As part of our exciting plans to get the heart of our city pumping, we’re building a new library and community hub in the city centre on Willow Street.

A suspended sculpture

The building sits above a vibrant ground plane, weaving and connecting movement, designed as an extension of the public spaces within the building, encouraging welcome and invitation. The museum and exhibition spaces are suspended above the ground plane as floating sculptural timber volumes that reference traditional storage vessels.

A play of light

The facade articulation on each face of these volumes reference repetition, rhythm, depth, and the play of light. This texture continues to the undersides to heighten this tectonic expression and inspire the curved edges and patterning of the ceilings.

Sustainable design

Council has committed to putting sustainability at the forefront of design for this new three-level facility, targeting a 6 Green Star rating which reflects world leadership in sustainability. To achieve that aspiration, a mass timber hybrid structure has been adopted to minimise the buildings’ carbon impact and help create a better environment for our future.

The design of the building is based on three principles, developed alongside mana whenua, to help tell the story of the city’s rich past to all those who visit:

• Wai: flow nourishes and shapes the whenua
• Ahi Kaa: a space emerges to sustain people
• Paparanga Ngahere: a place to nurture community activity and growth.

Kaitiakitanga in design

The Te Ao Māori approach of respecting the natural environment has influenced the materiality of the project and its embodied carbon outcomes. The facades use natural terracotta, and the primary structure of the museum, exhibition space, and civic whare is constructed in locally sourced mass timber. On-site energy generation, natural ventilation, and rainwater harvesting further reduce the project’s impacts on the environment.

Read more:
Pokapu Hapori me Whare Pukapuka
Te Manawataki o Te Papa