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.
Restoration of original ceiling heights and removal of inappropriate alterations from previous modifications.
Complete interior and exterior redecoration following heritage principles and approvals from NZ Historic Places Trust and Auckland Council.
Seismic strengthening: Reattached roof to walls, reinforced chimneys, tied floors to walls, ensuring structural resilience.
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.
