New $290m national archives facility to be built in Wellington
Monday, 31 January 2022
A $290 million national facility will be built in Wellington to house the country’s rapidly-growing archival collections.
Details of the state-of-the-art building will be announced by Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti and Taranaki Whānui Te Āti Awa representatives on Tuesday morning at the building site, opposite the National Library on Aitken St.
The location formerly held Defence House, which was demolished after the 7.8-magnitude Kaikōura earthquake of 2016.
Archives New Zealand chief archivist Stephen Clarke said opportunities with the new facility were massive.
“It will ensure archives are kept in the most modern facilities for conservation and care. But the biggest opportunity will be for the public to have greater access to view the wide range of taonga we care for on their behalf.”
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After a review found more than 60 per cent of Archives New Zealand and National Library buildings in the North Island were not fit for purpose, and with the National Library being close to capacity and Archives’ Wellington headquarters already full, plans were put in motion to develop the site into a seismically-resilient and environmentally-friendly building.
Due to open in 2026, the building will use 6500 tonnes of steel, take 1.5 million hours of on-site labour and create 500 construction jobs. It will comprise about 19,300sqm of lettable area, and is expected to have a minimum 4 Green Star rating and be one of Aotearoa’s most seismically-resilient buildings.
The building will be base-isolated and contain quarantine and secure loading areas, state-of-the-art shelving and repositories, specialist audiovisual and film suites, conservation and digitisation facilities, and seminar and meeting rooms.
Its design has been created with a te ao Māori world view, with Taranaki Whānui Te Āti Awa delegates and design agency Tīhei working alongside architects Warren & Mahoney to connect the building to the whenua (land) it sits on and acknowledge the tūpuna who lived there before.
Renowned Māori sculptural artist Rangi Kipa, who worked on its design, said the building would be located on part of the original Pipitea Pā whenua.
Taranaki Whānui hapū and whānau were removed by the Crown from Pipitea Pā more than 160 years ago.
Their involvement in the programme – which has been dubbed Tāhuhu – and the design and build of the new heritage campus, provided an opportunity to return to the whenua and contribute to the care of taonga, said Hinerangi Himiona, the project’s principal Māori advisor.
Design elements include references to original pipi beds, gardens and kūmara mounds in the plaza, while on the facade names of Te Āti Awa hapū and references to their mana I te whenua will be placed facing Parliament.
Kipa said it would make mana whenua visible on the landscape again.
A bridge will link the building to the National Library, creating a new public record and documentary heritage campus for Kiwis to access the stories, taonga and heritage held by Archives NZ, National Library and Ngā Taonga Sound + Vision.
This will also allow the authorities to collaborate more closely, and share services and expertise.
Archives and the National Library hold more than 12 million items totalling $1.5 billion in value, while Ngā Taonga Sound + Vision hold 711,671 items. These records are continually growing.
The land at 2-12 Aitken St is owned by Canadian mutual fund PSPIB/CPPIB Waiheke Inc, with the Department of Internal Affairs being the long-term resident.
Archives NZ will take a 25-year lease on the new building, with multiple options to extend.
The design and construction costs are estimated at $290m, of which $200m relates to the base-build and $90m to the building’s fit-out.