Te Puka O Te Waka – the anchor of the waka - is a fruitful collaboration resulting in a building that captures the bicultural history and aspirations of the Stewart Island community. In response to a constrained, elongated, triangular site, the architects have created a ‘prow’ facing the harbour. This light-filled space attracts and informs visitors and leads them through to the museum’s immersive exhibition. In the other direction, visitors are led to community and staff spaces where bright, natural light is modified by vertical fins - a nod to the ribs of a whale, and the island’s history of whaling.