THE ORIGINAL NZR CO. BUILDING WAS FIRST COMPLETED ON 21 FEBRUARY 1963, FOR THE NEW ZEALAND REFRIGERATION COMPANY, AT A COST AT A COST OF £370,000. WE UNDERSTAND THIS BUILDING WAS THE FIRST GLAZED CURTAIN WALL BUILDING OF ITS KIND IN CHRISTCHURCH.
THE BUILDING AT 159 HEREFORD STREET IN CHRISTCHURCH HAS ITS ORIGINS IN THE EARLY 1960S, A PERIOD WHEN THE CITY WAS BEGINNING TO EMBRACE MORE MODERN ARCHITECTURAL IDEAS. COMPLETED IN 1963, IT WAS CONSTRUCTED AS THE NEW HEADQUARTERS FOR THE NEW ZEALAND REFRIGERATING COMPANY (NZR CO), ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S MOST INFLUENTIAL AGRICULTURAL AND COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISES AT THE TIME. ITS DESIGN MARKED A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT IN CHRISTCHURCH’S COMMERCIAL LANDSCAPE: IT BECAME THE FIRST BUILDING IN THE CITY TO USE CURTAIN-WALL GLAZING, A SLEEK, GLASS-FRONTED STYLE THAT CONTRASTED SHARPLY WITH THE STONE AND BRICK STRUCTURES THAT HAD DOMINATED THE CENTRAL CITY FOR DECADES. THIS MODERNIST APPROACH REFLECTED THE CONFIDENCE AND ECONOMIC OPTIMISM OF MID-CENTURY CHRISTCHURCH, AS COMPANIES INVESTED IN BOLD, FORWARD-LOOKING OFFICE BUILDINGS THAT SIGNALED THEIR AMBITION AND NATIONAL RELEVANCE. POSITIONED CLOSE TO CATHEDRAL SQUARE, THE BUILDING WAS INTENDED NOT ONLY AS FUNCTIONAL OFFICE SPACE BUT AS A SYMBOL OF TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS AND CORPORATE STABILITY. CHARACTERISTIC CURTAIN-WALL GLAZING AND MOSAIC SPANDREL TILES CAPTURE ITS HISTORY WHILE THE HIGH PERFORMANCE, LOW-EMISSION OFFICE SPACES MEET CONTEMPORARY NEEDS. 4800 TONNES OF CO2 HAS BEEN AVOIDED BY THE BUILDING’S REUSE.