Te Awahou
Riverside Cultural Park
A thriving cultural tourism and community hub
We coordinated all visitor experience aspects of this award-winning facility on the banks of the Te Awahou Stream in Foxton, working closely with Horowhenua District Council, the National Dutch Museum Trust and Te Taitoa Māori o Te Awahou Trust over several years.
The project brought together council services, a branch library, two museums, a gallery, a shop and cafes into a single, welcoming community cultural park. Stakeholders initially wanted several new, independent buildings for these services. Through robust business planning, a sustainable alternative was uncovered - whereby a former retail warehouse was transformed into a modern multi-purpose facility with multiple partners operating under one roof and distributed across a wider site. This collaborative approach set the project up for long-term success.
The centre recognises the diverse cultures of contemporary Aotearoa and touches on themes of home and belonging that every visitor can relate to.
Museums Aotearoa described Te Awahou as ‘visionary’. Foxton has flourished with the new cultural park in its midst.
“Aotearoa’s finest example of how a museum can be a living community space isn’t in Wellington but Foxton - or Te Awahou, as Māori called it, settling on the Manawatū River estuary. In a town where heritage and culture are visibly cared for by the community, it’s a museum of bold designs.”
Mark Amery
We all connect to this place
and from this place we thrive.
At the entrance of Te Awahou Nieuwe Stroom.
Our tasks included:
Project Steering Group membership
Coordination of the overall story framework for the site
Coordinating design teams delivering: exhibitions and library fitout, public artworks, retail, cafes, marketing and communications, website, revenue and operational plans
Coordinating fundraising
Facility brand identity and signage
We worked with:
Horowhenua District Council (client)
Te Taitoa Māori o Te Awahou Trust
Dutch Connection Museum Trust
Tim Walker Associates
Library planner Nicky Moen
Bossley Architects
Boffa Miskell Landscape Architects
Workshop E (Exhibition design)
Open Lab (Massey University)
Lemonface Design
Awards
Museum Project Excellence Award, 2018
New Zealand Museum Awards
NEC Project of the Year, 2018
NEC Awards, London
Public Architecture Award, 2018
NZ Institute of Architects Western Architecture Awards