Project Outcomes & Recognition
The project delivered both a restored heritage building and a distinct modern addition, combined into a coherent and fitting corporate headquarters:
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Completed in 2013, with an official opening by Prime Minister John Key on 5 April 2013
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2013 NZIA Auckland Architecture Award – Heritage Category
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2013 Resene Total Colour Awards – Colour Maestro Heritage Category
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2015 NZIA Auckland Architecture Award – Commercial Category
Project Architect: Salmond Reed
Salmond Reed Architects guided the transformation of Allendale House with a strong focus on heritage authenticity and adaptive reuse.
Heritage restoration & structural upgrades
Working to conservation standards, the project tackled deferred maintenance and upgraded critical heritage fabric.
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Restoration of original ceiling heights and removal of inappropriate alterations from previous modifications.
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Complete interior and exterior redecoration following heritage principles and approvals from NZ Historic Places Trust and Auckland Council.
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Seismic strengthening: Reattached roof to walls, reinforced chimneys, tied floors to walls, ensuring structural resilience.
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New Annexe Design & Construction
The annexe added in 2013 significantly expanded the building’s usable space while maintaining a respectful architectural relationship with the historic villa.
Fully demolished inadequate 1990s addition and replaced it with a bespoke two‑storey structure.
Designed to house an upper-level open‑plan office for approximately 18 staff, boardrooms, and modern meeting facilities; plus basement/off-street parking.
Built with a limited material palette, concrete, stained cedar, zinc and glass, set back and angled to preserve the villa’s prominence and accommodate a 1.5 m easement.
Includes a cantilevered upper-floor deck with timber screening that blends functionality with restrained elegance.
Allendale House (50 Ponsonby Road, Auckland) is a Category 1 Italianate villa, originally built in 1893 for a saddler and later adapted for various uses before becoming Foundation North’s headquarters. In 2013, Wilkran Construction completed a sensitive and technically precise restoration alongside a contemporary annexe addition.
The project balanced heritage preservation and modern functionality, culminating in a high-profile reopening officiated by Prime Minister John Key on 5 April 2013.
Building Background
Allendale House sits at 50 Ponsonby Road, a Category 1 heritage villa owned by the ASB Community Trust (now Foundation North). In 2010 the Trust commissioned Salmond Reed Architects to undertake a full heritage refurbishment and to design a new annexe to meet modern office.
Wilkran Construction was engaged as the main contractor for the refurbishment and new build, working alongside a full consultant team (structural, services, fire, mechanical services, acoustics and planning).
Project showcase
The end result
Allendale House is a Category 1 listed Italianate villa. After a two-year renovation, the complex was officially re-opened on 5 April 2013 by Prime Minister John Key.
