Precious memories

Auckland War Memorial Museum

The need for more room resulted in the plans for the multi-million dollar Grand Atrium project.

The heart of the Auckland domain, the Auckland War Memorial Museum is a popular tourist destination, with over half a million visitors flocking there each year. A celebration of New Zealand, displays include traditional museum artifacts of flora and fauna and a priceless collection of Maori and Pacific treasures combined with a site of commemoration all housed in a striking example of heritage architecture.

With a growing collection of treasures numbering in the many millions of items, the floor space of the Auckland Museum, which had not changed since it was first built, started to become too small to protect and display even a fraction of the collection. The need for more room resulted in the plans for the multi-million dollar Grand Atrium project, which was completed following extensive fundraising efforts and three years of construction.

The finished project incorporates seven storeys of display areas – five above ground, world class exhibition halls, collection and retail areas, on-site storage and carparking decorated with a copper dome roof, all working together to increase the available museum space by around 60%.

Working within limited space necessitated the lifting of a 20 tonne digger by the nation's largest crane into the southern courtyard so it could commence clearing the site for construction. This feat achieved, the rest of the project continued on track.

Neutral hues of Resene Blanc (subtle white), Resene Half Blanc (off-white), Resene Half Tea (complex neutral) and a tailor-made aptly named Museum beige are used throughout the interior in Resene Lumbersider waterborne satin, Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen waterborne enamel and Resene Lusta-Glo solventborne semi-gloss to complement the architecture and the palette of the existing museum areas.

Interior bare concrete is protected with Resene Aquapel water repellent to protect against general wear and tear. The careful paint and colour selection ensures a natural transition from the original 1929 heritage architecture through to the new building.

Visitors are now enjoying the privilege of viewing museum displays at their finest.

Architects (Project): Noel Lane Architects
Architects (in Association): Peddlethorpe Architects
Heritage Architects: Salmond Reed Architects
Main Contractor: Hawkins Construction
Painting Contractor: Contract Coatings Ltd
Photographer: Krzysztof Pfeiffer
Project Manager: RDT Pacific
Resene: Ben Solly, North Shore Branch Manager and Toni Smith, Technical Support Manager
From the Resene News – issue 3/2007