NZ Visual Diary - entry 194

something old, something new

The contrast between upper floors of adjacent buildings caught my eye. The buildings at 108/110 Ponsonby Road have similar architectural styles, suggesting that the architectural firm that supervised the renovation of 108 Ponsonby Road elected to maintain the overall features of its neglected sibling.

108 Ponsonby is on the ground floor home to a branch location of the iconic Auckland bread shop The Daily Bread. The ground floor of 110 Ponsonby is occupied by an Indian restaurant called Gymkhana.

The upper floor of 108 Ponsonby has dedicated upscale office space. There being no realty listings for the upper floor of 110 Ponsonby, it’s unclear what activity, if any, transpires on the upper floor.

At first glance, one might surmise that the outward reflections of windows at 110 are mirrored by broken window panes at 108 . . . an odd juxtaposition given the renovated feel of 108. In fact, I believe the triangular patterns of the right-hand window on 108’s upper floor suggest torn window shades and not broken window panels.