Northland Port Corporation
relocation
For many years Northland Port Corporation (NPC) located their offices in Whangarei within leased accommodation. The process of relocating to land associated with the Port of Whangarei at Ruakaka began in May 2012. The brief – provide a single level, 200sqm air-conditioned office space to cater for the current staff, with an additional 200sqm of office space either as a separate tenancy or for NPC expansion.
The new offices are located on an un-utilised rail corridor, parallel to the main port road. This location within the 4.9 ha site was selected due to its prominent position to passing traffic, both servicing the port as well as to the Marsden Cove precinct. Situating the offices within a designated railway corridor meant the building needed to be capable of relocation if required.
The solution – two 20m x 10m relocatable “office pods”, connected to a central entrance and services unit, which would be “sacrificed” should the building be relocated. Each pod is highly insulated and fully glazed with high performance IGU’s in a seismic frame with the north, east and west faces being extensively shaded. This allows for excellent natural light and efficient air conditioning while providing an open connection with the surroundings environment that the client demanded. The southern façade is also extensively glazed with the same units. On the south, east and west the glazing extends beyond the mono pitched roof creating a simple glass box that acts as a “beacon” to the sparsely populated area at night. It is hoped that this building would be catalyst for future development of the area.
