A Diamond In The Rough

I thought i’d finally post some before and after photos of the transformation of the (premonitorily named) Epicentre co-work space I started this year, also home to Polar Bear Farm. Currently mother nature seems intent on slowly destroying parts of the building with continuing aftershocks from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake which hit the city on September 4th.

The building is located on the corner of Ash and Poplar Street, which serviced Christchurch’s main warehouse district in the late 1880s, previous to that, the area was a large plant nursery run by the city’s first mayor William Wilson. While I haven’t been able to track down specifics of the original use of the building, I believe it was known as the “Smith and Smith Glass Company” building. So i’m assuming it was built for their purpose in 1902 when their first branch opened in Christchurch. The roofing iron also sports their famous ‘Seetlite Green’ which later became their corporate colour.

Interestingly there were two areas of the building available for lease when I came across it. The first area was on the south side top floor; the “front” of the building. This area had a spectacular lead-light skylight set into the middle of the room, presumably a feature designed by the original occupants. However it was the north facing top floor area at the back of the building that I was interested in, with it’s two generous outdoor areas which faced into the centre of the revitalised lanes.

When I first saw the space it was in a dilapidated state. Internal walls and false ceilings concealed the 1900s era wooden roof trusses and beams with their mortise and tenon, and tusk tenon joints.

It had had some earthquake strengthening done when the ground floor was turned into a bar. Large steel girders were placed under the first floor, and a reinforced concrete slab pored over the original native hardwood tongue and groove flooring. The concrete was pored with plumbing in place with the intent of creating two residential apartments.

Stripped Bare

Before anything else could happen, all the construction rubbish and non original structure had to be taken down and removed.

New Construction

The intention was for an entirely open plan area, the only structure to be added was a bathroom. Generously proportioned to fit with the plumbing set in the concrete. You can see some of the redundant waste pipes sticking up through the concrete floor.

As you can see from some of the photos, parts of the brick walls were painted. Ideally I would have had this all blasted off, and in fact this process was started, but quickly shut down by the council after a noise complaint. Even after the contractor went to great lengths to consult with neighbouring tenants to arrange a time to minimise inconvenience. Frustratingly the job could not be finished. The raw concrete floor was then diamond ground and polished. Electrical ducting, power and networking was installed, along with halogen lighting (no abrasive fluoro lighting here!)

Now (Almost) Complete

There are a few areas left to complete. The two exterior balconies require railing, and the east side walls and window frames need painting, but with the continuing aftershocks this particular job will have to wait.