2023 Auckland Architecture Awards Winner
Whangārei Māori Land Court
This important public facility recognises Te Ture Whenua land as a taonga tuku of Māori. Welcoming and accessible, the retrofit of a former business centre now provides a courtroom, ancillary spaces for the judiciary, interview and research spaces, and a library of ancestral records for tangata whenua. The courtroom proper is a reflective space installed with wharenui imagery created by Carin Wilson that reflects the history of local iwi and engages te ao Māori principles. The space is rich in narrative with motifs on tōtara beams, tukutuku panels to the walls, the carved judicial bench and upholstery fabrics designed by Maxwell Rogers. This contemplative space is calm, inviting, conciliatory and peaceful, and now exists as a benchmark for similar courts and venues of public engagement.
- Practice
- GHD Design and Studio Pasifika in association
- Category
- Interior Architecture
- Location
- Auckland
