European influence

Redeveloping a commercial site necessitates looking at what is there critically and assessing its intrinsic value. Is it a valuable asset that is best kept and refurbished, or should the site be cleared?

Stephenson and Turner, who provided urban design, architecture, building services and interior planning for the project, believed that the six-storey Auckland Education Board building in Grafton was well-built and had potential to become the centrepiece of the Neil Properties development.

Project architect John Wardle says that while the old building was dated and had an awkward relationship to the site, it was a major building in the area.

The urban design concept, which was strongly supported by the Auckland City Council's Urban Design Panel, became the classic urban form with the existing building at the centrepiece of a plaza. The plaza is open to Nugent Street and defined on the north and east by commercial office buildings. The containment of the plaza is completed to the south by the carpark and utility buildings.

The office buildings are designed to have a cool, modernist image with extensive areas of glazing contrasted with strongly modelled concrete walls. The exposed concrete-framed office buildings with their heavily textured walls act as a foil to the warm, timber-clad facades of the refurbished existing building.

The plaza, which has been set at the lowered entrance level of the apartment building, is envisaged as a social space for the entire development, with retail and food outlets opening onto landscaped courtyards.

For more information, contact Stephenson and Turner Architects, PO Box 1830, Auckland 1140, phone (09) 303 1249, fax (09) 303 2554. Email: auckland@stephensonturn.com. Or visit the website: www.stephensonturner.com.

Story by: Trendsideas