This exemplary project has been awarded in the heritage category, but such is its revitalising contribution to its downtown neighbourhood that its sustainable, commercial and urban design virtues could just as deservedly have been acknowledged. Buildings lost from the city’s memory have been conserved and reprogrammed to provide a richly atmospheric interior environment and connect Auckland’s main street with a rear alley that no longer has to be navigated with trepidation. The architects have rescued buildings from neglect without erasing the traces of their history.