Te Ara Ātea - Rolleston Town Centre

Establishing a cultural heart

Te Ara Ātea is designed to be the centrepiece of an ambitious new town centre development for one of New Zealand’s fastest growing regional towns. The library and cultural centre provide an opportunity to forge a new identity for a dynamic, fast changing, and prosperous region, that celebrates the rich cultural and natural history of the region while also suggesting a bold new future.

The name Te Ara Ātea was gifted to Selwyn District Council by Te Taumutu Runanga, meaning ‘unobstructed trail to the world and beyond’. A strong cultural narrative integrated the story of Tū Te Rakiwhānoa and the Rākaia river into the design. The Tūterakiwhanoa and Te Kete Ika a Rākaihautū traditions became key design drivers for the project.

A marker in the land

Selwyn is located on the Canterbury Plains and is flanked by the Southern Alps to the west and the Port Hills to the east. These mountains form key wayfinding landmarks for travellers and residents, both past and present, as they journey through the area. The library is also a landmark, and a beacon that orientates locals and visitors in Rolleston and guides them to the new town square and retail precinct.

The four upswept corners of the building reach the maximum increased height allowed for the site. By placing the greatest height at the most visible parts of the exterior – the building acts as a beacon in all directions and ensures visibility, even after the future surrounding town centre is fully developed.

Fit for the future

Adaptability and flexibility were key design considerations. The impact of technology is rapidly changing the function of a library, and the ability to significantly alter the layout of the building for unknown future uses is critical. This is achieved by adopting a large spanning structural ‘moment frames’ on a very regular structural grid and with no structural shear walls or cross bracing. This results in all internal partitions being non-structural and easily removed in future to allow for significantly different reuses if required.

Lower energy, lower operational expense

As part of a sustainable design philosophy, natural ventilation is utilised to save energy and minimise operational costs. External solar shades were included on the upper-level glazing to create a pleasant light quality to the library area, where glare was reduced, and natural daylight and views are retained.

The building was tested via daylight modelling software with and without the shade louvres. With the louvres in place, we were able to reduce the cooling load by 18% – providing both a capital cost saving in reduced plant requirement and ongoing operating cost savings of approximately 2,800 kWh per annum.