Deloitte House (Formally Wool House)
Customhouse Quay, Wellington,
Having been constructed in the mid 1980s, Wool House as it was then known, formed a significant addition to the tree line of tall office towers along Customhouse Quay. By the early 2000s through this building was identified by the owner as needing refurbishment to attract and retain top tenants. Having identified that the main tower was built well back from the street frontage, an overall redevelopment plan was created to make use of the otherwise redundant air space and extend the floor plates, while at the same time completing a renovation of the existing building.
Starting with initial design concepts provided by the owner, we developed and refined the design so that it met a number of competing requirements. This included owners requirements, tenants requirements, and council resource consent requirements. All while expressing a design aesthetic that allowed a modern extension to be complimentary too, and sit comfortably with the original building.
The use of clean lines and modern materials to wrap around the older style gives a clear definition and lift to the building, rather than just trying to mimic what has gone before. The result is an "adaptive reuse" that gives the entire building a new lease of life, providing modern facilities without the need to throw away what was already there. A form of building recycling if you will.
Completed in 2006, the finished building has proven to be successful on the many competing aspects that first defined the project.
Click photo
