Mayfair building, Cathedral Junction

The Mayfair building at 121 Worcester Street is part of the Cathedral Junction development just off Cathedral Square. The original building was constructed in 1906 but destroyed in the 2011 Canterbury earthquakes. The rebuild restored its historic frontage through the use of a beautifully detailed replica facade, an exact copy of the original brick and Oamaru stone.

The seismically strong three storey building consists of piled foundations connected together by a raft. The exoskeleton is steel to absorb energy from earthquakes, with concrete floors on levels one and two.

The exterior uses Kingspan materials on three sides for a watertight envelope, with the heritage replica frontage a Glass Reinforced Concrete (GRC) rain screen. The top two levels join onto the neighbouring hotel, Hotel 115, to provide eight additional ensuite rooms, and there is a restaurant/café space on the ground floor.

Inside the building sound is absorbed by low ceilings with large voids, insulated to provide good acoustics. Walls are lined with sound- and fire-rated insulation, with the access doors also fire and acoustic rated.

The new, improved Mayfair building sits beautifully in the block of mainly historic buildings, and the owners are delighted with the result.