| 77 T T Rosa Watson Historical spot looking well rejuvenated The building, built in the late 1920s as a bank, also had heritage value to the city. Urban Function Architecture ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN The restoration of a prominent central city building damaged in the Christchurch earthquakes has caught the eye of the architectural industry. The striking new development 129 High, designed by Christchurch-based architecture studio Urbanfunction, picked up the regional and national award in the residential alterations and additions at the ADNZ Resene Architectural Design Awards, and was also named runner up apartment of the year at the Trends International Design Awards. Design director Aaron Jones said the building was a prominent feature of the streetscape. “It’s sat there since the earthquakes, untouched and badly damaged, and it’s a cornerstone building for the precinct.” The building, built in the late 1920s as a bank, also had heritage value to the city that the Christchurch City Council had an interest in, he said. The practice had worked with the client previously, and when they purchased the building site at auction they engaged Urban Function the same design and construction team was re-assembled. The client brief was for a three-bedroom apartment for the family with a rooftop penthouse and garden terrace for extra accommodation. The building was “gutted to the bare bones”, structurally strengthened and restored with the decorative features retained, Aaron said. The ground floor was converted to accommodate two to three commercial spaces, which has been tenanted by a barber and a sandwich shop. It had been a big project taking the building from two-levels to a three-level multi-use building, Aaron said. “The rooftop was intentionally modern to distinguish itself as its own contemporary addition … but the original heritage building has still maintained its character and street presence.” Some challenges of the project were strengthening the existing concrete roof slab, and complying with fire safety regulations. “There’s challenges when we’re hosting commercial tenancies on the ground and residential tenancies on the top.” Access to the busy cental site had also been a challenging aspect. “The rooftop was intentionally modern to distinguish itself as its own contemporary addition … but the original heritage building has still maintained its character.” “The team come up with great ideas to deal with issues that were unravelling.” The project was a unique one as mixed-use developments were rare in central city. “Having a client that’s motivated to convert to residential accommodation as opposed to office space was rare. There’s not many examples of that type of model in the city.” He said a multi-use building like this added “24/7 life” to the city. “If all you’re doing is creating office space then the city clears out at 5pm.” Mixed use buildings can bring a vibrancy and density to an area. “More of this type of development will breathe new life into the central city.” Along with the High Street project, Urban Function were a national finalist and won the regional award in the new home between 150m2 and 300m2 category at the ADNZ Awards for a Queenstown new build. The build also received a highly commended in the home of the year category at the Trends International Design Awards. Another new build at Sumner received a highly commended at both the ADNZ and Trends awards, and a new ‘mountain bach’ at Castle Hill picked up a highly commended in the up to 150m2 category at the ADNZ awards. LTD 03 344 5972 | bushnell.co.nz Proudly Supporting Urban Function Architecture
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