He Tatau Korero – Our Stories
Interpretive Masterplanning at Central Energy Trust Arena
The success of the new Arena entrance lies in the seamless integration of landscape design, architecture, and storytelling. It stands as a welcoming public space that authentically responds to indigenous culture, vibrant community heritage, and a true sense of place.
The Showgrounds (now Central Energy Trust Arena) has been the beating heart of Papaioea / Palmerston North since 1886. Historically home to the 28th Māori Battalion, WW1 military operations, and the A&P Association, it is now the premier recreation hub for the Central region, hosting over 3,000 events annually. As part of the first stages of the new Arena Masterplan, the overarching goal was to create a new public entrance that welcomed visitors, recognized Rangitāne Iwi as mana whenua, and truly embodied the idea of 'a place for everyone.' Our specific brief within the wider project team was to ensure the site’s rich, multi-layered history was authentically shared with visitors.
Delivering on the vision of 'a place for everyone' required a deeply integrated approach. Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team, we collaborated closely with the Rangitāne iwi design lead and landscape architects to develop and embed the overarching site concept. Together, we drew inspiration from the whakataukī he aho tangata (the threads that bind us) and the kāhu (cloak). This powerful concept informed the physical site design, laying a metaphorical cloak over the land to create a safe, welcoming space grounded by niho (triangular) patterns.
With the kāhu concept firmly embedded across the site's architecture and landscape, Stitchbird then progressed into shaping the physical interpretation and signage outputs. Our focus was on how the community would interact with, understand, and feel connected to the space.
We carried out:
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Community Engagement: To inform the physical outputs, we consulted widely to uncover the site’s layered history. We made a deliberate effort to elevate multiple—and often undocumented—community voices. This meant moving beyond standard institutional history to celebrate the first female sports codes, diverse cultural groups of Palmy, and the region's legendary stock car and rugby fan culture.
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Curating the Visitor Experience: Knowing the primary users of the space are speedway fans, sporting crowds, and large event attendees, we curated the narratives to have a distinctly "Palmy" tone—grounded, highly accessible, and relatable. We devised a suite of integrated pattern design, interpretive signage, and digitally updatable entrance signage.
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Graphic Design & Production: We led the design and production of the physical signage suite. It was crucial that our storytelling honored the overarching kāhu narrative while aligning perfectly with Palmerston North’s new city identity system. We introduced a new brand mark—he tatau korero (our stories)—which links visually with the site's niho forms and leaves figurative space for future voices to be added.
Team and awards
Bringing this project to life was a team effort:
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Palmerston North City Council - client and project sponsor
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Project Management - WT Partnership
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Community historians and stakeholders - content, research, and story development
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Graphic production - Gemma Cheer
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Warren Warbrick - Rangitāne cultural designer
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Landscape Architecture - Local Landscape Architecture
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Architecture - CPRW Group Limited.
Awards:
Designers Institute of New Zealand
Best Design Awards 2021