Skulduggery claim over historic icon

Art deco fans say the Jean Batten Building is an outstanding example of "streamline moderne" architecture.

The fate of the art deco Jean Batten State Building goes to the Auckland City Council this week amid claims that council staff deliberately down-graded its historic importance so the Bank of New Zealand could demolish it for a new corporate headquarters.

Pressure is mounting on Mayor Dick Hubbard, pro-heritage councillors and the BNZ to save the seven-storey building and incorporate it into the bank's redevelopment of a prime city site bounded by Queen St, Shortland St, Fort St and Jean Batten Place.

A closed meeting of the environment, heritage and urban form committee on Friday failed to come up with a solution to growing calls by the Art Deco Society, heritage campaigner Allan Matson and others to take immediate action to save the building from the wreckers' ball.

The society says the Jean Batten Building, which housed the United States Pacific Command when it opened in 1942 and later various Government departments, is an outstanding example of "streamline moderne" architecture and "almost certainly" the first steel, skeleton-type building in New Zealand to have been welded.

It is one of 18 buildings on a central city art deco walk, organised by the society and supported by the council.

Art Deco Society spokeswoman Dorothy McHattie said the council was sacrificing the Jean Batten Building to the corporate interests of the BNZ and Multiplex, which plans to build an 11-level tower on the site.

She claimed council staff had manipulated the score when they reviewed a five-year-old classification of the building this year.

This resulted in a B category classification, not the A category classification the Art Deco Society had come up with for the building, she said.

"Even as a B they have an absolute responsibility to protect that building under the Resource Management Act."

Council heritage manager George Farrant said the building's score was not manipulated to stop it scoring an A, which meant you could not even apply for demolition.

"If this became an A, so would a hell of a lot of other things. It would be tantamount to increasing the threshold."

Mr Farrant said the top category had always been preserved for iconic buildings such as the Town Hall, Civic Theatre, Auckland Museum and St Patrick's Cathedral.

He said the council could wade in and stop the building's demolition but it would have to wear the consequences by compensating the bank for its development costs to date and, possibly, buying the site.

Mr Hubbard, who stood on a pro-heritage platform, yesterday refused to say whether he supported saving the building.

The bank had a valid demolition order and there was the question of natural justice, he said.

Asked how he could justify demolition against his promised long-term vision of doing what was right for the city in five, 10 or 50 years, Mr Hubbard said: "The argument is when do you draw the line."

Environment, heritage and urban form committee chairwoman Christine Caughey said she would prefer the building to be incorporated into the development of the site and agreed the issue was a litmus test for the new council.

Owen Gill of the BNZ said that although the bank had a valid demolition order for the building it had "no immediate plans" to exercise it.

He said the bank wanted to build a "landmark corporate headquarters" for the 600 to 700 staff now in two separate buildings in Queen St.

Building battle

For Demolition:
* Bank of New Zealand
* Multiplex

Against Demolition:
* Art Deco Society
* Heritage campaigner Allan Matson
* Auckland branch of Institute of Architects
* Heart of the City
* Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee

Undecided:
* Auckland City Council

Claim and counter-claim

Style:
* Auckland City Council: Original style is moderne.
* Art Deco Society: Excellent example of "International style".

Design:
* Auckland City Council: Significant example of moderne design.
* Art Deco Society: Outstanding example of streamline moderne commercial building.

Construction:
* Auckland City Council: A reasonably early example of steel and concrete "skeleton type" construction.
* Art Deco Society: Very early example of steel skeleton-type and almost certainly the first in New Zealand to have been welded. Extremely rare Putaruru stone facing.

Interior:
* Auckland City Council: Understood to be highly modified.
* Art Deco Society: Understood to have had minor alterations.

Intactness:
* Auckland City Council: Ad hoc additions on the roof level.
* Art Deco Society: Original form is completely intact. Roof penthouse is shown on original plans and was constructed at the same time as the rest of the building.