WASHWORLD
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Location
St Lukes, Auckland
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Sqm
80
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Builders
New Wave Construction
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Photographer
David Straight
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Type
Commercial
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Awards
- 2025 Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects - Local Award Winner
- 2025 HERE Awards - Winner - Small Project
Washworld HQ
Washworld HQ
A compact 2-storey commercial building tightly wedged into the only surplus piece of land within a busy car-wash site. Conceived as a series of interlocking planes, the 40m2 footprint provides storage and staff amenities on the lower level and an elevated, north-west facing office on the upper level. An external in-situ concrete stair ties together the various functions of the building. This stair, along with the lower level walls provide the grounding – both structurally and visually – to a building that accentuates the light(weight) roof as it floats above a band of black metal. A singular moment of architectural clarity within the surrounding environment which is also an award winning commercial building.
"The Washworld HQ successfully utilises a small, triangular piece of land, fitting a functional two-storey building into the southernmost corner of a busy 24/7 carwash site. With a 40m² footprint, the lower level accommodates storage and staff amenities, while the upper level provides a north-west facing office. The design makes use of durable, robust materials, including precast concrete and steel to withstand the demands of the environment. The subtle use of cedar on the upper level softens the otherwise utilitarian building, ensuring it performs well in both function and longevity."
Jury Citation - 2025 Local Architecture Awards
Our family have been operating a car wash on this St Lukes site for 39 years and we finally have a toilet and a lunch-room.
There were discussions about building something with Mum before she passed away in 2016. There was talk of putting a Skyline garage in the corner, but I'm sure she would be very happy with the new design
The brief was to consolidate on-site all of our off-site storage units and Ben our son (and builder for the project) also needed storage space.
In addition, we wanted an office, a staff room and a toilet all built on a 40 sq/m narrow corner site. Ben Lloyd and the team at Lloyd Hartley came up with this modern design, strong yet organic with a big personality. It is a fantastically sculptural piece of architectural design by Auckland's best architects.
They have incorporated an outside floating staircase to maximise indoor space and have proportioned all the different areas handsomely for the limited footprint.
This building has made running the wash so much easier and is a joy to behold and to utilise, we love it!!
Matthew Maiden - Washworld
Other Project Highlights
