Vero Building - Auckland
Fast facts
Location: Shortland Street, Auckland City
Construction: 2000
Owner: Kiwi Income Property Trust
Design: Peddle Thorp Architects
Case study researcher: Shyrel Burt, Auckland City Council
Key statistics
Offices: 39,450 m2 (net rentable area)
Carparks: 386
Height: 167.5 m/38 storeys
Gross floor area: 68,900 m2
Photo: Vero Building.
Photo:
Podium with parking decks at street frontage.
Photo: Lobby
containing café and public art.
Introduction
The Vero Building was constructed in 1998 and completed in 2000 as the Royal & SunAlliance Centre. According to the Property Council of New Zealand, this is New Zealand's tallest "and most technologically advanced" landmark office tower. The site comprised 4250 m2 lying between Shortland Street and Fort Street east of downtown Auckland. The building is 38 storeys high with a five-storey podium facing Fort Street. The podium is detailed carefully and articulated on both street frontages at a human-scale.
The completion of the building reinforced Shortland Street as a premier office address. The site is also strategically located between the revitalised High Street and the future Britomart Precinct. While the main entrance faces Shortland Street the design of the building also had to address the less desirable (but changing) Fort Street in the north.
Design process
The site was previously vacant land, industrial warehouses, student rental accommodation and massage parlours.
The developer (Kiwi Income Property Trust) identified this site as being appropriate for a premier office building and assembled a strong design team including architects, landscape architects and artists. An important part of the design process was driven by the 'bonus' provisions of the District Plan for public open space and public art. The Auckland City District Plan - Central Area section provides a bonus system whereby developments may exceed the basic floor area ratio (FAR) in exchange for public amenity. The Vero Building contains a number of bonus elements including a public plaza and works of art.
The vehicle entry and courier drop on Shortland Street is located at the side of the building. This forms an elegant courtyard organised around a monumental column and is screened from the street by wire mesh and glass.
Urban design issues
Urban design issues included:
- reinforcing Shortland Street as a premier office location
- improving the two street frontages (Fort Street and Shortland Street)
- creating the most technologically-advanced landmark office tower in New Zealand
- creating public space at ground level to showcase contemporary New Zealand art
- minimising use of energy, natural resources and materials
- creating large column-free floor plates for high efficiencies without compromising the quality of the office environment.
The Shortland Street frontage was designed as the main visitor and pedestrian entrance to the building. Shortland Street rises across the front of the building, necessitating a stepped lobby. This elevation was carefully detailed to create a human-scale and to avoid blank walls.
The lobby consists of an indoor and an outdoor plaza. The plazas are open to the public during daylight hours and contain two cafés. The outdoor plaza is landscaped with native plants and provides views down to Gore Street and the Hauraki Gulf.
Evaluation - urban design principles
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Context |
The Vero Building is New Zealand's tallest landmark office tower. This building is strategically located between the CBD and upper Shortland Street. As a high-rise design it successfully extends the Queen Street premium commercial area into Shortland Street. The height and density bonuses granted to this building do make it significantly larger than its immediate context, however the building has aided the regeneration of this eastern part of the CBD. The building is successful as a CBD landmark and relates well to Shortland Street at street level. It is less successful, however, in connecting Shortland Street with Fort Street and effectively 'turns its back' to the latter. |
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Character |
The character established by the design responds to the surrounding area. The building exterior is very well detailed and uses highly durable, permanent materials such as stone panels and granite paving that reflect historic buildings in the area. The plaza has been landscaped with native plants and the lobby contains a large collection of contemporary New Zealand art. Both these elements are high quality and successful. The 'halo' is a distinctive feature that not only creates a distinctive roof line but also successfully covers up the lift over-runs, aerials and antennas. |
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Choice |
The large open floor plates in the Vero Building provide for adaptability of future use. The building's proximity to the Britomart transport centre and CBD shops and amenities is a positive attribute. However, the extent of parking provided suggests a strong car orientation. |
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Connections |
On Shortland Street the landscaped plaza and a lobby with a café serves as a showcase of contemporary New Zealand art. The café acts not only as an important meeting area for tenants and their visitors, but also as a public space. The building faces two streets, but a link through the building is only possible for the tenants through the underground garage. There is no public link. |
