Nothing to hide

The commercial success of an office development can be judged in a number of ways. The building needs to have presence, its facilities must be attractive for a range of tenant profiles, and it must represent an ongoing commercial asset for the building owner.

Owned by AMP NZ Office Trust (ANZO), 21 Queen Street was located on a prime Auckland CBD site, but after 30 years it had become invisible and was not delivering on its commercial potential.

As lead consultant, Peddle Thorp Architects worked with ANZO from the outset, developing feasibility models and concept designs for the building.

"This was a design-and-build project, which has advantages with respect to time, but can be problematic for clients who wish to maintain control over design," says PTA project leader Wade Jennings.

"We relished the opportunity to take a leadership role in shaping the outcome with the client and working closely with the consultants and contractor to deliver," he says.

Environmentally sustainable design (ESD) was a key factor in the brief and underlined the decision-making process throughout the delivery of the project.

"Our intent was to minimise energy consumption at all levels, while providing high-quality internal environments that address both physical and metaphysical wellbeing. It was an inclusive and studied process, targeted at performance rather than a green shopping list," says Jennings.

The project has received an NZGBC Design Rating of 5 Stars with 65 points which the Green Building Council recognises as an impressive achievement for an existing building.

For a commercial development, perhaps the biggest success story was the speed of delivery. Recycling the building on this scale resulted in a construction period of just 20 months.

"When you consider that such a project requires less capital expenditure, coupled with a much shorter time to market, and a similar rent yield to that of a new building, it does not take long to sense the opportunity," says Jennings.

For more information, contact Peddle Thorp Architects, Level 5, 23 Customs St East, Auckland 1010, phone (09) 379 9405. Email: wadej@pta.co.nz. Website: www.peddlethorp.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas