How wrong could I be?

File under: architecture, Wellington

While it was still under construction, I reviewed the extension of the Prudential Building on Lambton Quay. From the fact that the additional floors were being set back, I optimistically assumed that the form would actually improve the aesthetics of the building, creating the stepped silhouette of an Art Deco skyscraper. But then the covers came off:

The massing is actually not too bad: there's a series of setbacks, the flagpole is a nice touch, and it's broken into a cluster of smaller forms around the lightwells of the original. But the materials and the horizontal banding of the fenestration are so heavy and lumpen that they completely destroy the vertical emphasis of the host building. It squats where it should soar.