DKO open Christchurch office in historic Bonnington House
The DKO directors: David Randerson, Mauro Miglino, Craig Gordon, Jesse Linardi and Koos de Keijzer.
DKO Company Director Koos de Keijzer.
DKO New Zealand Director Edward Hosken.
DKO’s new office: the historic Bonnington House, Christchurch.
Render of the Welles Street project that DKO is working on alongside Fletcher Living and Architectus.
Australasian architectural firm DKO Architecture have recently opened a second office in the centre of Christchurch. Less than a year after the launch of their Auckland branch, the amount of projects that the firm has taken on in the Christchurch region has given them incentive to establish a second permanent base in New Zealand.
The new office will be located in the historic Bonnington House, which was recently restored after the devastating Christchurch earthquakes by the KPI Rothschild Property Group and is now home to a number of creative businesses.
Company Director, Koos de Keijzer, cites several reasons for the firm opening its second New Zealand office in Christchurch. He states “the amount of work that DKO is undertaking in and around the region is extensive, and has become too much to facilitate from Auckland.”
de Keijzer, who was born in Christchurch and still has family there, emphasises that “DKO is keen to prove our commitment to Christchurch.”
Four projects are currently being undertaken by the firm as part of the Christchurch post-quake rebuild. One of the residential projects of particular interest is Awatea - a large masterplanned community of around 240 dwellings just west of Christchurch, in partnership with Fletcher Living.
DKO is also working on a large apartment/townhouse complex on Welles Street that will focus on successful high density living, a residential project on Colombo Street in Sydenham and a large church on the Majestic Theatre’s old site.
de Keijzer comments, “DKO believes that we can add a level of sustainability and alternative living typologies to the Christchurch architectural scene. We complete a lot of apartments and housing throughout Australia and South East Asia, and we think that providing good amenity housing is important - compact but with maximum sustainability. Our mantra is that a house needn’t be expensive - but it must be well-designed.”
And de Keijzer’s own favourite Christchurch building? He thinks that the Stranges precinct, just next door to DKO’s new Bonnington House office on the corner of High Street and Litchfield, is pretty special.
