The NZ Institute of Architects said in its citation: “This project brings a bit of Time Square to Courtenay Place. In successfully reusing a remnant of Wellington’s past, the architects … have provided an architectural marker at the western end of the city’s entertainment precinct and activated the surrounding space.”

The brief had been to re-use the existing old brick toilets, built in 1911, as part of the project. When Wellington City Council had called for expressions of interest in 2001, a spokesman said it was hard to find a use for the site because of its small size, historic status and “a certain slight whiff of dubiousness to the building [in its previous guise]”.

Athfield Architects incorporated the brickwork and designed a crafted zinc clad structure above. A new floor was laid at ground level and a canopy that shelters and shades pedestrians was erected over the footpath and part of the new building.

Working adjacent to one of Wellington’s busiest intersections meant careful planning with the council to coordinate traffic activity and agree on pedestrian routes. All deliveries were managed early in the morning and the site was kept clean at all times.

Athfield Architects graduate, André Bishop, later said, “Being my first project to reach construction I was expecting a few curveballs but the LT McGuinness team of Dan McGuinness, Jeff McHardy and foreman Matt Pattinson did a great job in foreseeing any problems or issues.”