61-63 Wakefield Street, Auckland

The development will provide for a bespoke 190 room hotel, comprising a 14-storey commercial building within the city centre zone, with a restaurant, cafe, breakfast bar, underground parking, and gym.

The proposal involved the creation of a public through-site link between Wakefield Street and Airedale Street. The proposal sought to exceed the maximum floor area ratio controls and utilised a number of the bonus features by providing for a public through-site link and public artwork.

The design of the building, by ASC Architects, is comprised of a two-tower design, clad with a frittered glass screen, to create a pattern that is graduated up the tower. Through the commissioning and development of the artwork, the ceramic frit pattern has been refined as the artwork itself, transforming the entire façade into a work of art.

The development site had a number of constraints, including changing topography and groundwater. It also had to sensitively respond to the adjoining Airedale Cottages, a scheduled heritage building. The design did so by including a central, publicly accessible courtyard to the building adjoining the rear of the cottages.

The proposed development makes a strong design and architectural statement, greatly enhancing both Wakefield Street and Airedale Street.