Christchurch’s central city now has the South Island’s largest creative office space and the new home of agency Plato Creative.
Prime Minister John Key officially opened the purpose-built, multi-million dollar studio at 63 Manchester Street.
The project is a joint venture between business owners John and Lisa Plato and Canterbury Property Investments (CPI), signalling Plato’s long-term financial commitment to Christchurch and to be a crucial and visible part of the central city rebuild.
“We did a lot of research on creative spaces internationally and the finished product is very different to what you would see anywhere else in New Zealand,” says John Plato.
Miles Yeoman and Craig Newbury of CPI are well-known for their post-earthquake developments – including the new Warren and Mahoney building and their recent purchase of the former Press site.
Plato’s new workspace is on the edge of the city’s innovation precinct. It features a theatre-room with stadium seating for training seminars and presentations, specialised ‘think rooms’ for staff, and collaborative spaces which can be used by clients for board and sales meetings.
Attracting and retaining talent was one of the main driving forces behind the new venture.
“Our goal was to create an innovative and unique environment that reinforced our strong staff culture by making it an exciting place to work,” says Plato.
“We also wanted to make sure our clients could have access to an inner-city space.”
The new studio was designed by Christchurch commercial interior design agency Element 17 and built by Miles Construction.
