A first look inside BNZ’s new Wellington home

Monday, 17 June 2024

BNZ's flash new digs,which open this week, are designed to make staff want to 'work from work'.

Eight years after Bank of New Zealand’s Wellington-based staff walked out of their earthquake-damaged building, the bank has a new headquarters in the capital.

The new building, located at 1 Whitmore Place and which is called BNZ Place, has 15 floors, all supported by base isolation and a structural steel diagrid which can be seen streetside from the public cafe on the ground floor.

The 2016 Kaikōura earthquake shook the old BNZ building (that was actually quite new at the time) to the point that staff were not allowed back. That building was condemned in 2019.

This Wednesday Finance Minister Nicola Willis will open BNZ Place and the 1500 staff based in the region will once again have flash new headquarters.

BNZ general manager of property Kelly Galbraith in the new BNZ building at 1 Whitmore Street in Wellington. The building is named BNZ Place, and it houses all the BNZ staff that were once scattered around Wellington in different buildings after the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake.

The Post was taken for a preliminary look around the building by BNZ, the latest high end corporate to have taken office space within eyeline of the Beehive.

Entering at the ground floor cafe, we are ushered up some stairs to the ‘partners’ centre’ and shown around by general manger of property, Kelly Galbraith. The partners’ space is an area than any BNZ business client can use. It includes a large shared workspace, various rooms and an event space that can be booked by clients, free of charge.

“We've got a long standing history of developing, designing and occupying pretty iconic spaces. So if you look at 1901 the old Bank Arcade still stands today. 1985 we did the BNZ Centre which was the tallest building in New Zealand at the time,” said Galbraith.

BNZ Place is supported by base isolation and a structural steel diagrid which can be seen streetside from the public cafe on the ground floor.

Much of the trend in office building these days is to provide sufficient amenities to keep staff comfortable enough that they don’t leave the office.

BNZ is no exception.

“It’s just a really agile environment you'll be able to - you know - you can work and move around the building without having any interruptions,” Galbraith said.

The Post’s Luke Malpass trying out one of the grey corduroy sleeping pods for size. The relaxation area was designed as somewhere you can go and have a rest in privacy.

So there’s free cereal, the type of which is changed up every month, fruit, tea coffee. There is a gym, a yoga room and a relaxation room.

A rooftop terrace on the 13th floor has been carefully designed in order that it avoids becoming a wind tunnel.

The relaxation room is something else. There are grey corduroy sleeping pods with thick curtains, large velvet cushions and felt chairs. It also looks straight out towards, but slightly down upon, the Beehive. It designed as somewhere you can go and have a kip or a rest in privacy. Hangovers be damned.

The views of the harbour from BNZ Place are breath-taking.

It is also the trend in corporate building design to show what flat and egalitarian structures the businesses have. Executive dining rooms are long gone and even offices are considered a bit passé. It’s all hot-desking with meeting rooms and ‘focus rooms’ .

BNZ, however, goes one step better. The top floors of the building are for staff activities, the cafe, and a BNZ heritage area where its archive is on display. There is even a rooftop terrace on the 13th floor for staff use that has been carefully designed in order that it avoids becoming a wind tunnel. Complete with a Weber BBQ.

The whole thing has sumptuous views of the harbour that are breath-taking. Working or stopping to have a cup of coffee at BNZ Place is an experience.The 12th floor cafe adjoins a sort of amphitheatre for big announcements, talks, presentations and the like.

BNZ leases the entire building and has spent $50 million fitting it out. It is waiting to be five-star rated for efficiency. Owned and built by Newcrest, a BNZ customer, all the fitout has been done by BNZ customers: Studio Pacifc, Vidak, Maxwell Rodgers, Alaska Construction, Europlan and Egmont Dixon Project Management.

A lot of places talk about how great and well designed their offices are, but few have spaces anywhere near as good, accessible to everyone who works in the building. Its the sort of view where you see textures of Wellington harbour and the ridges beyond you didn’t realise were there.