Blum opens sustainable and architecturally-designed HQ in Christchurch
The new Blum Christchurch headquarters is a purpose-built facility designed by Warren and Mahoney and houses their offices, showroom and distribution warehouse.
Warren and Mahoney’s Simon Laurie explains, “The showroom is a splendid, double-height, light-filled space that visually connects with the outside and features a cantilevered stair clad in blue steel.”
The showroom allows customers to test-drive Blum’s storage solutions in real time with their 1:1 kitchen test drive.
Partner News: Blum, distributor of Austrian storage innovations to New Zealand, has recently opened its new, purpose-built headquarters in Christchurch. The site combines offices, a storage-inspiration showroom and a distribution warehouse hub under one roof and was designed by Warren and Mahoney.
Senior associate at Warren and Mahoney’s Christchurch studio Simon Laurie says, “Design decisions were focused on wellness and employee wellbeing, with plenty of natural light, outdoor areas to take time out, acoustic design that provides comfortable noise levels and materials to complement the natural local environment.”
The building was designed with sustainability at the fore and features geothermal heating, natural ventilation systems, solar thermal for hot water generation, water recycling system and charging station for electric cars. Blum New Zealand managing director Michael Hawkins noted that the company wanted the building to reflect their values and allow them to engage with the wider community “by hosting events, industry meetings, seminars and training workshops for architects, designers and cabinet makers”.
“Architecturally, the design expresses a streamlined, finely tuned and engineered outcome closely aligned with the precision of products the building will deliver. The scale of the warehouse is broken up by a pitched frontage more representative of an urban scale”, says Laurie.
“The showroom is a splendid, double-height, light-filled space that visually connects with the outside and features a cantilevered stair clad in blue steel. The finished building is testament to the effort put in by the whole design team, delivering a building that has sustainability at its core.”
The showroom allows customers to engage with the Blum products and see how innovative storage solutions can be used throughout the home. The company says that they would like to use the space to “show its South Island customers how creative interior design can be implemented with high-quality fittings – not only in kitchens and bathrooms but also in living areas, big and small”.
