[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22932001

A British man has survived a fall from the 15th floor of a building in New Zealand, local media report.

Tom Stilwell fell from his neighbour's balcony in his apartment block in Auckland at 02:00 local time on Sunday (14:00 GMT on Saturday), reports said.

He was trying to lower himself onto his balcony, which was directly below his neighbour's, when he fell, police said.

His friends said that he had bone fractures and internal injuries, but was "fine" and "a very lucky man".

In a statement, New Zealand police said: "It appears that the man was locked out of his 14th floor apartment. He fell while attempting to climb down the outside of the building from a 15th floor apartment directly above his, in an effort to gain access via his balcony."

There were "no suspicious circumstances surrounding the fall", the statement added.

The 20-year-old is said to be in New Zealand on a working holiday.

Mr Stilwell discovered he was locked out of his flat early on Sunday, and asked a neighbour if he could climb down from her balcony into his flat, his friends said.

The neighbour, Geraldine Bautista, told the New Zealand Herald that Mr Stilwell was "a little tipsy" but polite.

"I wasn't scared of him - he just requested 'Can you please let me jump off from the balcony? I will not bother you, just let me use your balcony.'"

"I never thought he would really do that. In my mind I thought 'Okay, I'll just let you see that it's really impossible. I didn't think he'd jump, because it's really scary."

However, he quickly pulled himself over the balcony railing before she could stop him, she said.

"I thought I was dreaming... it happened within seconds," she said. "I couldn't even scream for help."

Mr Stilwell's fall was broken by the roof of an adjacent building, reportedly some 13 floors below.

Drinking and climbing just don't mix .....

He's been very "lucky" this time .....

[Marc]

Why would you do that!? Just break the door down or something

[lostalex]

why didn't he just buzz the building manager?

I've locked myself out of my apartment a million times, even at 2 in the morning. i buzz my manager, apologize profusely, end of.

The neighbor sounds like an idiot too, why would you let someone climb off of your balcony?

[Omah]

Originally Posted by lostalex

The neighbor sounds like an idiot too, why would you let someone climb off of your balcony?

"I thought I was dreaming... it happened within seconds," she said. "I couldn't even scream for help."

[lostalex]

Originally Posted by Omah

"I thought I was dreaming... it happened within seconds," she said. "I couldn't even scream for help."

He came in through her front door though right? so she must have let him in. and he must have walked through her entire apartment to get to the balcony.

"i thought i was a dreaming". what a load of crap.

[Omah]

Originally Posted by lostalex

He came in through her front door though right? so she must have let him in. and he must have walked through her entire apartment to get to the balcony.

How big is "entire" ?

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/ar...ectid=10127564

The days of tiny Auckland apartments are over in the inner city with the introduction of new design controls, including a minimum studio apartment size.

Cramped apartments with poor ventilation, no sound-proofing, little natural light, and windowless and cupboard-like bedrooms will be banned.

Cheek-by-jowl apartments will be banned. Flat, ugly concrete towers will be banned.

The city's smallest apartments are about 12sq m. The Herald has visited apartments smaller than a prison cell, including a windowless room with one bed suspended in the roof area and another on the floor in an area slightly longer than a human body and about 2m wide.

The new design controls for apartments are the third initiative by the Auckland City Council in the past week to improve the appearance of the city after years of weak planning rules, lax building controls and a rubber-stamping culture by council staff.

As flagged by the Herald last week, the council is introducing minimum apartment sizes. The minimum size for a studio will be 35sq m, including an 11sq m living area, 9sq m bedroom area, 5sq m for a kitchen, 5sq m balcony and the rest for a bathroom, laundry and entry area.

The council is also taking a hard line on exterior urban design standards following an explosion in the number of cheap, ugly residential high-rise towers. New apartment blocks will have to be of "highest quality, showing creativity, innovation" and "harmonise with and complement the streetscape".

At ground level, apartments must excite pedestrians with architectural detail, shops and public open spaces. There will be minimum distances between apartment towers, for example, 25m between two 50m-tall buildings.

These controls are too late for more than a dozen apartment towers including the 417-apartment Volt building on the prime Mayoral Drive and Queen St corner and four towers in Hobson St.