed us to achieve that, so while residents may be stepping into quite an unfamiliar lifestyle, they aren’t stepping into an unfamiliar kind of architecture.”

The design features sandy-coloured brick for the main cladding, and frosted glass balustrades that create a connection to the outdoors. To provide separation and privacy between apartments, while allowing natural light to flood through to the floor-to-ceiling windows, aluminium battens and privacy screens from Spectrum were specified in a warm woodgrain finish from Metwood.

Metwood goes beyond standard powder coating by using a two-stage coating process to create photorealistic woodgrain finishes on aluminium substrates. They are a smart option for adding the warmth of timber to projects without compromising on durability or maintenance. And with hundreds of different finishes available — including woodgrain finishes that replicate different timber species, as well as patina and marble, it is easy to find a finish to suit your project. 

“We wanted a woodgrain colour for the battens and privacy screens, and Spectrum recommended Metwood,” explains Param Singh, Associate Senior Technician, Chow:Hill. “The choice to use a woodgrain colour was about adding warmth to the facade, and also how the brick colour, Metwood colour, and the surroundings related to each other.”

“The gully itself is really heavily planted with lots of mature trees and bush,” adds Rajan. “So with that as a backdrop, if we didn’t work with that warmth, the building would have felt quite stark.”

Durability and low maintenance were key criteria when specifying Metwood. “The height of the building makes maintenance more challenging, so durability played a big part in choosing Metwood,” says Param. “The whole project was designed in a way so that we have longevity, durability and low maintenance.”

Managing Director of Spectrum, Jonathan Bent, liaised with Metwood to provide samples for the Chow:Hill design team and their clients to select the right finish for the project. “Metwood was helpful when it came to arranging colour samples of various sizes.” The ultimate Dark Cedar specification was part of a wider discussion between architects and clients to ensure a cohesive colour palette. 

Having worked together on past projects, the process of coating the aluminium screening and battens and delivering to site went smoothly. “Metwood worked with us to provide the product at the right time,” says Jonathan. “As a large project with over 1,000 fins, this helped us to manage lead times and deliver when needed. They also organised a site-specific warranty at the end of the project.” 

The Metwood woodgrain finish has added warmth to the exterior of the new apartment building, pairing well with the brick cladding and helping the building look at home within its wider surroundings. And importantly, the combination of aluminium elements from Spectrum with a Metwood coating will ensure long-term low maintenance Oceania Healthcare.

“If it had just been powder coated with a flat coating it just wouldn’t look as striking as it does now,” says Rajan. “And if we had tried to achieve that timber look through some other means, the building would already be looking tired or have needed lots of maintenance, so the fact it still looks like it did on the first day is a huge plus. Using Metwood just gives that kind of certainty for the residents that it's going to look the same for 20 plus years.”