SkylineEnterprises’Eichardt’sBuilding,MarineParade:Infosheet
ThestrikingnewSkylineEnterprisesbuildingisanewluxuryenclaveonarguablyoneof
centralQueenstown'smostsignificantsites.
LocatedonpremiumcentralQueenstownlandadjacenttoLakeWakatipu,thebuilding
occupiesasitesteepedinlocalhistorythathassatvacantformanyyears.
Followinga10-yeardesignandbuildprocess,theEichardt’sBuildingonMarineParade
opensitsgroundfloorinOctober2016andissettobecomealocallandmark.
History
ThesitedatesbacktoearlysettlementinQueenstown,whena19thCenturystableswas
builtthere,servicingtheneighbouringEichardt’sHotel.Anarchaeologicaldigin2013
uncoveredsomeofthe1870scobbledstablefloorwithfainttracesofthestallsthatonce
shelteredthehotel’sandguests’horses.
Intheearly1960s,the19thCenturystructuresweredemolished,andthesiteremained
practicallyvacantforalmost50years.PriortoSkyline’sownership,thesite’sprevious
ownershadplansforabuildingwithsimilarusageofretail,commercialandaccommodation
spaces.Conceptdesignsweredrawnbutnevergotofftheground.Instead,thesitemade
wayfortemporarybusinesseslikeminigolf,carparkingandapopulartakeawaysstall.
Design
WhenSkylineEnterprisesboughtthelandin2004,andsubsequentlydecidingontheright
timetoadvanceconceptplans,theyengagedaward-winningQueenstownarchitectMichael
Wyatt.Michael,incidentally,hadbeenresponsibleforearlierplanswhenthelandwasin
thehandsofthepreviousowners.
Theresultisastriking,cleverdesignthat’sbeautifullyjuxtaposedagainstthehistoric
Eichardt’sHotel.Itpayshomagetoitsolderneighbourbybeingdesignedinthesameflatboxway,butwithadifferentfaçade.WhiletheEichardt’sfrontageisneo-classical,Skyline’s
buildingaddsinterestthroughitscontemporarygroovedstoneworkandtrapezoidwindows.
Thetophalfofthebuildingiscantileveredoffthebottom,addingextradrama.
Exteriorcladdingisamixofcortensteel,Oamarustone,plusColorsteelonthePenthousein
flaxpodcolourthatmakesthetoplevelappearrecessive.Inside,Michaeldesignedaspecial
cantileveredpre-castconcretestaircaseandtheentrancewayfeatures–acopperwallanda
patterned,pre-castconcretewall.OutsidethebuildingontheChurchStreetside,astunning
canopyhasbeencastintotheconcreteandisnotconnectedtothebuilding–adesignfirst
forQueenstown.
The$8million-plusbuildingisdesignedandbuilttostanduptoamajorearthquake.
Tenants
Thegroundfloorconsistsofhigh-endretailspace–featuringLouisVuitton,WORLDplus
Eichardt’sHotel’sTheGrillerestaurantastenants.ThefirstfloorwillhouseMichaelWyatt’s
architecturaloffice,ArtbayGalleryandKJet’sheadoffice.Eichardt’sPenthouseisonthe
secondfloor.ThebuildinglinksthroughtoEichardt’sPrivateHotelonthegroundand
secondfloors.
MarineParadeimprovements
Aspartofthedevelopment,SkylinehasworkedwithQueenstownLakesDistrictCouncilto
enhancethestreetscapeonMarineParade,outsidethebuilding.Footpathswillbewidened
toimprovepedestrianandcycleflows.Partoftheworkhasinvolvedadjustingroadand
footpathlevelstoalignwiththebuilding’sentrance.
Formoreinformation,pleasecontact:
MarkQuickfall,SkylineEnterprisesChairman–[email protected],+6427433
6576.