Art deco Berlei building to be a facade for SkyCity convention centre

The historic old Berlei building will be gutted to make way for SkyCity's convention centre.

The historic former headquarters of lingerie company Berlei, standing in the way of the $500 million-plus SkyCity International Convention Centre, will be gutted and only its facade will remain.

Berlei House, also known as Nelson House, fronts Nelson St and Wellesley St and was the second-largest building of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere when it opened in 1931.

SkyCity plans to knock down virtually all the old structure, leaving only two exterior walls.

Consultants Boffa Miskell prepared a heritage impact statement on the old art deco factory which has Heritage New Zealand status as a category two historic place.

That report shows most of the building will be bowled and only exterior walls will remain.

"Under the proposal, the exterior walls to Wellesley and Nelson streets which are considered to have exceptional significance will be retained and the remainder of the building will be removed," said the statement sent to the council.

Lindley Naismith, Institute of Architects Auckland branch chairwoman, decried the proposal. "I think the public and the architectural profession have been equally appalled when apparently worthy attempts to retain heritage building fabric are reduced to the brutal, impoverished, and often awkward, retention of a historical faade that conveys mostly only tokenism."

Heritage New Zealand said the building at 52 Nelson St and 93 Wellesley St was listed as historic in 1981. SkyCity's application included a heritage assessment from Devonport-based Dave Pearson Architects which showed the building was designed by American architect Roy Alstan Lippincott, who came to New Zealand after winning a competition for the University of Auckland Arts Building.

Robin Byron, Heritage New Zealand's mid-northern architecture heritage adviser, said her organisation was consulted about the building.

"While the proposal has resulted in not all of the Berlei Building being retained, the parts of the building which are, including the decorative and delightful Lippincott designed exterior, are being respectfully treated to maintain heritage values and its integrity as much as possible within the parameters of the project.."

A SkyCity spokeswoman said the company had engaged in extensive consultation with both Heritage New Zealand and Auckland Council. She said the Berlei building would retain its identity within the NZICC precinct.

"Our designers have respected the building's form and allowed it space within the larger context.

"Many other design features are also sympathetic to the building including fins on the exterior of the NZICC designed to complement and enhance the strong vertical design components of the Berlei Building frontage."