The Drake Hotel

Auckland
New Zealand

The new Drake offices enlarge and complete the architectural composition of the corner of Vernon and Drake Streets, Freemans Bay.  The adjoining historically protected Victorian corner pub provided the cues for the new commercial building to respond appropriately to the existing context. 

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The new office building not only acknowledges the Victorian Building but reinforces its importance as the centrepiece of the composition. In this instance, the new not only accepts but honours and reinforces the historic, ensuring its viable continuation into the future. Parapet lines are acknowledged and introduced, and their Victorian decorative elements are echoed in the treatment of the new mansard screens. Similarly, the new horizontal and vertical glass louvre blades have a rhythm of depth and separation reflecting the rhythms of the fenestration of the hotel. A four-star Greenstar rating was achieved.

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