30 | Kelly Deeks Whangārei’s Art Centre a triumph of commitment The Hundertwasser Art Centre has been 30 years in the making, with its original sketch done in the 1990s . COMMUNITY Scope New York has the Guggenheim, Sydney has the Opera House, and now Whangārei has the Hundertwasser Art Centre, an extraordinary building that is set to transform people’s lives through art and nature, just as it has already transformed the lives of everyone who participated in its creation. “I don’t think I will ever be the same again,” says Ben Tomason of project management firm Scope. “The learnings from this project we have kept and utilised. Not many people want a Hundertwasser themed building when they are building a medical centre or a multi-use complex, but there are principles we can apply,” says Ben. “With this project, we saw how a small group of passionate and dedicated people can make a real impact when they refuse to give up,” he says. “We saw the importance of reintroducing nature into architecture, and that maybe the long-term benefits of architectural outcomes shouldn’t be sacrificed just because the budget won’t stretch that far.” The Hundertwasser Art Centre has been 30 years in the making, with its original sketch done in the 1990s and the last building ever sketched by the self-proclaimed ‘architect’s doctor’ before he died in 2000. Friedensreich Hundertwasser was an Austrian artist of huge international acclaim, with multiple bizarrely beautiful attractions around the world. He eventually made the Bay of Islands home and he spent the last 15 years of his life on his farm at Kawakawa. Known for his ability to make ugly buildings beautiful, such as the Spittelau incinerator, he designed Kawakawa’s main tourist attraction when he transformed the town’s public toilets into a work of art. Seeing what this building did for Kawakawa, then-mayor of Whangārei Stan Semenoff asked Hundertwasser to create an art gallery for Whangārei. Hundertwasser sketched a two-storey building with a forest on the roof at the most beautiful location on an arm of the Whangārei Marina, where the old Harbour Board building sat. The Harbour Board building was intended to be included in the design, until it was found to fall short of engineering standards and had to be pulled down. Providing innovative engineering solutions to Northland and beyond for over 60 years. 09 438 3273 of ce@RSEng.co.nz www.RSEng.co.nz 2 Seaview Rd, Whangarei 0110
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