Reconnecting with community and landscape

In 2023, the Council engaged Ignite Architects to design a substitute for the 20-year-old facility, with the brand new construct — Ōmōkihi — to stay on the identical website on the banks of the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River, with an identical footprint to that of the previous Warren and Mahoney-designed constructing.

Development on Ōmōkihi will see the retention of the present basis slab with a further raft slab to be positioned on high. “The re-use of this element as a part of the temporary presents financial savings in price, development time and carbon emissions,” explains mission architect Paul Anselmi, “and the new slab gives seismic resilience in addition to a raised ground stage to make the brand new constructing much less flood-prone.”

Ignite’s design reconnects the constructing with the river operating to the north and east. “The unique constructing was constructed to offer safety from photo voltaic achieve by the use of strong partitions alongside the northern face and, subsequently, the constructing was disconnected from the river hall,” says Anselmi. “Nevertheless, the encompassing panorama and neighborhood have developed and this new design considers how the area is presently used, together with by the weekly Farmers’ Market.”

To assist reconnect to the river, the architects have launched a courtyard on the northern fringe of the constructing, which cuts by and connects the principle entrance and lobby to the river hall. When guests enter the constructing from the southern edge, they’re oriented in the direction of the river and may see by to the panorama that surrounds it.

Minor additions to the footprint accommodate a versatile neighborhood assembly area and the café, and the principle roof airplane follows the move of the river. “The roof is saved low to offer a human scale and deep eaves on the northern face defend the constructing from overheating in the summertime months,” says Anselmi. Rising above the low roof airplane, 4 tall pop-up lanterns sit above 4 key capabilities of the constructing, performing as beacons and offering inner light-wells and a type of wayfinding.

Development is anticipated to start in 2025.