Monk Mackenzie knows how to turn heads. The practice’s highly individual projects often feature in the World Architecture Festival lineup, from dreamy dwellings in hidden locations to sculptural bridges and commercial spaces that appear to defy engineering logic. Recently, however, their oeuvre is becoming increasingly defined by standout medium-density apartments.

With Exhibit, Monk Mackenzie joins a new lineup – on Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s Herne Bay ridgeline. This five-storey scheme is the second in what will be a total of three collaborations with real-estate developer Artifact. The first, on the neighbouring site to the east, sits behind a curvaceous steel screen, framed in concrete and floating above a podium base and won the Apartment or Townhouse (now Density) category in the 2022 Here Awards. It’s a visual and programmatic device the studio does well, establishing a dialogue with the streetscape at ground level, while creating a kind of veil that wraps the more private realm above. Similar design thinking can be seen at Edition in Parnell, where the apartments are screened behind a wall of glass blocks, through which only the floorplates appear relatively distinct.

In this latest project, the refined elemental exterior delights in the rich texture of limestone bricks. The overall volume is composed yet confident, with pockets of space created through scalloped concrete bays seemingly carved into the street-facing elevation. These vertical voids offer spatial depth and visual complexity, bringing in light and views, while providing privacy from the social goings-on below.

Architect Hamish Monk says having a built exemplar right next door was helpful in developing the new design. “We picked up on the cadence and rhythm of the first, with this second site being largely an inversion of the four-bay structure.” The scale, too, is closely replicated. In an evolving and growing city, the two projects present a strong case for the power of urban intensification to enhance neighbourhood character.

The team spent nine months researching systems for the warm, mineral-toned cladding, landing on a facing brick limestone tile from Eco Outdoor. Monk Mackenzie’s Ella Lilley-Gasteiger says the material choice enabled the designers to break down the scale of the building, to more closely approximate that of domestic architecture. “With limited access via the laneways either side,” she adds, “the pre-bricked panels could be easily craned into place.”

Lightwells at the centre of the eastern and western elevations help to reduce the mass of both side façades. They bring all-day light deep into the plan, while unlocking views and providing natural ventilation.

The limestone brick carries into the foyer, this time underfoot, completing a transition from solid, textured exterior to soft, refined interior. The change in tempo is pronounced, with seriously effective acoustic treatments providing a level of calm and quiet that is hard to imagine on a busy circulation route.

Exhibit is divided into just six apartments – one courtyard apartment, two on the first level and one per level over the next three storeys – ranging in size from 184 to 352 square metres. “The floor-to-ceiling heights are 2.7 metres tall across all apartments, emphasising the generosity of the key interior spaces,” says Monk Mackenzie’s Declan Burn.

The interiors are a collaboration between designer Amelia Holmes and Artifact’s Sophie Wylie. Together they have created highly crafted and impeccably detailed environments that are as understated as the owners who occupy them. There is depth and richness in both the spatial planning and material expression. On entering each apartment, the initial engagement is with the light and aspect provided by the lightwell. Further inside, the exceptional view across the Waitematā is revealed. Soft-toned Italian limestone workbenches, European oak flooring and sand-blasted, tundra-grey limestone tiles create a serene accompaniment to the landscape.

The open-plan, north-facing interior transitions to one of privacy and retreat to the south. Here, sheer-linen curtains provide a sense of quiet enclosure in the bedroom and study areas. Soft light filters in through a London plane tree outside.

What Artifact and Monk Mackenzie have created at Exhibit is a beautifully sculptural expression of contemporary urban housing that is thoughtfully scaled and contextually sensitive. It provides a considered, enduring model for medium-density development. A model that will, no doubt, continue to turn heads for years to come.

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