Chaffer Dock Penthouse Wellington

Our client, an entrepreneur with a young family, approached us to assist him with creating his future home. He had purchased one of two penthouse apartments that were yet to be built on the roof of the former ‘Post and Telegraph Building’ at Wellington’s Water Front – originally the site of two full-size tennis courts with a view to die for.

The Art Deco building, designed by Edmund Anscombe and built in 1939, was refurbished in the mid-2000s to house a mix of apartments, restaurants and shops – the landmark of a new master plan envisioned to transform the industrial water front to a vibrant heart of the city.

The sense of place, the epic architecture, but most importantly our client’s list of requirements, demanded design solutions that balanced form and function with adaptability to accommodate future family needs as well.

We began by acquiring a better spatial flow to the layout, optimizing the use of natural light as well as maximizing the stunning 180-degree water views. In close collaboration with Associate Architect Andrew Greenslade from Frame Architecture.

From here we enjoyed orchestrating the space by setting the tone and mood with colour, light and texture. This included specifying fabrics, specialist wall surfaces, materials, appliances, entertainment media, sculpture, furniture, etc. All products were either custom designed and locally built or sourced from both local and overseas suppliers.

We produced a full set of working drawings and project managed the project from planning to completion. This was accomplished through our holistic / user-centered design approach, extensive research, ongoing communication and meetings with our client, as well as developers, architect, suppliers, builders and tradesmen.