The new Archives building. Photo: Jason Mann Photography
An independent assessment has found the country's new Archives building achieves air-tightness far beyond national and international archival standards, outperforming even the likes of the Smithsonian.
The 10-level $290 million Te Rua Archives is near the National Library in Wellington and will open to the public next year.
The facade of the new building, designed in partnership with mana whenua, was central to meeting legislative requirements that compelled Archives New Zealand to safeguard documents and taonga in perpetuity.
It played a critical role in controlling air leakage and thermal stability, ensuring that the delicate balance of temperature and humidity required to preserve historical documents was not disrupted even in the event of power loss or natural disaster.
Dexus portfolio manager for New Zealand Phill Stanley. Photo: Supplied/Nick George Creative
Dexus portfolio manager for New Zealand Phill Stanley told Nine to Noon that resilience was the key function of an archive from both a seismic and environmental point of view.
"What we have been able to achieve through the very intelligent and world-leading facade design is we've been able to exceed those internal parameters, whether it's through temperature or humidity."
The facade was one of a kind, designed specifically for this building and for a seismically active area like Wellington, he said. The building was made to withstand even a 1-in-1800-year earthquake.
At the entrance, the Poutama pattern, a Māori term referring to a stepped, stair-like pattern found in tukutuku (woven panels) and other crafts, symbolised genealogy, spiritual and educational advancement, and the human journey of life.
The entrance to Te Rua Archives showing the stepped Poutama pattern on the facade. Photo: Supplied/Jason Mann Photography
In order to meet UNESCO standards, climate control within the buidling must hold within ±1°C for at least 48 hours in the event of a power failure.
"So if we had an earthquake and there was a citywide blackout there was no power to the site, those spaces within the building would actually stay at 1 degree... for 48 hours, so it's essentially like a chilly bin on base isolators," Stanley said.
Taranaki Whānui was brought in early on in the building process to understand the cultural significance of this site to iwi, he said. The building site sat on top of Pipitea pā, a significant site for Māori of Wellington.
Artist and tohunga tā moko Rangi Kipa. Photo: Supplied/Archives NZ
The 4,000m² exterior was developed in partnership with Tihei, led by artist and tohunga tā moko Rangi Kipa.
Kipa, who conceived and guided the cultural design, said the project was about weaving Maori knowledge and artistry into the architecture itself.
"Our people aspire for us to embed our native language systems into the very skin of the building. The facade patterns draw on whakapapa and traditional forms, including mark-making language that has been abstracted and contemporised to suit the nature and purpose of the building.
"Our approach has also been contextualised within the recognition that this national institution that is dedicated to the documentary heritage of the nation can also acknowledge our histories of displacement of mana whenua as it sits directly on the Taranaki Whānui ancestral site of Pipitea Pā-kainga.
"The integration of ancestral mana whenua language affirms the mana of the taonga held inside. In this way, the facade is both protection and narrative - a cultural reminder for the nation's memory, a guardian of the past and a guide for the future," he said.
The Heke Rua Archives was delivered under a Public-Private Partnership. Stanley said the project was able to be delivered on time, on budget and that the $290 million would be worth it.
"Because if [Archives NZ] didn't have this they'd still be in the old building which does not meet any of those standards and it's actually posing a massive risk to the nation's taonga, the history of the nation, and once it's lost we can't get it back."
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