Retirement planning pays off

Deighton Gibbs Architects - Auckland, New Zealand

When Deighton Gibbs Architects (DGA) was asked to consult on the design of the 300-unit Pinesong retirement village in Auckland, New Zealand, they used ArchiCAD to illustrate to developer Metlifecare Limited that a complete redesign was the only solution.

"We were asked to come aboard about midway through the design process," explained Malcomb Deighton, co-founder with David Gibbs of this Auckland firm. "And we virtually redesigned the entire village." After producing initial sketches, DGA created a simple 3D model of Pinesong in ArchiCAD to determine the relationship between buildings, courtyards and the site.

"We then created a fly-though tour of the village to confirm in the client's mind that our design was superior," Deighton said. ArchiCAD has a tremendous amount of power, and it has a short learning curve." The final plan of the 438,000-sq. ft. village - which had the input of everyone at this nine-person firm - is broken into blocks of one, two and three-story apartment buildings, duplexes and 'one-up, two-down' configurations. A small hospital, dining facility, gymnasium and swimming pool will share the site, which was previously a golf course and is undulating and covered with trees."

"We positioned the car garages as far underground as we could in order to retain the feel of a rolling countryside," Deighton said.
DGA used ArchiCAD to build 2D plans and elevations for all buildings, which were modeled in 3D and rendered in Art*lantis Render.

"The client was really pressing us to see colors and textures, to get an idea where the design was heading," Deighton recalled. "So we invited a half-dozen executives to our office and projected the plans, elevations and fly-bys on the wall. They were sold on our ideas and we were only part way into the developed design phase."

According to Deighton, their clients appreciate the modeling, as it doesn't put them in the awkward position of translating two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional forms.
"We're interested in taking the process the whole way," Deighton said. "We've pushed very hard for them to use the QuickTime VRs and fly-bys as a marketing tool; when 'Mrs. Jones' comes into the rental office, she can 'walk' herself through the apartment."

DGA purchased ArchiCAD when they began their practice almost five years ago because of its ease of use. They now have six licenses, which they use in concert with Art*lantis Render and Photoshop.
"ArchiCAD has given us a tremendous amount of power, and it has a short learning curve," Deighton said. "It only takes two weeks in a supportive environment like ours for someone to get up to speed."

Deighton also attributes ArchiCAD's value to its integrated Virtual Building, which will allow them to easily update the retirement village design as it is constructed over the next five years.
"Because what the market wants in terms of housing will change, we could conceivably be in a design phase every year."