2024 Nelson/Marlborough Architecture Awards Winner
Marlborough District Library and Art Gallery | Te Kahu o Waipuna
This civic project sets the precedent for development along Blenheim’s High Street and creates a vibrant community hub. Scaled to fit its context, the form reflects the surrounding hills and mountains. The blended programmes of gallery and library result in a successful symbiotic relationship that increases patronage to both, with numbers suggesting the ‘Bilbao Effect’ effect is revitalising the city. In a six-month period, about 330,000 visitors – 10 times Blenheim’s population – attended the new facility. Spaces are flexible and efficient and cater to a wide array of activities, while spatial arrangement provides places to sit, read or socialise. The façade provides enough transparency to maintain connection with the outdoors versus capacity for retreat and contemplation within.
- Practice
- Warren and Mahoney Architects New Zealand Ltd
- Category
- Public Architecture
- Location
- Nelson/Marlborough
