TŪRANGA: A CREATIVE COLLABORATION

The opening of Tūranga heralded a new era for our central city public library, offering space for a community arena, and exhibition space as well as the largest library facility in the South Island.

With a striking armour of gold aluminium and a smart and spacious design to link the build into the nearby Performing Arts Precinct, the Danish and Kiwi designed building has had multiple award nominations and wins in the ten months since its completion.

Lead architect Carsten Auer says that “libraries have moved on from being repositories of books to being multi-media hubs and social hubs. The modern library is the ‘third space’ between home and work. It’s a place where you can meet people or be ‘alone together,’ enjoying sharing a social and recreational space with others, even if you are not engaging directly with them.”

Two Kiwi companies collaborated on key aspects of this build; T&R Interior Systems and Angus Ceilings.

Hedda Oosterhoff, National Architectural Manager for T&R Interior Systems said the company was delighted to have been involved in such an incredible project.

The project has 60 tonnes of high gloss T&R Interior Systems’ white baffle (around 33,000 linear metres) and roughly another 25 tonnes of aluminium for bespoke folded bulkheads and internal cladding.

“This is a building New Zealand can be proud of.”

In working with Angus Ceilings, Hedda notes the install was ‘absolutely flawless’.

Angus Ceilings worked with Southbase, Architectus (the architect), and library specialists from Europe, to refine the design and installation systems including the seismic design for the baffle and aluminium ceilings. The design required all rivets to be hidden, so all joints were made invisible. Angus Ceilings also refined the design and created the prototype for the large acoustic lights.

Kelvin Walker, the director of Angus Ceilings said the team was excited to be bestowed one of the city’s major anchor projects and the end result was incredibly rewarding.

“Together, we accomplished and exceeded all expectations, and as a result, this amazing structure is something Christchurch should be very proud of. A testament to symbolise what Christchurch is all about.”