Auckland's Newest Commercial Tower is Designed to Activate its Downtown
Situated along Auckland, New Zealand’s waterfront near Waitemata Harbour, this 42,000-square-meter commercial tower will become a definitive figure in the seaside city’s skyline. Taking advantage of the surrounding context, the slender, contemporary glass covering affixed to the primary office volume wrapped in a steel diagrid structure and transparent façade will offer panoramic views to the harbor and surrounding urban environment.
Designed in collaboration with local architects Warren & Mahoney, the building will provide gathering spaces to further the city’s connectivity. The ground level lobby, which is built into the encompassing podium-level retail space, is influenced by local topography and utilizes materials such as wood and travertine. Its exterior is made up of floor-to-ceiling glass panels, providing views to the city while integrated luminaires within the ceiling plane help to illuminate the interiors at night. An escalator links the entry lobby to the “sky lobby,” or a secondary space with access to a roof terrace on top of the podium. High-rise levels are taller than the current tallest building on the block, the HSBC Building, and thus will provide open, northern-facing views towards the harbor.
Additionally, a new underground City Rail Link location—an addition to the ongoing commitment to expand and increase the country’s public rail system—takes an unconventional form as two relatively shallow, curved tunnels traveling underneath the tower. This infrastructure determined the structural engineer’s placement of the tower’s foundational steel columns.
Because this configuration also influenced the size and form of the tower, its 10 elevators are assembled into the side core of the building, which allow for larger, open floor plates as opposed to traditionally being installed within the central core of a tower—which would take up much more internal space. All of the elevators are flanked in glass for riders to look over the city.
Auckland's Newest Commercial Tower is Designed to Activate its Downtown
Situated along Auckland, New Zealand’s waterfront near Waitemata Harbour, this 42,000-square-meter commercial tower will become a definitive figure in the seaside city’s skyline. Taking advantage of the surrounding context, the slender, contemporary glass covering affixed to the primary office volume wrapped in a steel diagrid structure and transparent façade will offer panoramic views to the harbor and surrounding urban environment.
Designed in collaboration with local architects Warren & Mahoney, the building will provide gathering spaces to further the city’s connectivity. The ground level lobby, which is built into the encompassing podium-level retail space, is influenced by local topography and utilizes materials such as wood and travertine. Its exterior is made up of floor-to-ceiling glass panels, providing views to the city while integrated luminaires within the ceiling plane help to illuminate the interiors at night. An escalator links the entry lobby to the “sky lobby,” or a secondary space with access to a roof terrace on top of the podium. High-rise levels are taller than the current tallest building on the block, the HSBC Building, and thus will provide open, northern-facing views towards the harbor.
Additionally, a new underground City Rail Link location—an addition to the ongoing commitment to expand and increase the country’s public rail system—takes an unconventional form as two relatively shallow, curved tunnels traveling underneath the tower. This infrastructure determined the structural engineer’s placement of the tower’s foundational steel columns.
Because this configuration also influenced the size and form of the tower, its 10 elevators are assembled into the side core of the building, which allow for larger, open floor plates as opposed to traditionally being installed within the central core of a tower—which would take up much more internal space. All of the elevators are flanked in glass for riders to look over the city.
Auckland's Newest Commercial Tower is Designed to Activate its Downtown
Situated along Auckland, New Zealand’s waterfront near Waitemata Harbour, this 42,000-square-meter commercial tower will become a definitive figure in the seaside city’s skyline. Taking advantage of the surrounding context, the slender, contemporary glass covering affixed to the primary office volume wrapped in a steel diagrid structure and transparent façade will offer panoramic views to the harbor and surrounding urban environment.
Designed in collaboration with local architects Warren & Mahoney, the building will provide gathering spaces to further the city’s connectivity. The ground level lobby, which is built into the encompassing podium-level retail space, is influenced by local topography and utilizes materials such as wood and travertine. Its exterior is made up of floor-to-ceiling glass panels, providing views to the city while integrated luminaires within the ceiling plane help to illuminate the interiors at night. An escalator links the entry lobby to the “sky lobby,” or a secondary space with access to a roof terrace on top of the podium. High-rise levels are taller than the current tallest building on the block, the HSBC Building, and thus will provide open, northern-facing views towards the harbor.
Additionally, a new underground City Rail Link location—an addition to the ongoing commitment to expand and increase the country’s public rail system—takes an unconventional form as two relatively shallow, curved tunnels traveling underneath the tower. This infrastructure determined the structural engineer’s placement of the tower’s foundational steel columns.
Because this configuration also influenced the size and form of the tower, its 10 elevators are assembled into the side core of the building, which allow for larger, open floor plates as opposed to traditionally being installed within the central core of a tower—which would take up much more internal space. All of the elevators are flanked in glass for riders to look over the city.