Britomart Charter Customs Building

The development of the new Britomart Charter Customs Building has included the substantial restoration and integration of the heritage Charter House building on the corner of Customs Street East and Britomart Place.

Designed by Australian architects Johnson Pilton Walker (JPW) in association with Auckland-based firm Peddle Thorp & Aitken, Britomart Charter Customs Building has been sympathetically designed to integrate with the surrounding heritage buildings.

CHARTER HOUSE HISTORY
At the turn of the 20th century, a single-story building stood fronting Breakwater Road, now known as Britomart Place. In 1905 engineers Carter & Brooks and coppersmith and brazier William Menzies, who operated from these premises, purchased the lease for the adjacent site on the corner of Breakwater Road and Customs Street East.
In 1920 Richards and Parker Upton bought both leases for ₤7,625 and built a four- and partly five-storied building as major additions and alterations to the original single-storey structure.  Initially known as the Richards and Upton Building, it housed numerous engineering and importing firms.  The building also had a long association with painting and decorating firm R&E Tingey. Tingey’s operated from the building for almost 50 years from 1929 to 1976.

PROJECT CONSULTANTS
•    Johnson Pilton Walker (Master Planning Architect)
•    Peddle Thorp Architects (Project Architect)
•    Salmond Reed (Heritage Architect)
•    Holmes Consulting Group (Structural Engineer and Fire Engineer)
•    WT Partnership (Cost Consultant)
•    Hawkins Construction (Main Contractor)
•    Coffey Group (Project Management)
•    Norman Disney & Young (Building Services)