Waikato Business News November/December 2020

68 WAIKATO BUSINESS NEWS November/December 2020
URBAN HOMES
Urban Homes opens
HQ with wow factor
From page 66
has 70 staff.
“Bronni and I were looking
for an HQ building that meets
our current needs and gives us
the space to continue to grow
and develop,” says Daniel.
“We have a dedicated team
that continues to deliver quality
homes across the Waikato,
South Auckland, Coromandel
and beyond, and we look forward
to building on that.”
After taking ownership of
the old AMI building in September
2018, the refurbishment
commenced in May last
year and despite the impact
of Covid-19, made good time
thanks to lead contractors Foster
Construction.
“Fosters have been outstanding,”
Daniel says. “One
of the reasons we chose Fosters
is they work like us, they
communicate well, they're
transparent, they talk about
issues as they arise. We wanted
to have certainty around timing
and costings and they've really
delivered on that.”
The result is a new-look
glass exterior, which provides
a glimpse to the inside and
several large steel K-braces,
which give the building a
raw and industrial feel. The
K-braces have been installed
to comply with earthquake
strengthening regulations.
“We knew it had solid
bones in terms of structure, and
we didn’t want to hide that. We
love the industrial look of concrete
and steel, it’s modern and
in keeping with our brand.
“Edwards White have done
a fantastic job.”
Their commitment to the
bold new design went as far as
acquiring a licence to occupy
air space. That was needed
because the building is right
on the boundary, and the structural
glazing above ground
level protruded beyond the
boundary. Another exciting
feature is the interactive design
centre, StudioU, on the building’s
top floor. StudioU allows
prospective clients to visualise
and plan their new home like
never before.
“We can bring our clients
through the full journey of the
build and they can select all the
products that are going in their
home,” Daniel says.
The state-of-the-art building
and design centre are a
giant leap forward for the company,
but Daniel is most proud
of the overall environment that
the Urban Homes HQ will create
for its people.
“At the heart of it, we
wanted to create a space that
our staff love to work in and
to give our clients the ‘wow’
factor. We’re extremely happy
with the final result.”
He says the team are really
enjoying the new spaces’
comfort and functionality.
“There's lots of room and
there's a lot of breakout spaces,
which enhances collaboration
between teams.”
It means staff can easily
grab a coffee, sit down together
and catch up. In the past, with
the selections team based out
of the show home, they would
have to ring colleagues like
sales consultants if they needed
to check anything whereas
now they can just walk across
the room or up a floor to have a
discussion in person.
Continued on page 70
ENGINEERS | PLANNERS | SURVEYORS
PROUD TO HAVE PROVIDED THE
STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING SERVICES FOR
THIS URBAN HOMES PROJECT
STRUCTURAL & CIVIL ENGINEERING
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEERING | DRAUGHTING
PLANNING & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT | SURVEYING
HAMILTON | TAURANGA | NEW PLYMOUTH