Challenge and context
Te Ara Whetū transforms the former Waikanae Library into a modern library hub at Mahara Place. The redevelopment retains and extends the existing building to create a three-storey library and community facility for Waikanae.
The structural strategy supports a broader mix of uses across the redeveloped facility. Te Ara Whetū accommodates library services, study, events and community gathering, while strengthening its relationship with the neighbouring Toi MAHARA gallery and the wider town centre.
The original building required seismic strengthening to meet current performance expectations. Early options considered extending the building, adding height, or starting again. The selected approach retains as much of the existing concrete structure as practical while adding a new upper level.
This required a strengthening strategy that improves seismic performance, works with the existing column grid and supports the project’s budget. The design also manages the interface between new and existing structural elements, while keeping construction as direct as possible within the constraints of an existing civic building.
Solution and impact
Robert Bird Group’s structural strategy centred on retention, direct load paths and seismic resilience. New concrete shear walls strengthen the existing concrete frame, while working with the structure already in place.
A rocking shear wall approach helps dissipate energy during seismic events and reduces the need for intrusive foundation strengthening. This avoids major foundation works and piling, reducing construction complexity and supporting the financial feasibility of the redevelopment.
A combination of steel and timber framing has been used for the additional storey to reduce seismic loads on the existing structure. Careful coordination has also been required to manage the connections between the existing concrete elements and the new steel beams and columns.
By working with the existing concrete grid and avoiding unnecessary transfer structures, Robert Bird Group’s design supports a more buildable redevelopment. The result is a pragmatic adaptive reuse solution that strengthens an important community building, extends its useful life and enables a more flexible library hub for Waikanae.
Sustainability approach and outcomes
Sustainability has been embedded through the decision to retain and upgrade the existing two-storey concrete structure. This reduced the need for new structural material, cut embodied carbon and made practical use of the building’s original fabric. The lightweight additional storey also reduced seismic demand on the retained structure, supporting a more efficient strengthening strategy.
The project also reflects a broader view of sustainability, grounded in long-term community use and local cultural context. The name Te Ara Whetū was gifted by local iwi Te Āti Awa ki Whakarongotai, with the design drawing on the passage of the stars from the mountains to the sea. This place-based approach supports a library hub that is connected to Waikanae’s landscape, civic life and future community use.