Braemar

• 1878 - 1878
• St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church was built on Wellington Terrace
• 1922 - 1922
• Fire destroyed St Andrew’s Church and several adjacent buildings
• 1923 - 1923
• Crighton, McKay and Haughton Architects prepared drawings for the construction of Residential Flats at 32 The Terrace for Messrs Jones & Cameron
• 1924 - 1924
• Henry Jones and John Cameron purchased part of Town Acres 471 and 472 from the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees
• 1924 - 1924
• Building consent / permit
• 1925 - c.1960
• Apartments were available to let
• 1925 - 1925
• Property transferred to Braemar Flats Limited
• 1927 - 1927
• Building consent/ permit for the construction of a caretaker’s flat (presumably the penthouse apartment)
• unknown - c.1960
• Various medical practitioners operated from the ground floor flats
• 1967 - 1974
• Commercial tenants moved into ground, first, second and third floors, some residential tenants occupied the fourth and fifth floors
• c.1975 - c.1975
• The building was painted in the current colour scheme
• 1975 - 1975
• Commercial tenants moved into ground, first, second and third floors, some residential tenants occupied the fourth and fifth floors

• c.1920 - c.1929
• Arthur Green, Chief Auditor at the Bank of New Zealand
• 1924
• Residential rental units
• 1926 - 1934
• Valuer-General Thomas Brook
• 1929 - 1930
• Member of Parliament William Downie Stewart
• 1935
• Mrs. Herbert Kirkaldie
• unknown - 1943
• Mr H.E Taine
• unknown - c.1960
• Medical practices occupy ground floor apartments (including in 1943 DR. R. Welton-Hogg)
• 1975
• Brandons (solicitors)
• 2008
• Brandons occupy 60% of the building, there are 15 other tenancies. With three self-contained business suites, the others are serviced offices. Small coffee shop on The Terrace street frontage.

Not assessed

Braemar is a distinctive building located at the southern side of St Andrew’s at the northern end of The Terrace; it stands out as much for its form, type and situation as its present paint colour, a rich burnt sienna. It is a large purpose-built five-storey plus penthouse concrete apartment block, originally housing a total of 16 apartments, and now is in commercial office use by a variety of tenants.etween 20s Modern and Spanish Mission, with Arts and Crafts influences, but should be considered in the context of Scottish Edwardian or Victorian ‘tenement’ or apartment buildings.

Its style is not readily described, falling somewhere between 20s Modern and Spanish Mission, with Arts and Crafts influences, but should be considered in the context of Scottish Edwardian or Victorian ‘tenement’ or apartment buildings.

The building has two principal façades that are architecturally enlivened, the east to The Terrace, and the north, overlooking a car-park. The two secondary façades are completely utilitarian, although the southern elevation features two columns of small balconies servicing prominent fire escape stairs. The main external architectural features of Braemar consist of four large bow-fronted oriel windows and the prominent projecting cornice at the top of the fourth floor. The oriel windows, which each consist of a double sash in the centre of the bow flanked by a single sash on either side, rise from the first floor to the cornice line; two of these oriels occupy the corners of the front façade and two more are disposed asymmetrically to the north elevation. At the north elevation there is a recessed balcony at each floor level between the two oriels on this façade.

The exterior windows are predominantly steel, in single or double sashes, each divided into a 4-light top sash and a single-light casement, although there are now some instances of inappropriate aluminium replacements to be seen on the building. The windows are styled to read more as timber windows than 1920s high-tech, an interesting example of modern technology following old patterns, and some indication of the ideological remove of New Zealand architects from the Modernist trend-setters coming to attention in Europe at that time. The cornice cantilevers out some distance, ostensibly supported on mutules, and traces the building wall line around the oriels for the entire perimeter of the building, giving it a very distinctive silhouette in an area where few buildings are not simple extrusions of the site boundaries. Above the cornice, the penthouse flat is rather more complex in form than the main building (although similarly detailed) and is recessed from the main building line to allow for a rooftop terrace. The cornice line is only interrupted on the south side for a fire escape stair leading down from the penthouse to street level. The main entrance to the building is on the north side beneath a projecting white horizontal canopy and features the original timber door and window joinery, bevelled and leaded glass and “Braemar” set in to the hexagonal mosaic tiling at the first step. The original marble thresh-hold and hexagonal mosaic tiled floors are still in place beyond the porch.

The plan was originally divided at each level into three apartments, each with its own kitchen and bathroom. At the west, the apartment had a living room with a bay window in the north-west oriel, two bedrooms on the west side and service rooms running around to the stair and lift-well at the south. The northern apartment had a living room, again with a bay window in the oriel, services with a small balcony in the middle, and the single bedroom to the west side. The remaining apartment used the two oriels to accommodate a living room and a bedroom with bay windows and had a smaller bedroom between and services on the south side to the lift and stair core.

