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44 STYLE | architecture It was an old Christchurch rubber factory full of old Vespas and car parts that caught the eye of three treasure hunters. Qb Studios’ Alex Brennan, Michael Fisher and Tom Harding weren’t after the shiny and new for their third shared workspace building – more the old and charming. And a Vesparidden warehouse on Southwark Street certainly fit the bill. Alex is now sitting in a café-like cubicle in one of the shared common areas in the refurbished factory as he pauses from talking to find the right words. “We look for buildings that may have been forgotten or that some aspect of their natural character isn’t being fully displayed or appreciated. And we come in to reveal that and build a setting like you almost would for a jewel on a ring,” he says. He has a way with words, does Alex. And what a fine setting the trio have created. Not only has the former factory been transformed, but a mirror copy has been built seamlessly to enlarge it. The two halves create a building in which the new respectfully doffs its hat to the old. In the café, original brickwork – both raw and painted – combines with exposed trusses and an old gantry crane hanging from the ceiling to meld with the sleek modern interiors. The contrast of the white bricks with cascading greenery creates a certain ambience of, well, serenity. It seems such an odd word to use for a workplace. When you think of a traditional place of work, it brings to mind the horrors of flickering fluorescent lights (which someone has to hammer at with a broom handle), bleak rows of desks, the incessant sound of keyboards clicking and truly awful coffee bought en masse on some sort of trade card. But walking through the bright, airy corridors of Qb Studios has almost a transcendental feel to it. Roof windows send light streaming down through exposed white pillars. Where there would be interior walls, there are windows. The soaring atriums are a delight, with carefully considered features, such as a large concrete culvert, utilised as a plant holder, which ties to the concrete texture on the walls. The courtyard entrance has chilled inner-city vibes, with bicycles hanging up on brickwork beside cascading plants and a cheeky 1971 Alfa Romeo Duetto Spider. All the projects are designed by the trio of owners, right down to the furniture they have specifically manufactured. It is somewhat surprising, therefore, to learn that they have no background in design. Alex was once a barrister in Ireland, but on a trip to Rio de Janeiro he became rather intoxicated by the “cultural richness” of the country and decided to stay. He then met the two Christchurch lads at the Rio Rugby Club: Michael, a fifth-generation art dealer, and Tom, a professional rugby player. They were all looking for new opportunities, and when Michael and Tom talked about the container development they had in mind before the February 22, 2011 Christchurch earthquake scuppered their plans, they realised there was a shared synergy to create temporary buildings. “We took an existing system and turned it into a giant Meccano system that would be the bones of any kind of architectural building,” says Alex. After supplying the semi-permanent installations for use at events, mining
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