New Zealand architecture firm Warren and Mahoney has established a permanent base in Australia, opening a Sydney studio this month.
In 2011 the firm won a significant strategy and design project for National Australia Bank, and is now involved in delivering projects for the bank across Australia.
Managing director Peter Marshall says the specialist area of customer experience strategy and retail transformation will continue to be a focus for Warren and Mahoney in Australia.
“We’ve developed international best-practice design thinking in the customer experience space. This has been further demonstrated recently with the winning of a design partnership commission with Tradelink, a major Australia-wide building materials brand, and another significant commission in Sydney.”
The new studio has been several years in the planning, and will help the firm better serve institutional clients on both sides of the Tasman.
“Setting up a base in Australia is a natural evolution for Warren and Mahoney, and it’s something we’ve been working towards for some time. Over the past two years in particular we have completed a number of successful projects there, and developed a sound understanding of the market.
“We are increasingly working with large Trans-Tasman institutional clients – banks for example – and engaging with Australian design collaborators for major New Zealand-based projects. The Sydney studio gives us a permanent on-the-ground presence and enables us to respond more quickly to our clients’ needs.”
The Australian team consists of new recruits Chris Adams and Bianca Pohio from Pohio Adams Architects and is led by retail design principal Gareth Huston and director John Coop.
Located in Surry Hills, the new studio will also serve the Queensland and Victorian markets.
Additionally, Warren and Mahoney has been involved in designs for the rebuild of ChristChurch Cathedral, of which the contemporary reinterpretation of the original has been voted people’s choice, reports TVNZ.
More than 3700 people voted for their favourite design option for the Cathedral, of which three designs were put forward by the firm – contemporary, restoration and re-interpretation.
More on the Cathedral rebuild and the designs can be found here.
Warren and Mahoney was established in 1955 by Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney, which has designed many significant buildings throughout New Zealand, of note is the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington, the Parliament buildings and Wellington International Airport.
