A New Modernity in CBD: Greys Avenue

This new building is a nine-storey office building in Auckland’s CBD. Situated on the corner of Greys Avenue and Mayoral Drive, it enjoys a prime central city location and expansive views over Myers Park, which it borders on the south-eastern side of the building.

THE DESIGNFIRE was nominated to lead the architectural process for this project, which involves completely renovating every floor and fully refurbishing the lobbies, as well as re-cladding of the penthouse floor and other areas of the building. The project also includes re-defining the ground floor frontage with a sleek modern façade, along with other commercial tenancy reconfigurations.

As the lead architectural consultant, THE DESIGNFIRE produced a highly coordinated design and documentation package for the project, which included resource consent for a change of land use.

The renovation is being completed in stages on a floor-by-floor basis to ensure minimal interruption to in situ businesses. Each level, from the ground to fifth floor, is around 800m², and the top level provides around 200m² space for new offices. Total gross floor area is approximately 5500m². Additionally, there are alterations and additions to the existing café along the northern basement façade. The building enclosure uses a specific glazing system, Nu-Wall cladding systems, and a Kingspan warm roofing system.

THE DESIGNFIRE’s expertise has helped to overcome several challenges. Our architectural designer and façade engineer provided a solution for the seismic joint junction, which allows building movement without structural components colliding. Because the building is over 30 meters tall, fire egress becomes an issue, so our fire engineer worked with the designer to ensure compliance.

Because this project is a major re-development with staged work implications, resource consent considerations, and a façade review, it requires consulting input from many specialists. THE DESIGNFIRE has orchestrated a high level of coordination between all parties to ensure the desired project objectives can be achieved while making sure building compliance code requirements are met.