RTA Studio’s master plan for the new 22,780m² site includes a ‘home’ building for administration, research, design and product development, a ‘shed’ building for appliance prototype laboratories and a ‘garage’ building for employee vehicle parking and end-of-trip facilities. At the centre of the project is a 788m² social kitchen where ‘home’ meets ‘shed’, effectively uniting the two. RTA has also developed a landscaping strategy with Boffa Miskell to regenerate the land using plants that would have been growing there in pre-European days.

“There were four key objectives to this project,” explains lead architect Richard Naish: “The first was to instil a sense of collectivism in reuniting the previously segregated lab and product development spaces; the second to create a highly functional built environment reflective of future growth and operational strategies (including accounting for flexible working hours and hybrid working); the third for both users and visitors to experience the company’s values, its people and its history through the architecture and design; and, the last to ensure that environmental sustainability be inherent in the design and daily operations, to minimise environmental impact in both embodied and operational carbon and through waste minimisation.”

Local hapū Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei has been a key player in the project planning and design, consulting on the history of the site, its original flora and fauna, and the surrounding wetlands. In reference to the local isthmus and its connection to the harbour, the diamond shape of a pātiki (flounder) will form the singular organising motif for the cladding, diagrid and interior of the ‘home’ building. This building will be constructed with a fully engineered timber diagrid frame, similar to that of RTA’s award-winning Scion building in Rotorua, in association with Irving Smith Architects.

“The ambition of the project has been to invite F&P’s people to ‘come home to work’, ” says Naish. “In making this new home, we wanted it to be generous not only to F&P staff but also to the land, mana whenua, the environment and the global network of F&P customers. It is an exemplar project that offers a holistic solution to occupying post-colonial, post-industrial land by returning it to pre-Auckland flora and fauna, with a carbon-zero footprint amd a climate-resilient typology while respecting te ao Māori principles. Beyond environmental sustainability, it includes social, ecological and cultural sustainability in its manifesto.”

The project is due for completion in 2025.