Bauer Media Offices
Auckland Commercial Fit-Out
This iconic shed was originally designed and built by renowned architect Ewen Wainscott in 1968 for the Auckland City Council to house the city’s buses, trucks and road-building equipment. As with many of the other sheds in the precinct, it eventually fell into disrepair and was in dire need of a makeover. After being abandoned for nearly 20 years, Shed 5 is now home to New Zealand’s leading publishing house, Bauer Media.
Our Cook Brothers Auckland team, who were awarded the tenant fit-out after having completed the initial base works build, along with Cheshire Architects breathed new life into this old icon.
Capturing the right ambience in the fit-out design and build was important to the client, as the space needed to reflect and accommodate their creative, fast-paced and modern team of 350 staff.
The result was an amazing open plan, split level office that included an impressive structural1,500m2 mezzanine, a number of meeting and breakout rooms with the latest tech equipment, large feature steel spiral staircases and numerous kitchen and communal areas to accommodate all staff, all while retaining the industrial feel of the original 1968 building.
"Time, cost and quality of work were the most important aspects to Bauer Media.
Cook Brothers Construction exceeded our expectations on all three counts"
– Wayne Fletcher, Chief Financial Officer at Bauer Media (NZ)
With a strict, non-negotiable deadline of 5 months, Cook Brothers had to turn this industrial shed of 2,500m2, into a 4,000m2 modern working environment. This meant that significant attention had to be paid to the planning of the build, as well as watertight project management, to ensure the build team could hit the ground running and see through completion to schedule. This included factoring in that construction getting underway before the final design was completed and signed off.
The last 50 days of the build saw the construction team working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week in order to meet this deadline. It was worth the extra effort, with finishing touches completed on time and with both tenants and client very happy with the outcome.
