Forsyth Barr Building

Forsyth Barr Building
Forsyth Barr Building in February 2013
General information
Status	Complete
Type	Office high rise
Location	Christchurch Central City
Address	corner Armagh and Colombo Streets, Christchurch, New Zealand
Coordinates	43°31′44″S 172°38′13″E / 43.529°S 172.637°E / -43.529; 172.637Coordinates: 43°31′44″S 172°38′13″E / 43.529°S 172.637°E / -43.529; 172.637
Completed	1989
Height
Roof	70 m (230 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	19 storeys
Design and construction
Architect	Warren and Mahoney
Developer	Paynter Developments
Main contractor	Fletcher Construction

The former Forsyth Barr Building in Christchurch, New Zealand, is located on the south-east corner of the Armagh and Colombo Streets intersection. Originally owned by Bob Jones and branded Robert Jones House by him, it was commonly referred to as Bob Jones Tower, but some called it Bob's Folly. In the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, its staircases collapsed, trapping the occupants. Currently under repair, the building is to become the city's Crowne Plaza hotel.

The high-rise was a property speculation by Paynter Developments, who engaged Christchurch architecture firm Warren and Mahoney for the architectural design, and Holmes Consulting Group as structural engineers. Fletcher Construction was the contractor for the project. The building was finished in mid-1989 and sold to Robert Jones Investments (Canterbury), a company owned by Bob Jones. Jones, a property developer who had survived the 1987 stock market crash, named the building Robert Jones House and put the initials "RJI" of his investment company on the building. Jones had a high public profile, as he had set up the New Zealand Party just prior to the 1984 election to oppose Robert Muldoon, but the effect of this was that the conservative vote was split, and the Labour Party won the election, and David Lange formed the Fourth Labour Government. The building was commonly referred to as Bob Jones Tower, but some called it Bob's Folly in relation to his 1984 election interference. The building was later sold and named for New Zealand investment banking firm Forsyth Barr.

Built with 17 storeys, the structure was at the time Christchurch's second tallest building at 70 metres (230 ft), after the 1986 Hotel Grand Chancellor at 85 metres (279 ft). Two further high rises overtook the Forsyth Barr House over time, first the PricewaterhouseCoopers building in 1990 at 76.3 metres (250 ft), and then the Pacific Tower in 2010 at 86 metres (282 ft). It was an unusual design for Warren and Mahoney, who had until then worked with exposed concrete beams that showed the structure of buildings, but chose a glass curtain wall design with aluminium panels that hid the structure. This construction system became the norm for office buildings for the next two decades based on construction techniques pioneered in Christchurch. According to historian Geoffrey Rice, many architects regard this building as Warren and Mahoney's "ugly duckling", and Paul Walker, professor of architecture at the University of Melbourne, asks: "Does anyone love the monolithic Forsyth Barr building on Colombo Street...?"