Business North October 2021

84 | Award-winning Waitangi museum a Sue Russell Darkness and light: the gallery interior is sombre and shadowed with a bright remembrance space outside. ARCHITECTURE HB Architecture: Te Rau Aroha W hen Te Rau Aroha Museum was of- ficially opened just prior to Waitangi Day last year, it marked completion of Whangārei-based HB Architecture’s seventh project for the Waitangi Trust. With such a long history of engagement HB Architecture principal Grant Harris, says he was delighted to again be selected to work with Greg McManus, Waitangi Ltd’s CEO and the management team and Board representa- tives on this project. When funding was approved by Govern- ment for the museum the clock was seriously ticking, with a timeframe to develop the designs, consent the project and construct it of just one year, in readiness for Waitangi Day 2020. The museum shares the story of the 3600 men who served in the 28 Māori Battalion. Their history is celebrated through the dark- ness and light, with the gallery sombre and shadowed and a bright remembrance space. The museum was named after the mobile canteen that brought provisions, music and radio to the Māori Battalion line during WWII and includes the stories of the New Zealand wars and the Boer War. Te Rau Aroha Museum has three galleries. The first gallery celebrates Māori commitment to the armed forces, the second smaller gal- lery focuses on A company of the 28 Battalion which consisted of servicemen from Tokerau (Northland), while the third gallery is ‘Whare Maumahara’ – a house of memories. A separate function/multi-purpose area completes the building. “We wanted the museum to share the story and then celebrate those men who served, with contemplative, immersive and interactive elements to it,’ says Grant. For inspiration behind the design Grant drew on a display at the National Military Museum at Waiouru of a mere gifted to the 28 Batallion, displayed in a quite simple but elegant timber box. “The box had a dark finish to it, and felt slightly sombre. Then sitting in the box is this beautiful piece of pounamu full of colour. The display evoked the feeling of going from dark to light; slightly esoteric in nature, yet connected.” Translating this image into the form and structure of the museum, Grant wanted to create the same relationship between the building itself and the precious displays inside. “It was quite clear there was going to be two buildings and we didn’t want them to dominate the site. Essentially the museum is two cubes made distinct through the use of different textures and finishes.” Some weeks after its official opening Grant visited Te Rau Aroha Museum when everything had quietened down. “It was delightful to sit down on the big slabs of timber in the Atea (forecourt).” And with such a long association with the Waitangi Trust through the journey of building all its recent key facilities on site, anoth- er long-standing relationship has formed between HB Architecture and Henwood Construction, who have been responsible for their construction. HB Architecture received the Public Archi- tecture Award in this year’s NZIA Auckland Architecture Awards, with the judges com- menting on the building’s ‘enclosing’ qualities, acting as a vessel protecting the precious contents inside. Structural Steel Northland Wide ENGINEERING Ph: 09 402 8277 Main Contractor for both Te Rau Aroha & Te Kongahu Museums at Waitangi Treaty Grounds HENWOOD CONSTRUCTION www.henwoodconstruction.co.nz • enquiries@henwoodconstruction.co.nz • 09 407 9235 Commercial & RESIDENTIAL CONSTRUCTION SPECIALISTS