An ethos of reuse and reinterpretation permeates the architectural project of Aesop Wellington, as surrounds segued from one heritage site to another. Our inaugural Aotearoa store, which opened in 2018, quietly celebrated the character of Change House—the 1930s building it inhabited. Designed with local architect Rufus Knight, the space reflected the inherited history of law and commerce previously practised in the building, as well as the industrious maritime heritage associated with nearby Lambton Harbour. Just as European design influences arrived via ship at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, our architects relocated elements of the original design to our new location in Woodward House in October, 2024.
Aesop Wellington II
Signature store
Phone
Opening hours
- Monday9:00am - 5:30pm
- Tuesday9:00am - 5:30pm
- Wednesday9:00am - 5:30pm
- Thursday9:00am - 5:30pm
- Friday9:00am - 5:30pm
- Saturday10:00am - 5:00pm
- Sunday10:00am - 4:00pm
This store offers Click and Collect.
The challenge was to adapt the original timber joinery to the new space, which appeared easy on paper but was more complicated in physical reality. With the expertise of a local carpenter, most of the timber was salvaged—the reconfigured shelves and cabinets anchor the room with their resonance. A polished brass countertop also made the voyage, its patina communicating its longstanding utility. The new locale presented its own unique difficulty: its concrete slab was in very poor condition. Many trials and tribulations relating to the floor finish ensued. Prototypes were tested and different possibilities explored. Finally, our team identified some terrazzo tiles with anti-fracture matting, which would account for the deep cracking of the slab. The earthy hues of the raw stones and shards set within a cement base provide a pleasing complement to the rest of the interior. The somewhat experimental nature of this process was not in vain: the result is one of comforting familiarity in equilibrium with stimulating metamorphosis.
‘You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some of it with you.’