Tākina – Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre
By Studio Pacific Architecture
Read The Commercial Edit feature article here.
Wellington’s new Convention and Exhibition Centre, Tākina, has a unique sculptural form that draws inspiration from a wide range of sources including its maritime location, Wellington's dramatic, and sometimes wild, weather patterns, and landforms.
It also draws from Maori mythology, specifically 'Te Ūpoko-o-Te-Ika-o-Māui' Maui's head of the fish. The legend refers to the forming of Te Whanganui a Tara - Wellington's unique harbour and waterfront geology and topography. The resulting design is organic and dynamic.
The 18,000sqm building is primarily clad in a shimmering glass skin around a soft flowing form. The material of the glass cladding responds to differing light conditions throughout the day - giving variance to the building. At times a singular overall form will be prominent as the glazing will appear more or less monolithic, while at other times the translucency reveals a subtle inner shape and internal activity.
While the building’s exterior has an organic character, the interior is rigorously orthogonal in its layout – creating a dramatic tension where the two conditions come together. With a predominantly inward-looking programme, the internal spaces of the 6 storey building (3 primary floors with intermediate mezzanine floors) have been arranged nonetheless to find opportunities to maximise the outlook to Wellington’s waterfront, Queens Wharf and Waitangi Park.
Internally, the design of Tākina is deliberately restrained with a material palette that draws from the earthy and vibrant colours of Wellington. Each level of the building is designed around a distinct inner box, which contain the most internalised functions of the programme. The boxes are clad in natural oak timber boards which transition in colour from dark to light stain finishes as you progress up through the levels – tying in with the narrative transition from Paptūānuku (earth mother) to Ranginui (sky father) and the heavens above.
The ground floor of the building houses the main public lobby, a large exhibition space, retail, and café spaces. A services area is located on the eastern edge of the site and includes a service laneway between Cable and Wakefield Streets. A west-facing outdoor courtyard between neighbouring buildings provides light to the midpoint of the public lobby.
The 1,280sqm exhibition space is the largest gallery in New Zealand and has been specifically designed to enable New Zealand to secure and host leading international touring exhibitions and provide an always-changing visitor attraction.
Upper levels of the building are dedicated to the convention centre plenaries and exhibition halls, with supporting kitchen and servicing spaces. Tākina’s convention facilities can comfortably host up to 2,000 delegates in a variety of spaces and flexible configurations.
Awards and
recognition
Tākina means to invoke, to summon, to connect, to bring forth, in te reo Māori. The name Tākina was gifted by Kura Moeahu, Taranaki Whānui.
Environmental sustainability and resilience are at the heart of the design and construction of Tākina.
The building is five-star Green Star design certified – the first conference centre in New Zealand to achieve this standard. As a leading example of sustainable convention centres in New Zealand, the building includes sustainable features and adaptable systems to emit 60-70% less carbon and use 60-70% less energy than similar buildings.
Sustainability features include:
- Enhanced thermal insulation and high-performance double glazing using SEFAR technology, for improved thermal comfort and energy efficiency.
- Rainwater harvesting system (30,000 litres) for toilet flushing and evaporative cooling to reduce water consumption by 30 percent.
- Adaptable and demand-controlled air conditioning system reducing energy use.
- Predominantly heat pump heating to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
- Post-occupancy energy optimisation systems to monitor and fine tune energy usage.
- Future proofing to accommodate on-site renewable energy generation via solar array.
- The use of environmentally preferable materials for improved indoor air quality
- Timber materials sourced from sustainable forestry.
- Display screens communicating real-time building sustainability metrics such as water and energy consumption, as well as carbon emissions.
Products used in Tākina – Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre
Professionals used in Tākina – Wellington Convention & Exhibition Centre
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About the
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Shaping Our Pacific Future – We are a cross-disciplinary architecture, interior, landscape and urban design practice shaping a more sustainable and people-centric built environment across the buildings, neighbourhoods, cities, and landscapes of Aotearoa New Zealand.
Studio Pacific was established in 1992 by friends and colleagues Evžen Novák, Nick Barratt-Boyes, and Stephen McDougall. After working in the UK and Europe, the three architects were drawn back home by a shared desire to form a collaborative and innovative practice in Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Wellington.
They opened an architecture studio ‘of the Pacific’, applying their creativity to projects that engaged with, and elevated, context and culture. Over the years, this has grown into a compelling manifesto to shape our collective Pacific future, where people and the planet are at the heart of our built environment.
Today, we are a team of around 100 – including architects, urban designers, landscape architects, interior designers and business professionals. We bring diversity in thinking and design, and a democratic culture ensures clever ideas come from all corners of the practice, not necessarily from those who have been here the longest.
Open-minded, collaborative and creative, our practice has evolved into a leading and award-winning business, working on a wide range of exciting projects that seek to make Aotearoa New Zealand a better place.
- Year founded1992
- ArchiPro Member since2015
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