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SITE
Cuba Street in Wellington is renowned for its festive atmosphere, and eclectic offering of shops, stalls and galleries.
For this reason, it seems only right that any new building be designed to fit with – or add to – the culture of the street.
Aside from being positioned on a well-loved street corner, this was one of the last remaining green sites in the city.
It was a small patch left over from an existing sub-division, and although tight and an unusual triangular shape,
it deserved to be recognised for this status.
CLIENT BRIEF
The client wanted to stimulate the retail standards in the immediate neighbourhood and requested a design that would be a positive contribution to his goal. The initial brief was to build a single storey commercial retail space with flexibility for a variety of future tenants including a cafe, with a value of $500,000. The brief was extended with the introduction of a mezzanine level. Further increases in floor area were gained through a cantilevered overhang utilising an encroachment over the existing footpath.
It was felt that the increase in floor area gained the most out of the site and provided a platform for a more prominent architectural statement. Our client embraced the new proposal and was delighted to proceed, even with the knowledge of the extended budget.
When the building was designed, we were uncertain what it would house. The windows that overlook the street could make great positions for restaurant seating – but as it turned out, this level has become an office for Kate Sylvester, while the lower floor is leased by the label as a retail showroom. Part of the brief was to make the building adaptable for many functions.
A deck that adjoins the upper floor could allow for external seating, should the building become a restaurant or café in the future. The extensive lower level glazing indicates a high probability that the downstairs will continue to be used for retail.
BUILDING FORM
The concept was to have 2 forms, one more solid [render] and the other floating [cement board], which would read as one object, with one wrapping over and through the other. It was important that the building be viewed as a three dimensional sculptural object [on all levels: finish, form, colour etc]. The result is a building that changes when viewed from every angle.
The interior and exterior are visually linked through the use of colour and continuous forms, visible through the glazing from the street. The upper level is a mezzanine, and the strong geometric presence of the staircase spills down into the double height void of the lower level as an anchor to the floating white form. This provides contrast, illuminating the way in which the white forms inside are connected to those outside. Floor-to-ceiling glazing adds transparency to the interior/exterior, and upstairs/downstairs connections.
There were challenges for the engineers to attain the large double cantilever without using too much steel, and the trick for us was to hide all the structure in the form and make it appear to float.
RETAIL FIT – OUT
We worked with the interior designers [Candywhistle] to ensure that the overall design aesthetic was maintained. The work they completed was loose furniture, lighting to the double height space and changing room fit-out. The tenant fit-out was consistent with the base build ideal and complimented the original design intent.
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