21 QUEEN STREET | Completed | 17 levels | 68 metres

[flyin_higher]

I think this deserves its own thread now.

Stuff..

What? A 17 level (68 metres approx.) office tower. This is being formed out of an old 1970's office block, with 4 extra levels being added on top and the whole structure being completely remodeled with a new glass facade.
By Who? AMP NZ Office Trust
Where? 21 Queen Street, Auckland CBD
When? Under construction now, due for completion by mid-2009

www.21queenstreet.co.nz



Renders;

[flyin_higher]

Latest progress pics...









From above;

[Milan Luka]

Great to have the shots from different vantage points. All helps to put this into persepective. 3 additional floors may not seem like much, it is a bit random. Obviously they did a cost analysis and decided 3 was the magic number!

Will look very dense with the Westfield tower right next door too.

[MonsieurAquilone]

Looking good.

[flyin_higher]

Originally Posted by Milan Luka

Great to have the shots from different vantage points. All helps to put this into persepective. 3 additional floors may not seem like much, it is a bit random. Obviously they did a cost analysis and decided 3 was the magic number!

Will look very dense with the Westfield tower right next door too.

It's 4 extra floors milan Plus the rooftop glass feature

[Joelio Wilson]

Great pics flyin!

Here's some more, mainly of the glass being added at the bottom. Great to see the facade finally coming up.







Hah, my friend made me lie in the middle of the square and so I took this:

[flyin_higher]

Hehe cool. Yea the glass will look great!

Another..


At dusk from Britomart

[flyin_higher]

Today..



Lots of glass cladding appearing now...

[SYDNEY]

Thanks Sweety - I must say that I am going to like the look of this one when it is all done - already a major improvement

[Marky Mark]

[flyin_higher]

Thanks guys, its fun taking pics of all the changes going on in the city.

Yea the glass is turning out great. Such a massive improvement over that 70's job before lol.

[aucklander]

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/3/...ectid=10513830

apparently they are going to add 6 more levels to the original building...

[aucklander]

JUST THE JOB

* 1800 tonnes of concrete stripped off facade
* 6 new levels being added at the top
* 60km of electric cable being installed
* 30km of pipe work will run through walls
* 40,000-litre water tank to hold rainwater
* 7500sq m of glass will cover the front
* 5-star environmental green rating to come

nice looking building

[Marky Mark]

Originally Posted by aucklander

nice looking building

this will show what a difference a quality Facade will make to Downtown Auckland

[chris lewis]

I would love to know from a structural engineering point of view how they decide what extra weight and stress the pre-existing concrete frame can take.
I assume they [obviously] take into account what type of concrete was used 35 years ago, what the piles are like, has the water table risen in that time, what extra stress the levels will create with strong wind currents and issues like earthquake factors.
I am sure there are others concerns like economic viability.
Would 8 levels be too much? 10 levels? At what ‘percentage’ point does it become too risky to build higher? Are there set formulas / engineering design model’s they use for this?
As you can see I am not a civil engineer! Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

[Howdy]

I don't think that (outside of fundamental principles of mechanics and materials) there are any set formulae for analysing a structure. Structures have to be assessed on an independent basis. (I'm not a structural engineer so I could be entirely wrong).

[Nicco]

I would think this project would have been more profitable if they had added like 10 more levels?

[Aesthetics of Otara]

Not with Brian Rudman, Banksie, The Urban Design Panel, environmental court, and all those other bored and lonely bastards lurking around here in search of tall buildings to scream their frustrations at! They probably figured just less than 20 will be able to slip under the radar of all these losers, and not hit them with costly and pointless delays.

Hey! 50 posts! I'm catching up guys!

[Saljen]

Originally Posted by Aesthetics of Otara

Not with Brian Rudman, Banksie, The Urban Design Panel, environmental court, and all those other bored and lonely bastards lurking around here in search of tall buildings to scream their frustrations at! They probably figured just less than 20 will be able to slip under the radar of all these losers, and not hit them with costly and pointless delays.

Hey! 50 posts! I'm catching up guys!

My boredom and loneliness have been temporarily alleviated by the thrill of having something to scream my frustration at. Kazaa!

From an urban design point of view, I dont think a much taller building here would be a great idea. I think this area needs to be dominated by the old cpo, or britomart building. The old cpo has character and charm and is that areas greatest asset and as such, imo, the area needs to be designed with the old cpo as the focal point. I think if this development became too large it would make the old cpo look rather small and overpowered by this huge thing next door.

As it is. I think the proposed height is quite good. Tall enough to make an impact on the look of Auckland from the sea without dominating the area. Everything in its place.

[flyin_higher]

Yea I agree, I like the height as they have planned it. The taller tower will be the Westfield one next door, which is where it will fit in better (Albert St scraper canyon)