This fully base-isolated building demonstrates the sensitivity required to design and deliver a contemporary building on such a prominent and significant waterfront site. The building responds to the detailed grain of its place with a design generated from its rich context, and it acknowledges the natural and built history of its locale – for example, the adjacent wool store – as its forms and façade effect a transition from street to sea. The building provides a protective colonnade on a main arterial route, sailing a contemporary office over the top to create a gateway to the harbour.