Tidal Road Development
Mangere

The client brief was for an industrial development on a large irregularly shaped plot on Tidal Road in Māngere; one building for a wine, beer and spirit merchant, and a speculative design on the balance land. The plan went through various iterations to best find an efficient masterplan that optimised warehouses sizes, have north facing yards away from the prevailing South-Westerly, and utilising the irregularly shaped parts of the site for yard and carparking.

The anchor tenant accounts for 70% of the site’s use, and we turned to their rich culture and history to inform the design. As distributors, they build and grow brands in the New Zealand market, with a strong focus on community, belonging and participating in the hospitality industry. This is demonstrated with one shared cafeteria for all staff, on site initiatives including fruit and vegetable gardens, beehives, and chickens for eggs.

To celebrate hospitality and the welcoming of guests that is at the core, the office frontage is a full length entry portico with a feature barrel vaulted roof, which was inspired by traditional barrel vaulted wine cellars and the curved timber lined inside of oak barrels. The large cantilever of the roof also greatly reduces solar gain to the office.

The customer facing meeting areas are placed along the front of the building, designed as causal meeting spaces visible as you approach the building. The barrel vaults also come back into the first building bay. The ground floor includes the cafeteria, and open plan office area. Upstairs is a smaller floor plate with a conference room and training bar.

The warehouse is purpose-built with insulated panel to create a stable temperature for safe storage of alcohol. The smaller building echoes the other with a large cantilever facing north, and a similar material palette.