La Gonda Building Façade Refurbishment

Auckland

The design intention was for the La Gonda building was to reinstate the street appeal of the building in a subtle manner, highlighting its original features by using original Art Deco colours in juxtaposition with colours that highlighted its original architectural features.

The La Gonda building, built in 1924, was designed by Walter Arthur Cumming, one of the founders of the New Zealand Institute of Architecture (NZIA).

This beautiful building had unfortunately been neglected over the years. It had no doubt seen better days and was once part of a refined chapter in the history of Karangahape Road. It currently houses ground floor shop tenants and office spaces on the upper levels. The building façade was in urgent need of a makeover and the perfect opportunity presented itself when the street front windows had to be repaired.

Arrasco Paz Architecture contacted the building owners, Methodist Church Trust and presented them with a proposed colour scheme.

The design intention was for the La Gonda building was to reinstate the street appeal of the building in a subtle manner, highlighting its original features by using original Art Deco colours in juxtaposition with colours that highlighted its original architectural features.

The approach was to reinstate Art Deco colours, in the manner of a pale pink, Resene Cest La Vie, to the main body of the street façade and using copper tones, Resene Bullion, to highlight its original architectural ornamentation and detailing. A darker shade of pink, Resene Gelato, was used to emphasise the building edges. Finally, a dark brown colour, Resene Black Sheep, was proposed for the double height joinery to accentuate the geometry of the windows and the verticality of the street façade.

As one of the remaining original buildings of Karangahape Road, this elegant ‘old lady’ has been revamped while embracing its eclectic and vibrant urban surroundings like an elegant grandmother contemplates her playful, and slightly cheeky, grandchildren, with an accomplice grin.

Architectural specifier: Arrasco Paz Architecture
Client: Auckland Methodist Church
Photographer: Fang Wei
Project: Resene Total Colour Awards 2016