Much of this original plan still survives today as the conversion to commercial offices was undertaken lightly (and probably fairly cheaply) leaving many of the original internal walls in place and along with them much of the original building fabric, including dark-stained timber joinery and trims, hexagonal mosaic tile floors in the public areas, most of the original windows, the original lift and lift cage, and the like.

Some of the conversion work has not been too kind – the stairwell has had an unfortunate asbestos sprayed ceiling application, presumably in the 1960s for fire or acoustic purposes and most of the original ceilings are no longer in evidence. The original kitchens and bathrooms are mostly converted to office uses.

The interior inspection was limited to the public areas and parts of one floor; the penthouse and the other floors were not seen.

WCC Archives 1924 Specification

• Reinforced Concrete: footings, columns, beams, girders, floors, stairs
• ‘Breeze’ concrete block internal partition walls
• Timber: Heart totara – wall plates, wall battens, window and outer door frames. All other timber to be heart rimu. All joinery to be heart Oregon.
• Flat roof: mastic roofing material
• Electric lights & gas service
• Stucco – External wall finishes. Sand cement render
• Plaster – internal wall finishes. Sand cement render finished with hydrated lime plaster

Braemar is set next door to St Andrew’s at the northern end of The Terrace; in an area largely dominated by contemporary high-rise buildings, it is distinctive for its low-rise scale, a quality shared with the church next door and the 1938 New Zealand Medical Association building that creates a highly visible break in the otherwise quite uniform and high street wall of the area. It is further distinguished by its articulation, a quality shared with the church, and its rich paint colour, all of which set it aside from its other, “graph-paper”-designed, neighbours.

The building makes an important contribution to its setting and enhances and enriches the streetscape at this end of the Terrace. Excepting St Andrews and the NZMA building, the nearby setting contributes little to the building itself.

• 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 building is part of an international trend to provide high density inner-city housing
  • The building is notable for the articulation of its two main facades, particularly the bow fronted oriel windows, and the prominent projecting cornice.
  • There are some fine original internal/external decorative features including the leadlight windows, marble threshold and tiled mosaic floor at the building entrance; timber joinery and trims, mosaic tiled floors in the stairwell (requires confirmation); and the original lift and lift-cage.

• 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?

  • The building is set within a group of significant heritage buildings on The Terrace that include St Andrews(1922), the NZMA Building (1939), 22 The Terrace (1866) and Kelvin House (1927-8). Two of the buildings (St Andrews and 22 The Terrace) are listed as NZHPT Category I, Braemar is listed NZHPT Category II. All of the buildings (with the exception of Braemar which is currently under appeal) are listed on the WCC District Plan as heritage buildings.
  • The building makes a strong positive contribution to the setting of its neighbour, the Category I listed St Andrews Church.      

• 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?

  • This low-rise rendered concrete building is a local landmark
  • The building provides a well articulated contrast to the modern high-rise curtain wall office buildings that predominate the setting of the north end of The Terrace.
  • The distinctive (1975) colour scheme of the building also contributes to the building’s prominence as a local landmark. 

• Association

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

  • The building is a representative example of the start of a trend towards high-density inner city living in New Zealand.

• Association

  Is the item associated with an important person, group, or organisation?

  • The building was designed by Crichton, McKay & Haughton. A well known and long established Wellington architectural practice
  • The building has housed a number of noteworthy individuals over the years

• Archaeological

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

  • Pre 1900 occupation of site by earlier St Andrew’s Church & adjoining buildings (destroyed by fire in 1922)

• 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 is part of a surviving group of heritage buildings that provide a sense of history and continuity within a streetscape of predominantly modern office buildings. 

• Rare

  Is the item rare, unique, unusual, seminal, influential, or outstanding?

  • The building is an unusual in Wellington for the articulation of the facade.  

• Representative

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

  • The building is a good representative example of an early high density residential building

• 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 is substantially unaltered and retains most of the original historic building fabric. This is despite the conversion of the building from residential to commercial use. 

Not assessed

• Certificate of title - CT WN311/39
• The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District] 1897
• William Downie Stewart Biography see - 'Stewart, William Downie - Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10
• Dictionary of Scottish Architects
• Philip Morrison and Ben Schrader. 'Inner-city living', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 6-Apr-10
• 2008 REPORT BY RUSSELL MURRAY (electronic file held by WCC)
• Professional Biographies accessed May 2012
• Paperspast – Newspapers from 1922 - 1945
• Louis E. Ward, Early Wellington, Whitcombe and Tombs Limited, 1928, Auckland
• Wellington City Council Heritage Buildings Inventory 2001
• WCC Strategy and Policy Committee agenda, 9 August 2007, page 26

• Inventory report
• 1923 drawings

Not available