Work

The ‘double sided’ new stand offers more flexibility for users, where visitors can watch both the main pitch and the outer fields. The facilities such as public toilets, changing rooms, showers and food/beverage areas are available to users of the outer fields without the need to open up the entire stand or rest of the stadium. The rebuilt stand also has flexible and scalable seating capacity so it can cater for events and fixtures at all levels.

A key part of our role was working closely with Ngāti Te Whiti and Kerehama Waru Te Pū on the cultural identity and design elements of the new stadium. Facilitating a process in which stories could be shared and visual opportunities realized. Inclusiveness become a strong theme for the project, with Maunga Taranaki being the lifeblood of the region with its waterways that flow down the mountain like veins in the human body. This become a focal point of representing the idea that ‘water is life’. The glazing patterns reflected onto the rear concourse are a interpretation of the widely shared view of Maunga Taranaki reflecting in the Pouākai Tarn. The glazing utilizes colour and pattern representing rain and snow all upon Maunga Taranaki flowing down through the many streams and rivers flows and sustaining the land. The design narrative is also reflected inside with windows and doors repeating the patterns on the outside of the buildings, while rivers on the walls of level one have been directly sketched from original drawings of waterways in the area.