THEY SAY PEOPLE OFTEN LOOK LIKE THEIR dogs. I wonder if the same can be said of building owners. There’s something quintessentially Bob Jones about his latest acquisition on Featherston Street – its bronze-glazed façade, red marble podium and leathered lift doors – and that’s all before we even hear the Mozart playlist being piped through the lobby. It’s easy to imagine Sir Bob pulling up outside in a honey-coloured Bentley to survey what is now, undoubtedly, one of the best-looking buildings on the row.
But what we might not grasp at first glance is that this shining tower is an incredible story of re-use – just the type of story that would make the climate-crusading, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Anne Lacaton’s heart sing. Reuse, recycle, refurbish, renovate but never, ever, demolish. And, to give him his due, this, too, is the preferred
