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Project showcase.

Honda Cars.

This renovation redesigned the classic Honda location with a striking aluminium façade and exterior steel frame. It introduces a spacious new inventory and perforated cladding to reduce heat and glare.


INDUSTRY

Commercial

LOCATION

Christchurch

AREA

1,750m²

As New Zealand's largest volume dealership, Christchurch based Honda had for years viewed its Montreal/St. Asaph Street facility as an effective portal for business. Ever since its inception, the customer base for Honda has grown considerably, partly thanks to the established location. Then came the Christchurch earthquakes, requiring the building to undergo a damage audit and an overall strategy for rebuilding. 

However, the rebuild for the facility was nonetheless complicated. The management team at Honda were reluctant to alter a winning formula so rather than demolish and rebuild the facility 'from scratch', a different approach was taken. The new project focused on salvaging parts of the old facility that could be saved and combining these with a new exterior steel frame, clad with a striking aluminium façade. The design included provisions for a new showroom and modern offices. The project fell within the scope of a renovation of an existing structure but as the outcome shows, the final project looks more like a new building. 

Lonsdale Architectural brought its design insights to the table, following the client's requirements. One of these was the need for a spacious showroom to house inventory that arrived in larger than standard shipments from overseas. The second requirement was to visualise the Honda brand design within a unique, waved cladding scheme. 

The specifications here called for the aluminium cladding to be perforated with the Honda "H" but were not exclusively decorative. The cladding also enabled reductions in both heat and glare for the showroom. The showroom's interior was tastefully appointed and followed a Japanese architectural theme. 

The finished project ended up winning the Master Builders 2020 Commercial Projects Awards - Retail Category for Calder Stewart a proud moment indeed. 

 

"This new project focused on salvaging parts of the old facility and combined these with a new exterior steel frame, clad with a striking aluminium facade. Effectively, the project fell within the scope of a renovation of an existing structure but as the outcome displays, the final project looks more like a new building."

 – Herman Van Herel, National Clients Manager

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