PGG Wrightson’s.

The site, owned by Ngai Tahu Property is located on the south-east corner of the Springs Road / Gerald street intersection in Lincoln. Adjacent to the university and forming part of the AgResearch Centre campus. Walker Architecture was approached to design a building for the new tenant PGG Wrightson. PGG had to relocate temporarily to Hornby after the earthquake of 2011. This project was therefore an ideal opportunity to design a venue specifically tailored to the needs of the occupant. The architectural response provides a strong linear form parallel to the street (Springs road) boundary.

The contrasting external treatment of the two vertically stacked volumes permits the visual weight of the building to be reduced; the black upper volume seems in suspension over the light-filled transparency of the base level. This sense of contrast is further articulated by the smoothness of the glazing and the textural quality provided by the standing seam cladding above.

On approach, the subtle complexities of the upper volume unfold. The metal ribs of the exterior walls continue to the roofline accentuating a sense of the exterior architecture wrapping around the internal spaces. The fluidity of these lines, whose path is virtually uninterrupted by roof penetrations, guides the eye up, over and down. With both ends fully glazed the facetted detailing leads the eye into the building emphasizing its tubular form.