27.02.2020
Smales Farm
Smales Farm is a vibrant North Shore business community, centered around well-connected public transport. The B:Hive is New Zealand’s largest and smartest co-working building, home to a vibrant community of over 900 employees across 100 businesses and is still growing.
The B:Hive delivers a big corporate environment to small to medium businesses through state-of-the-art technology, design, amenity and cutting-edge meeting and event spaces. The building was voted the best office in the world at the 2019 World Architecture Festival and Tredsafe’s products feature throughout.
The five-level office spreads over 11,000 square meters and is connected by a spacious atrium with a bold feature staircase, surrounded by lush greenery. The bright orange spiral staircase is the centerpiece of the building. Floors have been designed for complete flexibility with re-locatable walls located around the perimeter and short-term leasing options available for businesses. As well as a being a World Architecture winner, the B:Hive project has won seven New Zealand awards, including the Commercial Office Property Award of Excellence at the Property Council NZ Industry Awards.
The offices are striking and playful in appearance, centering around an expansive atrium topped by a huge skylight, known as the shroud. The stunning spiral staircase that feels as though it belongs in a playground, spirals through the building, linking the different levels and acts as the main feature of the office space.
‘The stair has a lot of charisma. It’s not shy,’ says the lead architect for the project, Cameron Pollock. ‘It’s the focus that most people gravitate towards, but it operates only in the context of the space as a whole, with the light that comes through the massive skylight and the planting around the base. The role that it’s playing – connect and link that space vertically within the building – is what helps it resonate so well. That was one of the fundamental ideas for the whole project.’
Tredsafe are proud to have their products featured in the ‘Best Office in the World,’ and in New Zealand’s largest and smartest co-working building. The staircase is made of roughly 34 tonnes of steel with orange vinyl and Tredsafe stairnosings are the perfect addition to each stair. The nosings transform the stairwell into a safe, compliant and attractive accessway. Tredsafe stairnosings also feature in the emergency fire exits of the B:HIVE.
Tredsafe’s detail trims also feature within the B:Hive building at Smales Farm.
DT031 has been used as a transition between the polished concrete floor and the carpet. This creates a smooth transition between the two flooring types and reduces the slip hazard created by the height difference.
Visit the B:HIVE at Smales Farm, Takapuna in Auckland, New Zealand
