Tauranga Art Gallery has today unveiled the plans for the next stage in its redevelopment and redesign currently being undertaken as part of Tauranga’s transformative civic redevelopment. The Gallery sits at the heart of the city’s future civic precinct, Te Manawataki o Te Papa, and the redevelopment plans include expanded exhibition spaces, a Creativity Centre, retail and hospitality offerings, and upgraded facilities.
The redevelopment, which sees a reorientation of the Gallery to face Masonic Park along with a new entrance and interior fit-out, is underway. While closed, the Gallery will also upgrade the lighting and air-conditioning systems, bringing it up to international museum standards – a requirement to be able to loan artworks from institutions such as Te Papa.
Tauranga Art Gallery Patron and former Deputy Mayor Mary Dillon says, “The redeveloped Art Gallery is going to position Tauranga alongside other cities around the country, and the world, which take art, and the arts more broadly, seriously in regard to their impact on people, communities, human development and wellbeing, and the local economy.”
This is the first time work on the Gallery has been undertaken since 2007 when architects David Mitchell and Julie Stout converted the 1960s Bank of New Zealand building into an NZIA award-winning design.
The plans released today include the first design concepts by architects Warren and Mahoney Architects. Principal Vajini Pannila says, “This extension to the main building represents a moment in the Gallery’s evolution, honoring its genealogy whilst also being fresh and contemporary.”
During the concept design, Tauranga Art Gallery suggested Warren and Mahoney Architects review the work of artists who had recently exhibited at the gallery. Their resulting architectural response, specifically the plans for the new café and lobby which will sit harmoniously alongside the existing building, reference the practice of artist Maraea Timutimu (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi) whose work has provided inspiration using themes of layering, connection, and composition.