61 Molesworth Street

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61 Molesworth Street
View from Pipitea of 61 Molesworth Street.jpg
The partially-demolished building in November 2016
61 Molesworth Street
Former namesDeloitte House
Alternative namesICI House
General information
TypeOffice
Architectural style Modernist
Location61 Molesworth Street, Wellington, New Zealand
Coordinates 41°16′32″S174°46′39″E / 41.2756°S 174.7775°E / -41.2756; 174.7775
Year built1965
Demolished2016–2017
Height40.5 metres (133 ft)
Technical details
Floor count9–10

The former building at 61 Molesworth Street in Wellington, New Zealand, known as ICI House and later Deloitte House, was built in 1964 for the British chemical company Imperial Chemical Industries. It was made of two separate structures joined together with flexible joints and notable as an example of modernist architecture. The main structure was 9 storeys tall or 35 metres (115 ft) and the other, a service tower, was 10 storeys tall or 40.5 metres (133 ft). It was mainly used as an office building but also had shops at the bottom. It was damaged in the November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake and, due to concerns that it would collapse, demolition of the building began that month and was completed in early 2017.

Contents

The building being demolished in December 2016 61 Molesworth St, Wellington in the midst of demolition (31675879915) (cropped).jpg
The building being demolished in December 2016

Building

The building was designed by Stephenson & Turner and constructed by Fletcher Building for Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) during 1962–1964. [1] [2] It was officially opened as ICI House on 4 December 1964. [2] The office building in the modernist style [3] was made of reinforced concrete with curtain walling, which allowed a lot of natural light into the interior and good views out over the city. [2] It consisted of two separate structures joined together with flexible joints. The main structure was 9 storeys or 35 metres (115 ft) tall and the other, a service tower, was 10 storeys or 40.5 metres (133 ft) tall. [1] [4] [3]

During the design phase there was a lot of discussion between the Ministry of Works and Wellington City Council about the appearance of the building, with concerns that it would overpower the neighbouring Wellington Cathedral of St Paul. Eventually it was agreed that the orientation of the building would change, making it seem narrower and making its glass walls reflect the cathedral. [5] The building was higher than Wellington's height limit of 25.6 metres (84 ft) at the time of its construction, but Wellington City Council permitted an exemption to height limits because the building was carefully sited to prevent obstruction of sun and views from other buildings as much as possible. [3]

On the ground floor of the main tower there were shops and parking for six cars. The first floor contained parking for another 25 cars, accessed by a ramp, as well as a staff cafeteria with an outdoor terrace. [2]

In the foyer, there was a 7-metre-long concrete mural on a wall, made by Jim Allen. Allen has said that it was "inspired by the micro-structure of naturally occurring copper crystals, building blocks of the chemical industry". [6] There were four shops at the bottom of the building before it was demolished. [7] The service tower held three passenger lifts, stairs, toilets, machinery rooms and service ducts, and an enclosed observation gallery. [2]

History

Apart from the ICI offices, the first tenants in the building included two High Commissions and part of the Department of External Affairs. [2] The building was promoted as being close to Parliament and the government administrative centre developed around Molesworth Street.

The building was known as Deloitte House from 1990 to 2005 after Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu leased the building in 1990. [8] [9] [10] Deloittes moved out in 2005 and by 2007 the Inland Revenue Department leased all floors in the building. [11] At this time it was announced that the building would have two floors added and be extended over a neighbouring carpark once the IRD lease ran out in 2009, but the project was later cancelled. [11] In 2011, the building was bought by the property developer Eyal Aharoni. [10]

2016 Kaikōura earthquake

After the building, which had not been deemed earthquake-prone, [12] was damaged in the 14 November 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, it was marked for demolition due to concerns that it would collapse in an aftershock. [13] [14] This was because a vertical support beam had been damaged and was reported to have an appearance "somewhat like a broken bone in the leg". [10] [4] Due to the concerns of a collapse, the neighbouring buildings and homes were evacuated [14] and a cordon was placed around the building. [4] The Wellington City Council managed the demolition, [14] which was supposed to start a week later, on 21 November, [7] but it was delayed. Demolition was set to start on 27 November, but could not due to gale force winds. [15] Demolition began the next day however on 28 November. [16] It was supposed to take two weeks to complete, but more wind caused more delays. [17]

