Visitor Centre • History • First Nations
Te Whare Hononga
Client
Location
Completed
Taranaki Anglican Trust Board
New Plymouth, Aotearoa New Zealand
2023
Autex panels, stained glass windows and multimedia elements at Te Whare Hononga.
Dean of Taranaki Cathedral Jay Ruka addressing the crowd at the opening of Te Whare Hononga.
Young visitors explore the space and its stories.
The Project
In 2020 Story Inc was engaged to create the visitor experience for Te Whare Hononga, a new building (designed by Tennent Brown Architects) that sits alongside Taranaki Cathedral.
The land on which the cathedral sits was taken from local hapū Ngāti Te Whiti in an illegal sale in the 1840s, and during the Taranaki Wars the grounds were used as a military base by the British Army. The relationship between the Anglican Church and Māori has been marred by the perception that the church was for a long time a willing partner in colonial injustice.
This community gathering place is intended as a place of peace and reconciliation. It explores conflict and peace-making through artworks, interactive touchscreens and video, and interior design.
Opening ceremony, Image: Anglican Taonga
The colourful light shines out of the new building at dawn.
The process was grounded in ongoing consultation with mana whenua Ngāti te Whiti and members of the church community.
We began with a ‘Big Meeting’, bringing stakeholders together so we could understand what the visitor experience needed to say, do and look like…
What was the purpose?
What stories needed to be told?
Who should tell them?
Whose voices would we hear, who would be talking?
Discussions at the Big Meeting
The Process
Once we knew what we were doing, we began working on how we’d do it.
We began the research and content creation phase of the project, and at the same time developed:
The spatial design
The graphic design look and feel
Audio-visual treatment and script
Touchscreen interactivity
Later in the project we worked with Ngāmotu designers Tihei Ltd, and artist Richard Landers who made the beautiful stained glass windows with cultural direction provided by Barry Te Whatu.
Te Whare Hononga is a welcoming, conversation-sparking and contemplative space which explores the sometimes troubling stories of the land and the many people who connect to it.
The Result
Credits
Graphics Printing
Mesh
Coding
Click Suite
Animation
Maui Studios
Kōwhaiwhai and Tāniko
Tihei Ltd.
Stained Glass
Tennant Brown Architects
Architecture
Anderson Design Ltd
Fabrication and Install
Toulouse Ltd
Electrics
Damon Ritai (Ngāti Te Whiti)
Tikanga Māori
Richard Landers