Five years on: What Pacifica taught us about vertical living

Five years after its completion, Pacifica continues to shape conversations about density, liveability and tall residential design in Aotearoa New Zealand. Designed by Plus Studio for developer Hengyi, the 178-metre tower remains the country’s tallest building, but its significance lies less in its height than in what it has revealed about how vertical living can work in an Auckland context.From the outset, Pacifica was conceived as a test case rather than a trophy project. Located one bloc