Franconia (Former)

• 1915 - 1915
• 00053:184:10122; 136 The Terrace, dwelling
• 1938 - 1938
• 00056:210:B18175; 136 The Terrace, flats constructed
• 1962 - 1962
• 00058:247:C10960; 136 The Terrace, PABX room
• 1967 - 1967
• 00058:537:C25915; 134-138 Lambton Quay [126-136 Lambton Quay, 47-57 The Terrace], additions and alterations
• 1968 - 1968
• 00058:591:C27935; 134-138 Lambton Quay [126-136 Lambton Quay, 47-57 The Terrace], partitions, levels 1-6
• 1973 - 1973
• 00058:886:C39391; 136 The Terrace, demolition of three garage fronts
• 1976 - 1976
• 00058:1067:C46303; 136 The Terrace, alterations, level 1-5
• 2001 - 2001
• 00078:1063:79552; 136 The Terrace, non-emergency lighting, type 4 fire protection, new toilets to ground floor
• 2002 - 2001
• SR74918 , Bldg Cons<500K, New verandah above footpath.

Not assessed

Not assessed

Originally and best known as Franconia, this building has had several names over the years including ‘Lintas House’, ‘Invincible House’ and ‘Challenger House’. It is six storeys high, the ground floor plinth surmounted by four principal floors and a top level, with the lift machine room projecting above the main roof. It is solidly constructed in reinforced concrete with a rendered finish and is trimmed out with steel windows and doors, balcony rails and the like. Although the interior has been progressively modified over the years, its outward appearance has changed little since its construction in 1938.

Designed in high Moderne style by well-known local architect Edmund Anscombe, Franconia is neatly fitted to its small site, characteristically asymmetric in plan and elevation and is replete with signature Anscombe features including the elegant combination and contrast of curved and plane faces, the use of Art Deco-inspired motifs and the dramatic triangular oriel window to the stair- and lift-well on the north elevation.

Against its narrow site, which gives the building an innately vertical proportion, Franconia has a predominant Moderne horizontal emphasis with the window head and sill lines set at consistent heights around the building to provide datum lines for each floor and by the almost strip window arrangement of The Terrace elevation; the top floor walls are further marked with incised horizontal lines. This is contrasted with strong vertical elements on each principal elevation. The three principal elevations are each asymmetric and differ markedly in composition but are unified with some clever architectural touches.

The ground floor is formed as a plinth to the building; the wall faces are set proud of the main wall lines above and are finished in a heavy brocaded render distinct from the much lighter texture applied to the remainder of the building.

The Terrace façade plinth contains the three original garage door openings, now neatly converted to fully glazed shop-fronts with large plate-glass display windows. The ground and first floor are composed symmetrically about the centre of this elevation and finish with a square corner at either side of the façade. Centred on the façade above the plinth, and engaged with it, are three large decorative pilasters running to above the top of the fourth floor windows, finished with a hint of Ionic volute. Above, at the balcony line of the top floor, run stylised triglyphs. While these elements have been read as ironic comments to the decline of the classical in the contemporary architecture of the day and may be so, they are a typical Anscombe gesture and are rather more likely just decoration employed to enliven the façade.

Rendered reinforced concrete

Steel windows

The former Franconia House is an elegant New Zealand Moderne building located near the top of The Terrace. The site is quite compact as a result of the local topography, bounded to the east by the slope of The Terrace, to the west by a small cliff descending to the Clifton Terrace car-park and to the south by the adjacent building. Fortuitously, the adjoining building to the north is set some distance away and the north elevation of the former Franconia House can still be appreciated from the street as intended; it has high streetscape value for its interesting design and elegant proportion and makes an important contribution to the character of the local area.

The local area has changed significantly over the years as The Terrace has evolved as a business district from its once predominantly residential character. An intermediate stage in this transformation was the construction of high-density residential accommodation during the 1920s and 1930s, of which the former Franconia House and Braemar, further to the north, are rare surviving examples. Intensive development from the 1950s onward has removed most of the original buildings from the main part of The Terrace. The Wellington motorway, completed in the late 1970s, further changed the nature of the area. Originally overlooking a deep bush-clad gulley and on to the lower reaches of Kelburn, the view to the west of The Terrace is now mainly of the elevated motorway and the Clifton Terrace car-park beneath it.

• Architectural

  Does the item have architectural or artistic value for characteristics that may include its design, style, era, form, scale, materials, colour, texture, patina of age, quality of space, craftsmanship, smells, and sounds?

  The former Franconia House is an elegant six-storey high office building designed in a sweeping and original High Moderne style. The building is notable for its asymmetrical facades that utilise a combination of curved and plane faces and are decorated with a restrained palette of Art Deco-inspired motifs and ornamentation.

• Group

  Is the item part of a group of buildings, structures, or sites that taken together have coherence because of their age, history, style, scale, materials, or use?

  It has group value with other surviving early apartment buildings on The Terrace, including Braemar at the north end.

• Townscape

  Does the item have townscape value for the part it plays in defining a space or street; providing visual interest; its role as a landmark; or the contribution it makes to the character and sense of place of Wellington?

  The building with its striking Moderne north, east and west facades is a local landmark on The Terrace.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important historic event, theme, pattern, phase, or activity?

  The building has historic significance as an early example of high-density inner city living and as a good surviving example of the work of its designer, the well known architect Edmund Anscombe.

• Archaeological

  Does the item have archaeological value for its ability to provide scientific information about past human activity?

  Central City NZAA R27/270

• Identity/Sense Of Place/Continuity

  Is the item a focus of community, regional, or national identity? Does the item contribute to sense of place or continuity?

  The building has had few intrusive modern alterations or additions (with the notable exception of the conversion of the ground floor garages to retail units) over the past 75+ years and contributes to the sense of place and continuity of The Terrace.

• Authentic

  Does the item have authenticity or integrity because it retains significant fabric from the time of its construction or from later periods when important additions or modifications were carried out?

  The building has a reasonable level of authenticity in its external form and internal service core.

• Representative

  Is the item a good example of the class it represents?

  The building is a good representative example of an Inter-war apartment block.

• Importance

  Is the item important for any of the above characteristics at a local, regional, national, or international level?

  The building is of local significance.

Not assessed

• CT WN339/164; CT WN33C/690.
• Gatley, J. ‘Going Up Rather than Out: State Rental Flats in New Zealand 1935-1949’, in B. Brookes (Ed.), At Home in New Zealand: History, Houses, People (Bridget Williams Books, Wellington, 2002)
• Murray, Russell. ‘Lintas House’ unpublished heritage report for DPC 53 (2006)
• NZHPT Glossary
• Stones Street Directory 1939, 1940, 1945.
• WCC Heritage Inventory 2001 ref Appendix III
• WCC Heritage Inventory record sheet 1995
• Wellington City Archives (WCA). Building Permit 00056:210:B18178, 1938 ; Building Permit 00058:1067:C46303; File 00277:1049:1. 00058:886:C39391, 00078:796:74918 and 00078:880:73835.
• Wises Street Directory, 1978.

• Inventory Report

Not available