Project Designed whilst the Design Director | Context Architects | Client: TVNZ | 2017

Perched on a ridge overlooking Eden Park, the former Mt Albert Fire Station at 516 New North Road is one of Auckland’s recognisable inner city landmarks. In 2017, as Design Director at Context Architects, I led the architectural work for TVNZ’s redevelopment of the building, beginning with the initial site investigation and yield study that established its potential for The Block NZ. The design concept I developed helped secure TVNZ’s decision to purchase the property for the television series.

Designed by Auckland architect D. B. Patterson and opened in May 1926, the Georgian Revival building originally served as the Mt Albert Fire Station. Its robust brick exterior, distinctive proportions and former engine bay doors gave it a strong architectural identity, long after its decommissioning in 1974.

My role encompassed the project from feasibility through to construction documentation. Following the initial investigation and yield study, I developed the architectural design, produced the drawings and led the project team through the Resource Consent and Building Consent processes. I also oversaw the preparation and issue of the drawings for construction, translating the initial concept into an approved and buildable project.

The redevelopment reimagined the former fire station as contemporary inner city apartments, retaining the character of the existing heritage building while introducing a new residential use. The completed scheme became the setting for The Block NZ: Firehouse, in which four renovation teams transformed the interiors into five apartments, bringing the building and its history to a national television audience.

For me, the project was an opportunity to demonstrate the full value of architectural involvement, from recognising a building’s unrealised potential and establishing its development yield to leading the design, navigating statutory approvals and delivering the documentation required for construction. The former fire station’s transformation remains a rewarding example of adaptive reuse, giving an established Auckland landmark a renewed purpose while retaining its distinctive place in the city’s urban fabric.