The refurbishment of the ANZ Centre, originally built in 1991, represents significant investment in both workplace and public realm design.
The ANZ Centre project sees the revitalisation of an existing 32-storey commercial tower and addition of a substantial ground floor entry and meeting building, renewing the long term commitment of the anchor tenant. These works have repositioned the tower as one of Auckland’s premium office spaces and created major ground level public realm improvements.
The refurbishment included over 22,000m2 of office space, a commercial meeting suite, and a new fully-glazed entry pavilion and refurbished ground floor lobby.
Prior to the refurbishments works, the tower’s entry points were poorly defined and the entry experience challenged by the underutilised through-site link along the north boundary. This created inactive edges and changes in level that disconnected pedestrians from the ground floor lobby. The tower itself is unique in being free of the typical typology of finishing at a podium, and comprises 32 floors of commercial space on 1,000m2 floor plates oriented toward the Auckland Waterfront.
By way of a small number of significant design moves, the project sought to create world-class lobby amenity and access, retain and improve the through-site link, and restore the original urban design relationship of its plaza with St. Patrick’s Square as one of the CBD’s best urban green spaces. These decisions were guided by the desire to reveal or enhance the clarity of the existing building wherever possible, with new buildings expressed as an ‘aligned yet legible’ differentiation to the existing tower.
The major new building is the glazed pavilion. This runs along the north face of the tower and establishes a clear axis across the site, anchored by the new entry at Albert Street and the dedicated meeting suite to the west. The tower lobby level is extended into the pavilion, increasing lobby area and creating volume below for the upgraded mechanical plant. Coupled with the footprint enlargement achieved by moving the tower glass line out to the perimeter columns, the ground floor area is substantially increased.
New street and building canopies define entry points and declutter the Albert Street edge. The external plaza has been completely redesigned with Boffa Miskell including a large raised lawn, new trees, and an external coffee kiosk – linked by material selection and detail design to the earlier works in St. Patrick’s Square.
The project also delivers on opportunities to achieve environmental benefits through the upgrading of the building’s services throughout. Energy consumption is substantially reduced through the installation of chilled beams to refurbished office floors, and building occupants are encouraged to walk or cycle to work by the provision of showers and changing facilities in the basement.
