2019 Waikato/Bay of Plenty Architecture Awards Winner
Whakatāne Museum Refurbishment - Te Whare Taonga ō Taketake
This project, the result of planning, patience and the vision, has seen a previously under-utilised city asset successfully transformed into a well-used research and education facility. Whakatāne Museum is the second stage of a long-term project that commenced with the installation of a library and museum (Te Kōputu a te whanga a Toi) in an abandoned retail store 10 years ago. The idea, eventually, is to connect these key city amenities with a series of further architectural interventions and follies. Keys to its success of this work are the clustering of non-critical, public functions at the street edge, an activating technique that speaks to the public nature of the building, and the use of detailing that relates to the original project, expressing this building as one of a pair of excellent community assets.
- Practice
- Irving Smith Architects Ltd
- Category
- Public Architecture
- Location
- Waikato/Bay of Plenty
