84 | Fresh office space for heritage building The existing brickwork was repointed, washed and sealed to be left exposed, emphasising the heritage of the building. Stevenson Tua’i Architectural Consultants: Fahey Kwiat Builders T T Rosa Watson “The design narrative focused on the business and the building functionality as well as the company branding.” ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN A heritage building in central Dunedin has been transformed into a stunning office space, and subsequently collected an Otago/Southland Architectural Designers NZ award. Located at 167 High Street, the 19th-century building, with a floor area of 704sqm, is one of many featured heritage buildings in the surrounding area. The latest design, carried out by Stevenson Tua’i Architectural Consultants, is the 11th stage of refurbishment of the building. Initial projects began with creating a basement laboratory to accommodate Oritain Global staff. Subsequent stages have included a combat gym fit-out. Oritain Global now occupies the entire four-storey building, accommodating more than 100 staff. Designer Tai Tua’i says the brief was to create an office located on the top floor that provided elegant formal spaces for high-value meetings, plus a lounge and dining setting for hosting guests and staff events. “Retention of interior heritage features was a high priority for the finished look.” Keeping the exposed trusses, skylight openings and a tongue-and-groove ceiling meant the design process initially focused on creating acoustically sound spaces without disrupting natural light and volume. With heritage-status exterior facades, exterior modification in the refurbishment was limited. The existing external brickwork was repointed, washed and sealed to be left exposed, emphasising the heritage of the building. After resource consent and consultation with Heritage New Zealand, the existing timber windows and skylights were fully refurbished. Three acoustically lined booths using a transitional space were created for private spaces to accommodate small staff meetings and international calls. An additional nook for respite and lounging was also created from left-over angular dead space. “We worked with a local artist to commence what will become a common artistic impression throughout the other floors and offices around the world,” Tai says. “The design narrative focused on the business and the building functionality as well as the company branding. The welcoming manifestation depicts the local maunga (mountain) Aoraki with a fingerprint design inspired by the company logo.” This is adapted through the floors below to depict native forest, soil, and water on which Oritain’s “proving origin” science relies, he says, while a highlight of the project was retaining the heritage features and incorporating them into the modern office space, and working closely with the main and sub-contractors to minimise the effect of the services on the existing heritage ceiling. “This also included refurbishing the existing skylights, which really enhanced the feel of the main office space.” Originally, Tai says, the design began as a small meeting and storage space and evolved to incorporate a large hole being created between the first and second floor to tie the two levels together. “We spent a bit of time on this design, but there were complications with the loss in floor area and potential costs. This wasn’t really a challenge, and there weren’t many challenges with this project to be honest. We’re still very happy with the process and the end result, regardless of the reduced scope.” Builders Fahey Kwiat were a pleasure to work with, Tai says. “It was easy to adapt the construction when it came to making changes, and the builders were always on board with the design and communicated very well.” Tai says the firm aims to enter the ADNZ awards each year. “We find it useful to create an entry, because it forces you to get professional photography and helps grow your portfolio. It’s also great to enter just to showcase some of the work we’re involved in and hopefully encourage other designers to enter as well. “All in all it’s a fun annual event that draws you away from work to take time out, see what other designers are involved in and get together to celebrate.” YOU NEED IT, WE'VE GOT IT COVERED ROOFING CONTRACTOR CALL OR EMAIL TODAY FOR A FREE NO OBLIGATION QUOTE We can work with you to choose the right roofing style, profile and colour for your roofing needs. Tony Adams Roofing Technician 027 488 1415 tony@peakroofing.co.nz Hayley Adams Office Manager 027 817 5692 hayley@peakroofing.co.nz trade.admin@megadunedin.co.nz Phone 03 455 3341 www.mitre10.co.nz/trade 350 Andersons Bay Rd, DUNEDIN Proud to support Stevenson Tua’i Architectural Consultants OPEN 7 DAYS FOR ALL YOUR BUILDING SUPPLIES
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