Plunket Avenue, Maunukau
Commercial
SULCO is primarily involved with the sale & service of the automotive industry through the supply of tools & equipment with many other minor distribution franchises. Sulco Tools has consolidated two existing sites, operating two separate divisions, into a new... Read more
SULCO is primarily involved with the sale & service of the automotive industry through the supply of tools & equipment with many other minor distribution franchises. Sulco Tools has consolidated two existing sites, operating two separate divisions, into a new site inManukau. The purchased building had its last alterations completed in the 1970s, and needed a major refurbishment.
Strong contrasting Cor-ten & stainless steel were used to organise the building. We have used the stainless steel to identify the entry points to the buildings showroom and main office, along with large cantilevered canopies. The soffits and façade of the entries are lined in stainless steel safety perforated sheets. The main part of the office building is clad with a screw fixed Cor-ten rain screen.
The existing office space had an extremely low ground floor ceiling height at a little over 2250mm. Two strategies were used to fix this: firstly opening up a void within this area, and secondly reconstructing the existing dummy, creaky timber floor using the concrete Speed Floor' system. The structure was left exposed to give a more voluminous feel, and the holes in the Speed Floor joists allow services to run through. This also reduced the sound transfer from upstairs.
Although creating the void lost 25m² of upper floor area, it allowed all administration staff and reception to stay on the ground floor, effectively gaining an extra 100m².
