DFS Galleria

DFS Group Limited, the world’s leading retailer to the international traveler, brought a world-class shopping experience to one of New Zealand’s most beloved landmarks, the Customhouse. Located in the center of Auckland’s thriving waterfront, the Customhouse was built in 1888 and has a noticeably European influence, particularly in its French Renaissance styling that includes mansard roofs. The building had fallen into disrepair, suffered from failed developments, and was facing demolition when it was designated a historical building. The historical renovation and adaptive reuse challenge for Charles Sparks + Company was to restore this unique landmark from a series of unsympathetic remodels to its former grandeur, and to transform it into a sophisticated and contiguous retail environment.

Working with the local architectural firm of Peddle Thorp Aitken, we led the initiative to add a new five-level in-fill building inside the U-shaped footprint, including new escalators and a skylit atrium. This design takes the former size of 24,000-square-feet on four levels to a new square footage of 46,000-square-feet on five levels. The new five-floor configuration offered opportunities for differentiated “worlds” of related merchandise groupings and a powerful setting for destination/native New Zealand product.

The result is a transformed landmark building that embraces the needs of contemporary retailing without compromising the integrity of historical value.