November 12, 2014
Hundertwasser plan gets second life
Whangarei residents will get a chance to vote in March on whether the old Northland Regional Council headquarters on the waterfront be turned into the Hundertwasser Wairau Maori Art Centre.
Opponents of the museum had hoped to kill the idea once and for all, the idea of building the centre designed by the late Austrian-born artist and architect 20 years ago.
But the move backfired, with the council this week rejecting their motion by eight votes to five.
A proposal to immediately start building the centre was rejected by the same margin, and the council instead decided to call a referendum.
Hundertwasser specified that the centre, which will receive work on long term loan from his trust in Vienna, should also include a permanent space for the display of Maori art.
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