Harbour View, Auckland: a 16-storey apartment block once called a “ghastly blue monster”, remade as a city-centre landmark.

Reference project — not a Eurowindow project. This article summarises public information from the sources listed at the end, with our own commentary. Images belong to their owners and are embedded directly from Pinterest with a link back to the source.

The project at a glance

• Name: Harbour View, Auckland, New Zealand
• Architect: Stephenson & Turner (S&T Wellington)
• Year: 2009
• Type: refurbishment of a 16-storey apartment building
• Key elements: frameless glass balustrades and softly moulded fibreglass balcony soffits, per Architizer
• Photography: Simon Devitt

What stands out on the facade

According to write-ups, the tower was once described as “a ghastly blue monster” neglected since the 1980s, with black windows, dingy steel balconies and a shabby garden. After the refurbishment it is regarded as one of the good-looking buildings in Auckland’s centre.

Two big changes to the facade were the frameless glass balustrades and the softly moulded fibreglass balcony soffits.

Note: figures and descriptions above come from the sources cited at the end; we quote them for reference and have not verified them independently.

Our take

Refurbishing the facade of an old apartment block is harder than building new. Three notes from us:

1. Check the balcony structure before choosing the balustrade. Frameless glass balustrades take large horizontal loads and must be anchored into a slab that can carry them.
2. Replacing balustrades is a fast way to change a building’s look at reasonable cost, but plan the work around residents still living there.
3. Balustrade glass must be safety glass. See Eurowindow glass balustrades.

If you are weighing options for a high-rise project, send your brief to the Eurowindow technical team to discuss specifics.

Sources

• ArchDaily — Harbour View / S&T Wellington
• Architizer — Harbour View
• Pinterest — pin Harbour View / Stephenson&Turner

This article is for reference only and does not imply Eurowindow took part in this project. If you own an image or content and would like it changed or removed, please contact sonhn@eurowindow.biz; we will act immediately.