An act of restoration | Architecture Now

The Ōtepoti  constructing represents a vital shift in heritage interpretation — one which acknowledges each mana whenua and colonial influences. By a collaborative design course of, the event seeks to revive some cultural steadiness and embeds historic narratives which have lengthy been absent from this a part of the town’s constructed setting.

Developed as a three way partnership between Ngāi Tahu Property and ACC Investments, the constructing serves as ACC’s native department whereas primarily accommodating employees members who assist nationwide operations.

The constructing is positioned behind a small triangular part of Queen’s Gardens, close to the northern lanes of State Freeway 1, a brief stroll from the Octagon. It’s screened by mature deciduous bushes and was beforehand an unsealed automotive park, sloping upward from Queen’s Gardens on the south-east to Dowling Avenue on the north-east.

Queen’s Gardens serves as a ceremonial and commemorative area, that includes memorials to Queen Victoria and Donald M Stuart (one among Dunedin metropolis’s founding fathers), and a marble cenotaph remembering these misplaced in struggle. The gardens additionally present an space for leisure for native residents and staff.

Located throughout the Moray Place–Dowling Avenue industrial heritage precinct, the positioning was initially a part of the Ōtākou Habour foreshore generally known as Ōtepoti. This was a spot the place Kāi Tahu ancestors landed their waka earlier than persevering with inland to collect meals and sources.1

The place title Ōtepoti has been adopted because the te reo Māori title for the town of Dunedin however, opposite to widespread perception, Ōtepoti doesn’t imply ‘place of boats’. The title refers back to the harbour’s distinctive nook form, resembling a poti — a flax basket —used for carrying meals.2 This interpretation turned a central cultural narrative for the constructing’s design. “Our mana whenua design response for this constructing is grounded within the renewal of the story of the place title Ōtepoti.”3

The precinct is wealthy in historic structure. Notable constructions as soon as occupying the positioning embrace:

Authentic First Church, constructed in 1848 and burnt to the bottom in 1865.
Interim First Church, constructed in 1864 going through Dowling Avenue. An impressive picket constructing of straightforward Grecian type and two storeys, it was a notable landmark of Dunedin’s foreshore and was relocated in 1878.
Sargood constructing, constructed in 1874, fronting Queen’s Gardens. 
Freethought Lyceum (Sunday College), constructed in 1888. A two-storey grand design, it turned the Metropolis Corridor after which the venue of the Alhambra Theatre.
Customary Insurance coverage Constructing, with a three-storey ornate frontage onto Excessive Avenue and a two-storey frontage on Dowling Avenue.4

The streetscape included the Royal Alternate Resort (1878–79) in decrease Excessive Avenue, now Queen’s Gardens, designed by RA Lawson. Subsequent to it stood Sargood, Son and Ewen’s warehouse, designed by Reid and Barnes of Melbourne in 1874. These two buildings had been demolished for carparking within the Sixties, leaving a niche within the metropolis’s historic cloth. Cromwell Chambers, Donald Reid’s first warehouse, stays alongside the Imperial Constructing on the nook.5

Working intently with Dunedin Metropolis Council heritage advisors, the architects created a design that respects planning standards for top, mass, avenue frontage and materiality, responding to and complementing the precinct’s character and adjoining heritage buildings. Nevertheless, these contextual relationships and growth standards neither addressed nor acknowledged the cultural significance of this space to mana whenua as a spot of arrival for ancestral Kāi Tahu. When beginning the dialogue with Dunedin Metropolis Council heritage advisors, the query posed by Aukaha was: “Whose heritage?”

“At its coronary heart, the design for the Ōtepoti constructing is an act of heritage restoration. Lacking from the constructed heritage of the Queen’s Gardens Precinct is an acknowledgement of the importance of the realm to mana whenua and the position of native Māori within the settlement and growth of present-day Dunedin/Ōtepoti.”6 This venture goals to deal with that omission, embedding Kāi Tahu narratives into the structure and panorama of the positioning and native space.

The design was formed by way of the collaboration of architects from Warren and Mahoney, led by Tim Hervey, with the Kāi Tahu cultural design integration group at Aukaha — Mana Ahurea. Guided by mana whenua values and a cultural narrative written by Kāi Tahu scholar Dr Megan Pōtiki, Kāi Tahu artist and Mana Ahurea designer Kirsten Parkinson set about reflecting Kāi Tahu design within the design growth of the constructing.

Impressed by the distinctive woven type of the poti/ basket reflecting the harbour’s unique form, Parkinson’s art work knowledgeable the sturdy and dynamic language of the façade. This was expressed by way of diagonal aluminium fins and glass frit patterns to evoke the woven color and texture of dried harakeke/ flax. The golden color was chosen by Parkinson to resemble the color of aged harakeke and works superbly with the dappled mild of the deciduous bushes in Queen’s Gardens and the evolving color of the leaves by way of the altering seasons. The metallic hue displays the encircling context and is consistently altering with the mild.

This symbolic gesture ties the constructing to the idea of noa — a secure, safe area for its function to deal with kaupapa tapu/sacred issues, like accident care and recuperation.7

Not solely is the glass frit sample wealthy in narrative that means, the exterior art work of the Ōtepoti constructing additionally has a purposeful function. Developed along with service engineers Cosgroves, the sample was scaled and examined to see which model was most purposeful in optimising daylighting, shading and thermal acquire, and lowering glare, whereas retaining pure mild and views. Exterior mullions and blinds additionally improve photo voltaic shading to stop overheating and enhance occupancy consolation. This helps to scale back constructing power demand and operational prices.

