Relocating Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) staff from their two-storey, 1930 art deco building into new premises was a key part of this three-staged project at Warkworth, north of Auckland. After demolition work to remove a 1982 addition and other small buildings, we constructed a new, two storey building next door to the bank’s existing heritage building premises. Our teams fitted out the front ground floor tenancy so they would be ready to accommodate the banking staff and its customer service areas. Today, there are three other tenancies in the new building, which has BNZ branding over its frontage.
After the bank’s business and staff were relocated, we began seismic-strengthening of the floor diaphragms and installing additional steel brackets and braces throughout the building to secure its masonry walls and chimneys. We carefully removed existing skirting and fitted steel angles to the brick walls to tie to the floor diaphragm. We replaced the roof, and re-plastered, re-skimmed and fully repainted the triple-brick heritage building, and tidied up the lower tenancy space ahead of future occupants.
A specialist Q Interiors team fitted out the old bank’s upper level, which was originally a residence, creating an open-plan office space for the incoming tenant that preserved many heritage features such as the wooden floor, ceiling layout and historic scotias.
