Commercial project

Woohoo Building

Client:
Private
Location:
Christchurch New Zealand
Delivered:
2013

Following the September 2010 earthquake, the WooHoo Building required extensive repair and reconstruction. The ground floor, slab, and foundations were largely demolished and rebuilt, and the building was fully reclad. Noordanus Architects Ltd was engaged to design and manage this complex process, which also included extending the building by 150sqm per floor and delivering a new ground-floor office fit-out.

The practice was later commissioned to design and manage the fit-out of the upper-level extensions for the Canterbury District Health Board. Spanning 505sqm across two floors, the project incorporated open-plan work areas, individual offices, meeting rooms, storage, and accessible facilities. Working from client briefs, the team designed and documented the interiors, selected finishes, and developed staff kitchenettes, while administering the contract under NZS3910 as Engineer to the Contract.

A key challenge was the limited floor-to-floor height, which constrained the integration of building services above the ceiling. This was resolved through the introduction of carefully detailed bulkheads around structural column heads, drawing subtle inspiration from Tuscan capitals to give architectural presence to a technical solution. The result is a cohesive workplace environment that responds to structural constraints while delivering functional, contemporary office spaces.