Onehunga Woollen Mills
Project info
The former Onehunga Woollen Mills were established in Te Papapa, Auckland in the 1860s to manufacture woollen goods for the New Zealand market. Most of the original buildings on the site have been replaced with new warehouse buildings and offices with saw-tooth roofs that echo the form of the original woollen mills. DPA Architects were engaged to restore a group of four nineteenth-century brick buildings, which are scheduled in the Auckland Unitary Plan.
The four gable buildings retain their early industrial form. Original brick walls with a projecting string course are now painted white and are set off by a grey corrugated iron roof and grey painted industrial-scale doors and window joinery. Simple decorative detailing has been restored, including timber barge boards on the gable ends and finials. Modifications to the buildings included the replacement of some original timber joinery with matching new joinery and the addition of a glazed entrance awning on a steel frame.
Photography: Simon Devitt
Photography: Simon Devitt