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Creativity |
This building demonstrates creative, high quality architecture with many positive features. The relationship with the street and the detailing of the building's podium have been designed at a human-scale. Incorporation of public art in a publicly accessible plaza represents a creative shift from conventional office tower design. The investment made in the artworks is well over $1 million, commissioned with the assistance of the Auckland City Art Gallery. The art gives the lobby a very strong New Zealand sense of place and identity, and responses from tenants, their visitors and the art and architectural community are very positive. |
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Custodianship |
The developer was keen to create the most technologically-advanced office tower in New Zealand. The building won the EnergyWise Award 2004, showcasing innovation in energy efficiency or renewable energy projects. Kiwi Income Property Trust also received the RICS International Award for Building Efficiency and Regeneration in 2001 for innovative environmental and energy efficiency design. Ongoing attentive tuning and analysis resulted in the building's energy use falling by 7% in two years while the number of tenants has risen by 10%. The building's operating costs have been measured against industry standards and the Vero Building costs approximately 10.3% less to operate than the Property Council of New Zealand's average building. The building is continuously monitored for energy flow and air quality. Ventilation in the car parks is monitored and has to work properly at peak times. Analysis of the façade design and engineering optimised the contributions of natural light while controlling the effects of solar gain by the use of double-glazed low-E vision panels, and thermal insulation within the façade non-vision panels. The 12 high-speed lifts, two dedicated car park lifts and escalators are designed to reduce energy consumption. |
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Collaboration |
Kiwi Income Property Trust assembled a high profile design team for this project that included Peddle Thorp Architects. The civil and structural engineering consultants were a vital part of this design process, with the client and future tenants closely involved throughout. As noted earlier, a number of New Zealand artists were involved in the design of the public spaces, courtyard and lobby. Public consultation in the design process was limited to that required under the Resource Management Act. |
Lessons learnt
The major urban design lessons learnt include the following:
- strategic sites deserve unique and excellent design solutions
- large showcase buildings can have a strong ripple effect in revitalising the surrounding area
- taller buildings can be scaled to relate to lower adjoining buildings and streetscape by careful street level design
- vehicle entrances in a pedestrian area can work if carefully located and designed
- high quality projects require a motivated client and a strong design team working in unison
- public art can add value and vitality to a project, particularly if artists are involved in the design process.
This building demonstrates excellence in architecture and energy efficiency in a CBD environment. However, the lack of connections between Shortland Street and Fort Street and treatment of the Fort Street façade are particular shortcomings. In addition there is the question of whether the 'public' open space and art provided is really publicly available - and whether these really provide sufficient justification for the bonus density granted to this development.
Value gained
Ten months after practical completion the Royal & SunAlliance Centre was 89% tenanted. The building is "able to command the highest rental rates of any office building in the country" (Kiwi Income Property Trust, 2001).
In 2004 the property was 100% leased.
"Our latest measurement taken in October 1998 shows a tenant efficiency of 86%. This places the Royal & SunAlliance Centre (Vero Building) as one of the most highly efficient floorplates in the Asia-Pacific Region."
- DEGW's Independent Assessment (DEGW, London)
Comments
"Law firms are undergoing significant changes in terms of operational structures and information flow. The Royal & SunAlliance Centre design and technology features facilitate a very high level of efficiency and productivity and gives us maximum flexibility for the future. [That way] our organisation will be able to deal with change with relative ease."
- Greg Thompson - Partner, Russell McVeagh
The chief executive of Kiwi Income Property Trust, Angus McNaughton, commented on the public areas in the Vero Building, in response to research undertaken on the effectiveness of the city's bonus system: "I think everyone is entitled to have their own opinion, but ours is a public plaza area with a hotel lobby feel to it and we welcome anyone wandering through. It's like a little oasis," McNaughton said. "We get lots of people coming through to look at the art and enjoying the feel of it."
McNaughton said the success of plaza areas in office towers depended on consultation and having the right people involved in planning and design.
(New Zealand Herald, 17 March 2004)
