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State Insurance Building, Wellington
State Insurance Building, Wellington
1, Willis Street, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
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State Insurance Building, Wellington
1, Willis Street, Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Formerly named the BNZ Centre, The State Insurance Building is a skyscraper at 1 Willis Street in Wellington. Built under controversial, political circumstances, this magnificent black on black building is one of the most striking office buildings in New Zealand. Wanting a “symbol of endeavour”, key members of the BNZ development team travelled with Stephenson&Turner to study the best current high-rise thinking around the world, including major architectural centres of the USA, Europe and Australia. Conceived as a sheer form of Zen-like simplicity, to be viewed across an open plaza, the building reflects Mies Van de Rohe’s iconic Tower Buildings (Lakeshore Drive Apartment Buildings in Chicago and Seagram Tower in New York), while also echoing the structural composition of the BHP Building in Melbourne by Yuncken Freeman (1967–1972). The latter, designed in Chicago under the tutelage of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (key members of the team worked alongside Mies) to be Melbourne’s tallest and the most efficient use of steel in a high-rise building, reflecting BHP’s core business. Misunderstood in design terms, and poorly labelled by many, the building’s subtle simplicity through careful material choice of black Brazilian tijuca granite and dark glass was an intentional expression of the highest levels of Modernism and thought through to a high level of detailing. The near flush façade was designed to deal with a number of conflicting elements including the building’s structural movements and the first fully-automated BMU5 system in New Zealand. Designed with a ductile steel frame, the building was to go up in record time. Construction commenced in 1974 but was held up for around nine years as a result of a political standoff between the Muldoon government and the Boilermakers Union. Ongoing strikes and go-slows eventually led to the union’s deregistration and to steel construction going out of favour in New Zealand for many years. The building was eventually completed in 1984 and now stands as a striking landmark on the Wellington CBD skyline. Standing at 102 metres, with 30 floors, it was New Zealand’s tallest building. The sleek, sculptural tower form is set in the middle of a wide plaza, offering opportunities for social and cultural activities at the busiest retail area in Wellington’s CBD. The bank has traded on this site since 1862. Beneath ground level, a mini-city housed the bank’s local branch, staff amenities and 24 shops. A network of wide walkways, escalators and stairways link the shops to other buildings. The underground shopping centre, developed as a community project with the involvement of the Wellington City Council, was unique for its time. Above ground the tower is accessed by a grand, two-storey high lobby, surrounded by clear glass in stainless steel framework. The BNZ originally occupied three levels with their branch office, and the top seven floors with their head office. The uppermost executive floor featured impressive double-height office spaces panelled in native kauri. This level was connected to the floors below with the historical Beauchamp Stair, relocated from the Old BNZ Building. Because of its sheer size and steel construction the building is relatively flexible. Its response to frequent Wellington earthquakes is relatively good. Of greater effect is Wellington’s wind which is accommodated by the building’s ability to flex by up to 300 mm in hurricane force winds. The seismic and wind-resisting frames of the building consist of a steel “tube” built around the perimeter of the tower connected via floor diaphragms to the stiffer central core. - See more at: http://stephensonturner.com/project/state-insurance-building-wellington#sthash.l9ynbCfg.dpuf
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