Change House at 150 Featherston Street is a 1930’s office building designed in an inter-war transitional style that incorporates elements of Art Deco, the Chicago School, and New York Skyscraper styles.

The design of Aesop Wellington took cues from the site’s surrounding commercial context and proximity to the nearby Lambton Harbour and adjoining harbour sheds; their strong association to trade, industrious maritime heritage, and turn-of-the-century European design influence.

The materiality of the store aims to reflect the inherited history of law and commerce practised at Change House. Basket-weave parquetry, oiled timbers, polished brass, and specialist plaster finishes propose a layered sense of history in concert with a contemporary retail experience.

The interior display wall references the skilful positioning of the building on its corner site but introduces a Modernist spirit through the interplay of a large unbroken gesture where function is recessed, and form remains absolute. The transactional aspects of the store mirror this by standing freely as pure abstraction, with storage and functionality discreetly integrated. Conversely, a classicist material simplicity contributes to a feeling of nostalgia as if the retail display has occupied one of the buildings original bureaus.