Sub-Station Building and Eastern Service Court

• 1925 - 1925
• 284 Thorndon Quay, substation (00055:48:A4499)
• 1987 - 1987
• 284 Thorndon Quay, illuminated pole sign (00059:96:D6368)
• 2006 - 2006
• 284 Thorndon Quay, sub station (00078:1876:139402)

• 1925
• Wellington City Council
• 1994
• Capital Power Limited
• 1999
• United Networks (Vector Limited)

Not assessed

This simple but elegant utility building is constructed of carefully-worked load-bearing masonry supporting a pitched corrugated steel roof. More or less square in plan, the building is a tall single storey with the top of the gable as high as the adjoining two storey building. It has three visible façades, to the west, north and east; the south elevation is concealed by the adjoining modern commercial building.

The principal structure is of load-bearing masonry in a cavity construction, double brick on the internal face and single on the external face. Concrete piers are cast in at regular intervals to the east and west walls (closing the cavity at each pier location) to support gantry crane rails and stiffen the walls, and the top of the building is trimmed with a concrete tie beam. The foundations are mass concrete, extending some 8’ (2.4 m) below ground level, and are shown on the original drawings as reinforced with used tram rails. The floor is heavy concrete. The pitched roof is framed with angle-iron trusses, supporting heavy sarking, purlins and the roofing.

The sub-station is essentially neo-Classical in style, marrying Ionic detailing with somewhat Georgian proportions to interesting effect – a sort of Grecian temple to electricity supply. It has attractive brick- and plasterwork, and although it has been painted for many years and the original surface finish is not visible, the striking red oxide and green colour scheme highlights its architectural composition in an interesting and appropriate manner. The relatively glossy surface does however make the carefully-designed patterns in the brickwork difficult to discern.

In elevation the corners of the building are expressed as giant engaged pilasters, set slightly forward of the wall planes, which visually anchor the building to its site and support the roof. The pilasters turn around each corner of the building. A shallow brick plinth with a bevelled cap runs around the building – unusually the bricks in the plinth are laid on end in an English bond. The Thorndon Quay face of the building has the better of the brick and plaster detail. Here, the heads of the columns are expressed with an Ionic cornice with prominent dentils; these mouldings continue up the slope of the gable and along the northern face of the building. A horizontal string course at the level of the column capital completes the delineation of the gable. A distinctive round louvered ventilator is set in the centre of the gable, surrounded by an architrave of gauged brickwork with prominent “keystones” at the quarter points. The principal door opening has a flat arch elegantly worked in gauged bricks.

At the rear of the building the dentils are replaced by a simple large ogee moulding that serves the same purpose. The openings are supported by plain plastered lintels.

The façades are essentially blind but for a few openings. The east elevation has a service door opening, a rectangular ventilator near ground level, and a large rectangular ventilator high in the gable – a ventilator and a larger door opening are bricked up, the latter is indicated on the original plan and was presumably left to allow a future service door. The west elevation has a large double-door opening, although the original doors appear to be lost, a hatch facing Thorndon Quay and the distinctive round ventilator in the gable.

The brickwork in the north and west walls is enlivened by the incorporation of rectangular panels set flush in the wall, each corner delineated with a shallow roundel-on-square plaster moulding. The bricks to the perimeter of each panel are stack bonded. The original plans show raised panels – these were presumably reduced to the present flush panels to save cost.

The original plans show features including a gantry crane and substantial concrete bundling around the electrical equipment, as well as an elevated platform along the north side of the building accessed by a steep stair. The original roof was asbestos slates, laid in a diamond pattern, and featured skylights in the southern part, long since replaced with corrugated steel.

Brick

Moulded Plaster

Iron roof

Concrete foundations and floor

Tram rails (reinforcing)

On its immediate site, the sub-station has open space on three sides – the west (Thorndon Quay), north (a narrow service road) and east (a parking and service area, opening out across the railway yards). To the south, a modern two-storey commercial building is hard to the wall of the sub-station. The sub-station can be seen substantially in the round in this close setting.

The sub-station is nestled amongst a dense landscape of commercial buildings at the northern end of Thorndon Quay. To the east are the wide open spaces of the railway yards, with the motorway oversailing to the west, Thorndon Quay provides some open space before the foot of Tinakori Hill. Interesting heritage buildings nearby include WCC utility buildings across the road (a water pumping station and a former public toilet) and the Turnbull-designed Woolstore at No. 262. The sub-station makes a positive contribution to the streetscape in this area together with these other buildings.

The wider context is a mixed one. Thorndon Quay is a commercial area with a mixture of building types, scales and ages; towards the hill is the northern end of Tinakori Road and the residential area of Thorndon.

• 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 substation at 284 Thorndon Quay is a simple but elegant utility building that has been designed in a Classical style. The building is notable for its harmonious proportions and stylised Classical 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?

  This building is one of several substations that have been included on the Wellington City Council built heritage list, these are of some group value due to their age, history, uses, and design. These buildings, taken together, tell an important part of the history of Wellington and the development of its infrastructure.

• 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 building makes a significant contribution to the streetscape of Thorndon Quay.

• Association

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

  As a part of a group of substations built around the same time by the Wellington City Corporation to deal with the increasing demand on electrical services, this substation tells an important part of the story of early Wellington City. It has important associations with the production and supply of electricity by municipal authorities, which gives it both local and national historical importance.

• Archaeological

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

  It is unknown what archaeological value may be associated with this building, but it is associated with the pre 1900 reclamation and the R27/270 archaeological area.

• Educational

  Does the item have educational value for what it can demonstrate about aspects of the past?

  This building is associated with the development of the electrical systems and hydro-electricity in New Zealand and can play a role in the telling of this story. The building has education value for its association with early supply and distribution of electricity.

• Technological

  Does the item have technological value for its innovative or important construction methods or use of materials?

  This building has technical value for its load bearing brick masonry construction and for the remaining evidence of the early electrical installations although the equipment has been removed.

• 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?

  This building contributes to a sense of place and continuity in Wellington due to the retention of its facades and the role that it plays in the Thorndon Quay streetscape. The building has remained on site with few external alterations for over eighty years and contributes to the sense of place and continuity of the local streetscape.

• 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?

  This building has been little altered since its construction and has had little modification to its original form, thus has a high level of authenticity of materials.

• Representative

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

  This building is a good representative of the high quality architecture and design used in the development of city services in the first decades of the 20th century. This building is a good representative of a utilitarian building that has been well designed. It is representative of municipal substations in Wellington in the 1900s.

• Importance

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

  This building is important at a local level for the contribution it makes to the Thorndon Quay streetscape. It is also important at a regional/national level for the role it plays in the story of the development of hydro-electricity in New Zealand.

Not assessed

• Murray, Russell. ‘284 Thorndon Quay’. Wellington City Council: Unpublished report, prepared for Plan Change 53, 2005.
• Archives: 00055:48:A4499
• Archives: 00059:96:D6368
• Archives: 00078:1876:139402

• Inventory Report

Not available