Across one and a half floors of the recently strengthened Harbour City Centre, HMOA has created a welcoming hub and meeting place on Wellington's Golden Mile. Te Awe is a temporary library while Wellington awaits the seismic strengthening of the Central Library in Civic Square, designed by Ian Athfield.
"Te Awe Library is a welcoming public space for the community to make its own, whether as a living room, a study area, or a place to simply pause," NZIA Awards Jury comment, "... the architect deployed a design strategy to craft a public space that is generous in both spatial experience and quality".
An internal street links the two entranceways and a cafe, designed by Alistair Cox, is carefully integrated into the overall design.
The challenge of low ceilings and large K-braces have been mitigated with colour and a language of natural timber joinery.
