This story was prepared by MADE and is being published by the New Zealand Herald as advertorial.
Imagine living in an environment that has a tangible positive impact on your wellbeing as well as economic sustainability, where access to a vibrant hub is on your doorstep – literally steps not kilometres; as well as shared spaces – parks, wheelchair accessible graded walkways, narrow roads to slow down traffic and public benches.
It’s not your typical subdivision but Little Sharewater in the village centre of Auranga, Drury, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland ticks all these boxes. Leading the way in New Zealand, it’s one of a growing number of people-friendly co-housing developments globally that encourages human connection and community. The MADE Group development provides a literal roadmap and best practice that developers and city planners can look to, to improve future housing developments in New Zealand.
The vision of MADE Group founder and CEO Charles Ma is to develop a better way to live. His development at Auranga (of which Little Sharewater is an extension) is not simply about building cities and laying infrastructure, it is about inspiring and unifying communities, creating places of belonging.
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The central hub at Little Sharewater has already become a central meeting place for the Auranga community with regular events, concerts and gatherings and will become even more vibrant at the completion of the adjacent Little Sharewater townhouse development of 27 townhouses that face inwards onto a green co-living space.
“We’re reimagining what it means for people to live together,” says Matamoana Nuku, Little Sharewater project lead at Designgroup Stapleton Elliot. “A lot of your typical housing products on the market are separated by fences and other barriers where people live in their own bubble. With all the issues that society is facing, one of those social aspirations is being able to integrate community or facilitate community building opportunities through this development.”
The townhouses are efficient in size and supported by a three-storey indoor common area that includes a cafe, library and function room. The central outdoor promenade upon which the townhouses face is a space where residents can come together and even bring out their dining tables for shared meals.
Riverfront and lakeside environments at Little Sharewater have also been mindfully thought out and allow full public access. Nearby ‘Ngā motu o Hingaia’ (The Islands of the Princess Hingaia) is a sanctuary that is being returned to public access through the extension of Auranga’s coastal walkway and a number of parks are within easy walking distance. There’s a purpose-built floating pontoon for summer swimming and launching kayaks. Plus, a 400m gravel running track and exercise equipment overlooking the water, and a custom-designed children’s playground adjacent to the village square.
While it won’t be strictly a car-free neighbourhood like Culdesac in Tempe Arizona, Little Sharewater is located beside an established public transport route and has centralised parking locations within a one-minute walk of the development which aligns with the vision for a “walkable neighbourhood”.
Ma has even named one of the laneways adjacent to the townhouse development Better Way! It points to a better way, better design and challenges us to do better.
He believes that we can do more to help people realise their potential. The development of communities that make a positive impact on people’s sense of belonging, and that connect people, place and purpose, is at the core of his urban design philosophy.
Ma’s ambition is to facilitate better living for residents, with lower mortgage costs and lower transport costs allowing them more time to live, more connections with their neighbours, and ultimately a better, more connected life.
More information visit sharewater-ngakoroa.com
