44CITY SCENET
heopeningofTūrangaheraldeda new
eraforourcentralcitypubliclibrary,
offeringspacefora communityarena,
andexhibitionspaceaswellasthelargest
libraryfacilityintheSouthIsland.
Witha strikingarmourofgoldaluminium
anda smartandspaciousdesigntolinkthe
buildintothenearbyPerformingArtsPrecinct,
theDanishandKiwidesignedbuildinghas
hadmultipleawardnominationsandwins in
thetenmonthssinceitscompletion.
LeadarchitectCarstenAuersays
that“librarieshavemovedonfrombeing
repositoriesofbookstobeingmulti-media
hubsandsocialhubs.Themodernlibraryis
the‘thirdspace’betweenhomeandwork.
It’sa placewhereyoucanmeetpeopleorbe
‘alonetogether,’enjoyingsharinga socialand
recreationalspacewithothers,evenif you are
notengagingdirectlywiththem.”
TwoKiwicompaniescollaboratedonkey
aspectsofthisbuild; T&R Interior Systems and
AngusCeilings.
HeddaOosterhoff,NationalArchitectural
ManagerforT&RInteriorSystemssaidthe
companywasdelightedtohavebeen involved
in such an incredible project.Theprojecthas 60 tonnesofhighglossT&R
InteriorSystems’whitebaffle(around33,000
linearmetres)androughlyanother 25 tonnes
ofaluminiumforbespokefolded bulkheads
andinternalcladding.
“Thisisa building New Zealand can be
proudof.”
InworkingwithAngusCeilings,Hedda
notestheinstallwas‘absolutelyflawless’.
AngusCeilingsworkedwithSouthbase,
Architectus(thearchitect),andlibrary
specialistsfromEurope,torefinethedesign
andinstallationsystemsincludingtheseismic
designforthebaffleandaluminiumceilings.
Thedesignrequiredallrivetstobehidden,so
alljointsweremadeinvisible.AngusCeilings
alsorefinedthedesignandcreatedthe
prototypeforthelargeacousticlights.
KelvinWalker,thedirectorofAngusCeilings
saidtheteamwasexcitedtobebestowedone
ofthecity’smajoranchorprojectsandthe
endresultwasincrediblyrewarding.
“Together,weaccomplishedandexceeded
allexpectations,andasa result,thisamazing
structureissomethingChristchurchshould
beveryproudof.A testamenttosymbolise
what Christchurch is all about.”Tūranga: a creative collaboration