Perched on the waterfront as a gateway to Auckland, New Zealand, is the landmark building known as One Queen Street. And while the building offers incredible views of both the city and sea, it was renovated several years ago to meet the demand for office-use facilities. Three varieties of natural stone were incorporated into the new design, to make the structure as aesthetically pleasing as its location.

"The setting is so nostalgic," said Tony Chi of Tony Chi & Associates in New York, the designer for the project. "It had a spectacular location, and [the building] reminded me of a 1950s New York style." Chi explained that the developer, Krukziener Properties, was owned by a young Kiwi gentleman. "He was a jet-setter," he said. "He wished to take this old building and give it new skin."