By John Mills Architects
Our clients bought this former fishing company warehouse with the intention of creating a unique urban home for them and their children when in Wellington.
Complete re-strengthening was needed for this heritage building. The brief called for a comfortable, stylish west facing apartment, with an open, flexible and dynamic series of spaces that would allow plenty of opportunity for quiet times and big gatherings too.
The interior is planned around the central staircase, giving a fluid and sculptural sense of space. Bathrooms are discretely placed out of view. Two bedrooms occupy the former loft storage spaces, each with its own unique outlook. Off the master bedroom, a roof terrace offers views out to the industrial hinterland and western hills beyond, and a glance down to the lounge below.
The original concrete and brick structure has been retained and paired with new plywood, recycled vertical timber, raw steel and glass. A suspended fire enables different inside areas as well as the courtyard, to be enjoyed at all times of day in summer and winter.
JMA has been operating in Wellington, New Zealand since 1990. It has a distinctive aesthetic that seeks to combine our passion for materials and colour with a desire to create uniquely tailored architecture for the individual or specific organisation. The studio has completed projects around New Zealand, including Auckland and Nelson.
The team endeavours to create architecture that speaks of its sites and surroundings, with grace, poetry and personality – unencumbered by blind conformity and dictates of transient fashion. JMA works together with clients and builders to craft beautiful forms and engaging spaces that make the heart leap and the soul sing.
Practicality and comfort are so fundamental to quality building, form and space. The heart should leap, the eyes should widen and the soul should sing. This is the aim of architecture.