As urban planners and architects continue their mission to reshape our cities, inclusion of an ‘innovation precinct’ seems to be the latest must-have feature. Smales Farm has joined the likes of Wynyard Quarter and Christchurch Central, due in no small part to Vodafone’s decision to depart the CBD and establish a single Auckland home on the North Shore.

Over the next 18 months, under Warren and Mahoney, the existing Vodafone office in Smales Farm will be completely re-kitted, expanded and upgraded to serve as the anchor for an innovation precinct that will comprise over one-third of the existing Smales Farm footprint. On the external façade of the re-imagined building a solar shade structure will minimise heat gain in the glazed atrium, and a 14.3m x 14m digital billboard – one of the country’s largest – will bring echoes of Shinjuku and Times Square to the North Shore.

Inside, the ground floor will become a multimedia auditorium and dedicated meeting-room space with state-of-the-art videoconferencing and LED screens. A variety of work environments will be on offer: open plan, collaboration, libraries and private rooms, dedicated project areas and large communal spaces. The atrium is envisioned as a bustling meeting-and-greeting space, with café, eateries and an as-yet-to-be-determined central design feature, which will make a real statement about Vodafone – in the same way that the slide-in-the-office has done for Google.

Vodafone’s head of communication, Andrea Brady, says: “We will be adopting a completely mobile way of working. Everything in the building will be accessed by the smartphone, wireless enabled, voice and videoaware. From a smartphone or smart tablet employees will be able to make video calls, with the building automatically sensing presence in a room and offering the option to pass the call wirelessly on to a large digital display.”

She continues, “We have a vision for both the [new South Island headquarters in] Christchurch and Auckland buildings to be technologically advanced and showcases for workplaces of the future. Technology through the introduction of smartphone apps will provide a single-user environment including security, printing, café, billing and location services for staff. For visitors, the experience will be similar – with car parking, directions, appointment confirmation and notification to the host on arrival and a welcome to the building being smartphone based.”

Alongside the Vodafone building, Smales Farm is creating a new hospitality zone with working greenhouses and a tree-lined laneway of boutique eateries. Conceptualised by Cheshire Architects – who will draw on their experience with the development of Britomart and the City Works Depot – this surrounding area is intended to create an after-hours and weekend destination for the neighbouring community, as well as serving the nine-to-five Smales Farm business crowd.