Kauri Timber Building

The Kauri Timber Building was constructed on the waterfront in 1881 to serve the thriving logging industry of Auckland. The vacant parcel of land adjacent presented an opportunity for a complementary structure that rises above Fanshawe St against the original sea wall and connects to Graham St within the Victoria Quarter.

The new seven level office building accommodates commercial tenancies linked by a central stair. A lift tower has been inserted into the existing structure, completing a vertical circulation strategy servicing new and existing floor-plates.

A protective façade is constructed as a series of fluted, perforated metal screens rolled into a series of linked arcs, referencing the massed logs once collected in this part of the waterfront and sold from within the building.

Project Details: Floor area is 2500m2. Construction completed in late 2015. Fearon Hay’s project team was led by Doug Weir. Tim Hay and Jeff Fearon are the design architects. Photography is by Patrick Reynolds. Visualisations are by Fearon Hay Architects.

Recognition: Winner of an NZIA Commercial Architecture Award (NZIA National Awards 2017) Finalist (World Architecture Festival 2017)