28 September 2005

Blend of old and new enhances urban environment

A new development in the central business district is being promoted as an example of how developers, architects and Auckland City Council can work together to protect and enhance the urban environment.

Auckland City’s Planning Fixtures Committee yesterday approved a new development at 70 to 76 Pitt Street, which will include 49 apartments and four retail spaces.

Committee chairperson, Councillor Faye Storer, says she is particularly excited about how the frontage of the existing Chatham Building has been incorporated into the new development.

“The amended design shows how much time and effort the developers, their architectural advisors and council planners have put in accommodating the existing frontage of the building and retaining the character of the streetscape in this important older area of the city.

“Short of preserving entire buildings, this is exactly the kind of result that we are looking for in situations where new developments will impact on older buildings.”

The two-level, plaster and brick Chatham Building is typical of city commercial buildings constructed in the 1920s and remains in its original unpainted plaster state. It is within the Karangahape Road precinct, an area of bohemian and cosmopolitan character, and will now play a significant role in supporting and enriching the character of that precinct.

The side walls of the Chatham Building will be rebuilt with windows and balconies. Its façade will be cleaned, plaster surfaces restored and the materials for the cladding of the new building will complement the existing façade.

Councillor Christine Caughey, chairperson of the Environment, Heritage and Urban Form Committee and member of the Planning Fixtures Committee, says the developer and their advisors are to be commended.

“The developer and their architects have worked closely with council planners to achieve this result. It’s a success story showing how all parties can work together to enhance the built character of our urban landscape,” she says.

The developer is Greenstone Pitt Trustees Limited and the architect is Peter Ashton of Ashton Mitchell Architects Limited.

ENDS

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