Hundertwasser Art Centre, Town Basin, Whangarei

Client: Whangarei District Council – Hundertwasser Art Centre

Project: The Hundertwasser Art Centre and Wairau Māori Art Gallery involves the remodelling of the old Northland Harbour Board building at the Town Basin in a style inspired by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. 

The building will include a Maori cultural heritage centre and art gallery, exhibition space, a museum, a café/restaurant, and a retail shop over two storeys.  The building is unconventional and will itself be an artwork on a grand scale. It has the potential to become an iconic building for Whangarei and Northland, as well as New Zealand.

Our Work: Reyburn and Bryant planners prepared and obtained land use consent for the building which involved height infringements and structures located within the required setback to the water. 

The work also involved obtaining consent for Te Kakano, which is a standalone architectural sculpture that gave builders and artists an opportunity to adapt their skills to the specific finishes to build in Hundertwasser’s style as well as being a sample of what is to come. 

Our surveyors were also involved completing the building set out for Te Kakano and undertaking legalisation work involving the closure of a small area of road reserve.

The Hatea Loop and associated projects, Whangarei