By Herriot Melhuish O'Neill Architects Ltd
This prominent and very popular 10-storey apartment building was damaged in the Christchurch earthquake.
Our brief was to design a contemporary exterior façade, which fitted in with the local landscape, for this 90s PoMo building originally designed by Christchurch architects, Alun Wilkie Architects. A new roof, new bathrooms and modern entrance way were also added.
Working with façade engineers, a terracotta rainscreen tile system and metal panel cladding were used. This new facade is extremely durable, low maintenance and meets the highest fire-safety standards.
The building is one of the only surviving Christchurch high-rise apartment buildings, a credit to the structural design of Craig Lewis of Lewis Bradford Consulting, formerly of Holmes. Housing 29 apartments, many of the original tenants are now confidently returning home.
Herriot Melhuish O’Neill Architects is an NZIA award-winning practice with studios in Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Tauranga. Established in 1997, our rich portfolio of commercial and residential work demonstrates a strong commitment to creating beautifully-crafted architecture that enhances the lives of those who experience our buildings – both inside and out.
We believe that enduring architecture is a delicate balance of factors – our clients’ needs and aspirations, our professional training and expertise, the history and nature of the site – but also intuition and commonsense. Every design decision, from materials to how the building complements the landscape, matters to us and adds to the experiential qualities of our projects.
Directors Max Herriot and John Melhuish in Wellington, Duval O'Neill in Christchurch and Matt Pearson in Auckland are committed to the best architectural design practices. HMOA Associate and registered architect Jenny Duck runs the Tauranga studio.
As well as new homes and house renovations, we have experience in the education, recreation, heritage, health and hospitality sectors, office interiors, multi-unit developments, civil projects and master-planning.