At the time of the earthquake, at least six people illegally lived in the building, which was in a non-residential zone. [18] [1] The residents evacuated the building and left their personal belongings inside after the earthquake but were not allowed to retrieve them. [18] While the rooms that had been lived in were being demolished, the belongings became visible from the outside. [19] The council said during this time that they might attempt at removing some of the items using the demolition equipment, without entering the building. [19] The residents said that they did not know that they were living in the building illegally. The owner of the building, Primeproperty Group, said that they had let the family live there [12] in June 2016 because their previous residence had experienced water damage. Their tenancy was only temporary and the family was due to move out by 13 October. [20] The group agreed that they should not have let the family live in the building. [12] In June 2017 the Tenancy Tribunal of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment required that Primeproperty return $6900 of rent and a $20 filing fee to the tenants and pay $600 worth of exemplary damages. [21]

In late January 2017, when the building had almost finished being demolished, the mural designed by Allen was still intact. No new location for the mural had been found at that point, but the owner intended on moving it before the rest of the building was demolished. [6] [22] A timelapse video was made of the demolition. [1] The site was returned to the owner in early February 2017. [10]

Replacement building

After the building was demolished, the site was used as a car park. In November 2022, Precinct Properties New Zealand Limited announced that it had bought the property and would construct a new building on the site. [21] It is scheduled to open in 2025 and will house the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade [23] and MetService. [24]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Molesworth St demolition video: Changing Wellington skyline shown in month-long timelapse". Stuff . 10 January 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "ICI House Wellington [pamphlet]". Wellington City Libraries. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "ICI House: 61 Molesworth Street". architecture.org.nz. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Building beam fractured 'like a bone'". RNZ . 15 November 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Quirke, Michelle (17 August 2005). "Designing history". Dominion Post. ProQuest   338203198.
  6. 1 2 "Mural survives demolition of earthquake-damaged Wellington office building". Stuff . 19 January 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  7. 1 2 "Cranes move into Wellington as demolition set to begin on 61 Molesworth St". Stuff . 20 November 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  8. ↑ "Structure surprised". Evening Post. 21 May 1996. ProQuest   314442844.
  9. ↑ "Deloitte Makes Move To New Wellington Premises". Deloitte . Scoop. 17 October 2005. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  10. 1 2 3 4 "New chapter for 61 Molesworth St as demolished building handed back to owner". Stuff . 2 February 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  11. 1 2 Patterson, Colin (15 December 2007). "Time is right for a makeover". Dominion Post. ProQuest   338313345.
  12. 1 2 3 "High-rise owner was 'trying to help' family". RNZ . 23 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Winds delay demolition of office building". RNZ . 27 November 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  14. 1 2 3 "Council takes over demolition of quake-hit office block". RNZ . 23 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Demolition of quake-hit building on Wellington's Molesworth St delayed again". The New Zealand Herald . 27 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  16. ↑ "Demolition of earthquake-damaged Wellington building begins". The New Zealand Herald . 28 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "Wind delays demolition of 61 Molesworth Street". The New Zealand Herald . 9 December 2016. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  18. 1 2 "Family lived illegally in quake-damaged high-rise". RNZ . 21 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  19. 1 2 "More signs of tenants uncovered in the debris of damaged building". Stuff . 1 December 2016. Retrieved 9 September 2025.
  20. ↑ "Owner of condemned building on Molesworth St accepts fault over tenants". Stuff . 22 November 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  21. 1 2 "From illegal tenants to diplomats: $250m Wellington development confirmed". The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  22. ↑ "Reprieve for mural in quake-stricken building". RNZ . 19 January 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "61 Molesworth Street". precinct.co.nz. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  24. ↑ "MetService joining MFAT in new Molesworth Street building". MetService . Scoop. 7 February 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
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