Wellington central library finally cleared for construction to begin – three years after closure

After five months of work, Wellington's main central library has been stripped and is finally ready for construction.

The existing internal structure of Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui is now empty ahead of construction beginning in September.

Te Matapihi has had all major components removed including internal walls, ducting, ceiling elements, carpet tiles, even the escalators.

The library has been closed since it was deemed an earthquake risk in March 2019, and is not scheduled to reopen until 2026.

City councillors have agreed to strengthen the building with base isolators, which is expected to cost $187.4 million.

Paul Perniskie, Te Matapihi project director, said he's pleased with the "careful and professional operation" undertaken over the last five months by Ceres New Zealand.

Opened in 1991, the library is listed as a category 1 historical place – the first from the 90s. It's considered significant due to its architecture by Ian Athfield.

Chirag Sehgal of Ceres New Zealand said the operation was delicate and intensive, as the flood loadings were not significant to support such large machinery.

"We also kept to a rigorous waste minimisation plan – much of the material we removed has been reused."

The new design for the library is lighter and brighter as it has an additional light shaft to bring in the sunshine.

The design also proposes new entrances from the City to Sea ramp and another on the corner of Harris St. The main entrance on Victoria St will remain.

The design team included Athfield Architects, who designed the building originally; Aurecon, RCP, RLB, Tihei, Art of Fact, and Māpuna.

LT McGuiness has been selected to carry out the construction and plans to prepare to begin earthworks early next year, depending on the resource consent process.