Auckland Civic Building: The Hybrid Potential

Abstract

Located within the Aotea Square, the future of the Auckland City Administration Building, known as the “Civic Building” is unknown. The Auckland Council will vacate the building by the end of 2014 and have firmly stated that they have no identifiable operational or service requirements for the old headquarter once they relocate. Their new office location is the former ASB Bank tower on Albert Street. There is a proposed idea of demolition because there are concerns with the structural integrity of the dated structure. An estimated cost of refurbishing the building will be more than double the cost of replacing it with a new build that is twice its current footprint. Demolition is therefore the most viable and economic option for the council. However, heritage advocates disagrees with demolition and believes heritage status should be considered for this 1966 modern, “International Style” architecture, which was the tallest in the country when it was finished. At the time of this research the building was not formally listed for protection under Heritage Status or with Historic Places. The current situation of the Civic Building has provided the opportunity for a thesis to study the future possibilities for the site. It is ironic that Auckland Council is abandoning a public square environment and offering the building and site with implications for privatisation opportunities. Dealing with the Civic is a complex matter due to the tension between heritage and commercial aspects; the private and public space objectives. The thesis will take an opposition against demolition with potential adaptive re-use. It is a chance to restore admiration for this landmark modern construction and to show a respect to this one of a kind tower in the Auckland through reuse and with new design interventions. Addressing the issues of the building and site will be explored in the language of a hybrid complex that is informed and related with urban environments. This thesis seeks an alternative to demolition and will explore the potentials of reusing, redeveloping and improving the Civic Building and the immediate public surroundings. The ideal is to provide a hybrid complex with investigations on housing, retail and cultural disciplines. Increased density of diverse building typologies with private and public community facilities on site will invite urban inhabitants to reinvigorate underused spaces. The critical question is ‘How can hybrid architecture become a motivation for urban regeneration and public activity in the Auckland Civic Building site?’ Challenging as it may be with locating private programmes on a public site, this thesis will pursue to find the balance between private and public in the notion of a hybrid structure with justified reasons.