Developer : Cooper and Company
Architect : Peddle Thorp
Electrical Engineer : NDY
Main Contractor : Hawkins
Electrical Contractor : TS Bishop
Lighting Supplier : Aesthetics
An Iconic Heritage
In downtown Auckland’s Britomart business district stand the Australis and Nathan buildings – two 100 year old iconic, heritage listed buildings.Recently refurbished to offer luxury office and retail spaces, they now house iconic retail stores Tiffany & Co. and Chanel on their ground floor retail areas. In the floors above, the 4000m2 office levels aim to enhance the natural building character, while delivering sleek, modern design to attract prestigious commercial tenants.
Lighting Up History
Aesthetics Lighting* was asked to deliver the required quality of office lighting to highlight the architectural features of this historic building, while ensuring it was in line with today’s best practice standards. The solution needed to combine functionality and energy saving features while emphasising the building’s many aesthetic qualities, such as exposed timber rafters, beams, original ceiling and brickwork.
Two office space areas featured a totally exposed ceiling on one side, while a special suspended ceiling of custom black perforated tiles adorned the opposite space. Stairwells had limited areas to mount lighting, which called for a practical solution.
Delivering On The Challenge
Aesthetics Lighting* answered the challenge with not one, but two, different lighting solutions to achieve the required result. Within Aesthetics Lighting’s stable of products (View Aesthetics’s Product Range), two products were chosen that delivered the luxury character of the project as well as the optimum lighting levels for a workspace.
The Futcha LED recessed module was customised into a perforated black tile, seamlessly matching it with its surrounds. An Austube 60 Greenstar LED Beam product was also suspended in the exposed timber area, powder coated in black to blend with the rest of the design palette. The stairwells were also required to have practical lighting with minimum impact on the architecture. This was achieved with wall mount Austube 50 Slot Greenstar units.
Using the vast resources at the disposal of the Gerard group, it was possible to match the brief – exactly.
Best Practice Levels
The outcome was successful from both aesthetic and functional viewpoints. The energy consumption was at best practice levels for 2016.
These centuries-old buildings have not only been restored to their former glory, they also now boast better light levels and lower power consumption than most of their surrounding downtown counterparts.
*Aesthetics Lighting is Gerard Lighting’s professional/specification division in NZ