Beneath the façade, a recessed floor stage makes use of glass, planting and stone to extend mauri/power and reconnect the occupants with the pure world.8 Supplies embrace Timaru bluestone cladding, a nod to the heritage of the realm, river-stone gabions as a substitute of bollards, and culturally vital species for raraka/weaving and rokoā/therapeutic. The area honours the unique Ōtākou shoreline by way of each type and planting, with the motion of the once-present shoreline being instructed within the puhoro patterning on the glass.

The principle entrance is positioned on the japanese nook going through Queen’s Gardens, the place the construction pulls again from neighbouring Cromwell Chambers to create a extra sheltered forecourt. This entry is clearly and strongly marked with large-scale works by artist Ephraim Russell (Kāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine, Rongowhakaata, Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri, Rangitāne ki Tamaki Nuiā-Rua). These golden backlit pou whenua create a definite threshold, referencing the handles of the poti, conventional lashings, symbolising unity and completion.

The first entrance on the japanese nook is reserved for workers. Public entry is intentionally understated; the customer entry is positioned mid-way alongside the south-eastern frontage, built-in nearly seamlessly into the façade. A recessed ramp guides guests under avenue stage, the place the architectural language shifts to a restrained, purposeful front-of-house zone.

A typical floor-plate format with central core and open-plan workplace area across the perimeter is elevated by a few key strikes.

The constructing pulls again from the positioning boundary on the higher ranges of the north-western facet. This, mixed with an adjoining laneway to the west, primarily provides the constructing three frontages and permits the inside to make the most of pure mild on 3.5 sides. Which means that the two.7m floor-to-ceiling top feels beneficiant, particularly when mixed with the substantial circulation areas supplied by way of the open-plan workplace area.

You’re continuously conscious of, and drawn to, the perimeters of the constructing. The golden color from the outside façade is introduced by way of onto the inside face of the exterior partitions, linking the inside to the outside. This, mixed with the patterning of the glass and layering of the fins, provides a way of an ever-changing exterior setting however a really calm and quiet inner setting.

A way of openness and connection is strengthened by way of a mass-timber central staircase, which filters pure mild down by way of the degrees of the constructing. For Kāi Tahu, this component embodies generative forces — Tupuānuku, Tāne Mahuta and Manu. Kāi Tahu artworks anchor entrances and circulation areas across the stairway at each stage. This connecting component between the degrees of the constructing encourages occupant use, lowering the demand on mechanical lifts and promotes bodily exercise to enhance well-being and socialisation.

The temporary supplied by ACC prioritised wellness and accessibility for its employees, aiming to set a benchmark past NZS 4121 requirements. Key options embrace huge corridors on all ranges, adjustable-height desks, accessible loos and kitchens on each ground, workplace gear positioned for simple attain and Braille on all signage.

Finish-of-trip services assist and encourage biking and well-being, with showers, lockers and 80 bike parks. Devoted areas for fogeys, quiet reflection and well-being present extra assist for workers. Gender-neutral services are additionally supplied on each stage. A key a part of the constructing for the tenant is the social area on Stage 1, which seems to be out to Queen’s Gardens and past. This area is used not just for employees but additionally for occasions.

The architects challenged the consumer’s temporary for a cheap typical metal, concrete and glass industrial workplace constructing by figuring out and adopting quite a lot of cost-neutral, low-carbon options that obtain a noticeable discount in embodied carbon compared in opposition to present benchmark workplace buildings. Low-carbon options embrace uncovered mass timber stairs, timber inner framing, wood-wool ceilings, full timber trim, together with all skirtings and handrails, and low-carbon licensed inner finishes all through.

The Ōtepoti constructing has achieved a market-leading 5-star NABERSNZ™ ranking.9 Mechanical and hydraulic programs embrace hot-water warmth pumps, a hydronic fan coil air-conditioning system to scale back refrigerant use, and heat-recovery air flow to preheat incoming air. Power modelling with IES software program optimises hundreds and plant capability, whereas a central BMS with sub-metering helps detailed monitoring in keeping with NABERSNZ requirements. The nice and cozy roof design accommodates future photo voltaic panel set up to decrease power demand and working prices additional.

This redevelopment transforms the previous giant at-grade automotive park into a brand new city edge for Queen’s Gardens, one which not solely speaks to the realm’s pre-European historical past but additionally respectively challenges and creates a dialogue with the encircling and adjoining constructed heritage.

The Ōtepoti constructing is greater than a industrial growth — it’s an act of heritage restoration. By weaving collectively cultural narratives, constructed heritage, sustainability and accessibility, the venture honours each historic and dwelling heritage, creating an area that displays Ōtepoti Dunedin’s previous whereas additionally shaping its future.

References

1, 2. Narrative excerpts for Ōtepoti, Aukaha. 3. Dr Megan Pōtiki.4–6. Warren and Mahoney press package, June 2025, p. 3.7, 8. Narrative excerpts for Ōtepoti, Aukaha. 9. Business buildings account for 21 per cent of New Zealand’s electrical energy use, costing companies roughly $800 million yearly. NABERSNZ™ supplies a benchmark for workplace power effectivity.