Stunning building nearing completion

Some buildings are just destined to stand out from the crowd, making a strong statement amongst a concrete jungle of sameness.
Dressed distinctively in a wave-like façade that weaves in and out right around the building’s perimeter, Auckland City’s Grace Victoria Quarter apartment building will command breathtaking views of the city and beyond that cannot be built out.
Designed by internationally acclaimed Australian practice, Cox Architecture, the 10-storey apartment building consisting of 105 one- to two- bedroom apartments is being built by Auckland’s Macrennie Construction Ltd.
Located in Sales Street, a stones throw from Victoria Park and Victoria Park Market, the apartment building offers its residents the appeal of being just a hop-skip-and jump away from the pulse and vibe of Auckland’s inner city.
Residents are rewarded with stunning 360 degree views of the ‘Queens City’, taking in all the key landmarks from atop a 10th storey open air entertainment area—all hard and soft landscaped replete with BBQ area. The outdoor views are complemented with views from inside a residents lounge on the top ﬂoor.
Macrennie Construction joint Managing Director Bryce Caldwell, says that the project was started in September of 2016 with the demolition of an old industrial building and is on track for completion July 2019.
“Once the old building was demolished, perimeter piles were placed around the boundaries of the site. We then excavated down in stages by completing temporary ground anchors.
“Once we got to the basement level which was two levels into the ground, we completed the foundations and started building the structure coming up 10 ﬂoors.”
Bryce explains that the structure is built from reinforced concrete with the curved perimeter of the building formed by pre-cast beams.
“The curved front was quite challenging, having to ensure that the curved pre-casting on level two was exactly the same shape and in the same position as levels 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. “We spent a lot of time and effort putting in quality control measures to ensure that that external curved façade was in the same position in each ﬂoor.”
The Grace Victoria Quarter development is a joint venture between New Zealand owned Location Group and Australian property development company Little Group.
“It will be a total turnkey project, including the landscaping—we build everything and get it to the point that people can move in,” says Bryce.
“We bring an inclusive approach to the whole construction process and like to get involved in early contractor engagement discussions with the client, providing advice, helping the client set a budget, helping the client provide instruction to the consultants and helping the client maintain the budget.”
With more than 30 years in the industry, Macrennie Construction has also established trusted relationships with all the trades and sub-trades necessary to successfully complete large-scale projects like the Grace Victoria Quarter project.
Based in Penrose, Auckland, Macrennie Construction operates anywhere from Pukekohe to just north of Warkworth, undertaking a wide range of mid to large scale commercial and industrial construction projects.
Macrennie isalso working on several on going projects throughout Auckland, these include new warehouses and ofﬁces in the Highbrook Business park, a new freight forwarding facility for the Toll Group, and they also recently completed the Ministry for Primary Industries Complex which won the 2018 WANZ Supreme Award.
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