Architectural firm Warren & Mahoney has just moved into their new Auckland premises in the Innovation Precinct of Wynyard Quarter. 

The studio will occupy two floors of the former Mason Bros building at 139 Pakenham Street West, which was officially blessed by Ngāti Whātua at a morning ceremony on Monday 12 September.

The relocation brings the expanded Auckland team under one roof and into an area where the physical manifestations of innovation in architecture are quickly emerging.

John Coop, regional principal of the studio, called the move to the refurbished 1920s warehouse a “coming of age moment” for the practice. “Design of the built environment is as much a part of the innovation ecosystem as technology and software,” he says.

Warren and Mahoney designed the initial reference design and master plan for the entire Innovation Precinct, as well as the adaptive re-use of the Mason Bros building, developed by Precinct Properties NZ.

The architects were respectful of the maritime heritage of the warehouse, which was once an engineering and ship-building workshop. They have retained the envelope of existing red brick and insitu concrete as well as the distinctive saw-tooth roof structure.

The practice also completed the workplace fit-out for the studio. The double-storey atrium area offers informal terrace-style seating and audio-visual capabilities, and will be offered as a venue to various organisations such as the New Zealand Institute of Architects, the Design Institute, the Committee for Auckland, the Property Council and schools of Architecture.

Look out for a more indepth profile on the project in the March issue of Interior magazine.