PROJECT: Tuūranga
CLIENT: Christchurch City Council
LOCATION: Christchurch
DESIGN: Architectus with Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects
PROJECT TYPE: Civic
FLOOR AREA: 9,500m2
IF YOU HAVE set foot in a library in the last 20 years, you may have noticed a change. Gone are the shushing librarians, the rows of dusty shelves and the stagnant atmosphere; conversation is now welcome, technology is everywhere and, perhaps strangely to some, books, while still very important, are no longer the sole focus.
The library has become the ‘third place’: a place anyone can go to for whatever reason, be it to study, to research or to seek haven and rest as a parent, traveller or homeless person.
Tūranga, designed locally by Architectus in association with Danish library specialists Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, is the new central library in Christchurch, replacing the…
