Bowen Campus Redevelopment
The original brutalist style Bowen State Building (BSB) was designed by the Ministry of Works and completed in the mid-1970s. Since then, the building has received little modernisation, resulting in a huge opportunity for commercial development.
In 2015, Precinct Properties embarked on a full transformation of the site known as Bowen Campus, rejuvenating both the Bowen State Building and the adjacent Charles Fergusson Tower (CFT) to meet current government office accommodation standards. Warren and Mahoney was appointed to design the upgrading of both buildings.
The BSB upgrade involved the complete refurbishment, seismic reinforcement and extension of the existing 10-storey building. Working in partnership with Wellington City Council the new design paid homage the original brutalist style by carefully articulating the façade and major structural components through sculpting and scale and proportion. The campus also redirected its entrance back to the Terrace and created a direct relationship / connectivity back to Parliament.
The primary structure was stripped back, with an addition to the lower seven levels – and a completely new glazed façade with aluminium screen panelling for solar control. This provides a significant increase to the overall nett-lettable area and desirable office space and its bulk and massing stepping down to be responsive to the existing Parliamentary buildings. Users of the building are welcomed through the expansive ground floor foyer - with a second entry to the west that links BSB and CFT and a future second stage.
In addition to commercial office space, the BSB provides new on-site retail amenity, additional car-parking and modern ‘end-of-trip’ facilities. Landscaping has been the connective tissue enhancing ground level retail and improved connectivity across the campus.
BSB has been specifically tailored to accommodate government agencies and its former glory has been rejuvenated with a new image of togetherness – with Wellingtonians, the CBD and central Government.
