By Harnett Builders
As enthusiastic supporters of this community-led project, Harnett Builders acted as main contractor to help create this innovative sculpture in Whangārei.
The 8m spiral steel sculpture, located on the popular Hātea Loop walkway, houses a Camera Obscura room – a free-to-use interactive art experience, where the public can step inside and view the world in a different way. Designed to celebrate the maritime history of the Hātea River, the shape of the building takes inspiration from nature, and tells the stories of the river from both a Māori and European perspective.
With few if any straight edges, the project presented some interesting challenges for the team. But collaboration with several local contractors, many of whom also gave their time freely to the project, saw the Camera Obscura successfully completed and opened in November 2020.
Since 1973, Howard Harnett and his dedicated team have established Harnett Builders as one of Northland’s premier residential and commercial building firms.
We believe our continued success is down to our people, who we carefully select for their patience, attention to detail, high skill levels and good communication. These are the keys to maintaining a great working relationship with you, and ensuring a successful outcome to your project.
Our culture is one of flexibility and adaptability. We embrace challenges, and take changes within our stride, ensuring every detail of your project turns out exactly as you want it.
We also take great pride in training our builders from the ground up, and giving them opportunities to excel. Most of our builders have been with us since their apprenticeship, and the consistency of service they deliver is one of our core strengths, and one of the many reasons our clients recommend us.