Wintergarden at the Northern Club / Fearon Hay Architects

Architect: Fearon Hay Architects
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Constructed Area: 375 sqm
Project Year: 2007-2009
Photographs: Patrick Reynolds

The Northern Club was founded by a group of prominent professionals and business men in 1867 when the popularity of a gentleman’s club was at its peak throughout the British Empire. The four storey building, a high-rise in its own time, was originally designed as a hotel and built on the first section sold at Auckland’s inaugural land sale in 1841.

The members of a private club selected Fearon Hay to provide a new counterpart to the historic ivy covered clubhouse.

The new building was conceived as a Wintergarden: a lightweight lattice of steel and glass inspired by structures of the Victorian age. The Wintergarden complements the enclosed existing spaces provided by the masonry construction of the heritage listed Clubhouse. This project provides both interior and exterior hospitality and event spaces, blurring the definition between each.