25 Hargreaves Street

For its new Auckland headquarters, RCP was both client and project manager, meaning it could deliver exactly what it wanted. The building offers a more flexible working environment than its previous premises, directly reflecting RCP’s work culture of collaboration and social connectivity.  

However, achieving this meant designing the whole building twice. The original intent was to retain the footprint, pushing the roof up and installing a mezzanine floor – it meant occupying two levels. This concept made it almost through to final design when RCP realised it was the wrong use for the site and the team. But its deep team culture demanded RCP occupy one level. 

The result is a large, exciting and interesting space. Polished concrete and exposed steel interplay with old columns and ductwork. The site offers plenty of light amenity being adjacent to two streets, and the large glazed south façade capitalises on this. It houses the front-of-house client area featuring four external meeting rooms, with a further two meeting rooms on the interior. 

The workspaces are divided into four areas: an admin zone, two director zones, interspersed on the floor, and a general workplace zone where people are loosely grouped in their work pods. There are plenty of shared spaces. 

The building also offers all the expected workplace amenities, with an end-of-trip facility featuring showers, lockers and plenty of bike storage. There is a café downstairs offering quality food and beverages on site – a big part of what RCP wanted to offer staff. The building is completely wireless, providing workspace flexibility and reducing cabling. 

Close to public transport, Victoria Park and local amenities, the location is ideal. One challenge was car parking, which was resolved by securing 20 spaces in the building next door off the back of a relationship that RCP enjoys with one of its clients, Dilworth Trust. This is a real demonstration of the extent of RCP’s relationships in the industry. 

The artwork features buildings RCP has helped to complete – and anyone looking east out of RCP’s social space can see the real ‘RCP skyline’. RCP claims heavy involvement in more than half of the buildings visible, including PwC, Sky Tower, Vero, ANZ and, more recently, Commercial Bay. It’s the cherry on top for a project that is an expression of RCP’s raison d’être.