May 16, 2018
Dutch-Maori museum wins architecture award
A Foxton museum telling the stories of Dutch and Maori settlers has won the sole award for public architecture at the New Zealand Institute of Architects Western Architecture Awards.
Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom, which opened last November, is a partnership between Horowhenua District Council, the Dutch Connection Trust, and Te Taitoa Maori o Te Awahou Trust representing Ngati Raukawa.
It combines a library, museums, council service centre, visitor information, community exhibition space, and meeting rooms.
Bossley Architects transformed what had been a large Mitre 10 retail barn by adding a red-stained plywood mezzanine floor that extended the building at each end in a way that suggests both a waka and a storehouse.
The mezzanine contains meeting spaces, workshops, offices and a lounge while defining separate library and gallery spaces within the larger building.
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