Auckland’s City Rail Link project is up for a prestigious global award.
CRL in July was announced as a finalist in the prestigious World Architecture Festival to be held in the Netherlands later this year, selected from more than 1,000 nominated projects from 70 countries.
“It’s a very hotly contested international competition and it’s fantastic that the Festival has acknowledged our project’s very important partnership with Mana Whenua,” CRL chief executive Sean Sweeney said.
The CRL entry was based on concept designs for two new underground stations to be built in the inner city, and the re-development of the existing station at Mt Eden.
CRL says all three will reflect the stories and designs representing the historic and cultural ties Mana Whenua have with Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) and wider Aotearoa (New Zealand).
Eight Auckland-based iwi – Te Ākitai Waiohua, Te Kawerau ā Maki, Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Paoa, Ngāi Tai Ki Tāmaki, Ngāti Tamaoho Trust, Ngāti Te Ata and Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei – have been closely involved in the design of the stations.
“Our expectation as Iwi Mana Whenua is that our holistic values and principles are reflected and embedded in the designs, and that the unique point of difference we bring to Tāmaki Makaurau is there for all to see and appreciate,” Adrian Pettit, Kaitiaki for Te Ākitai Waiohua, said.
CRL said the design concept draws on the Māori Creation story and the emergence of the natural world from Te Kore (the nothingness) to Te Pō (the darkness) to Te Aō Marama (the light).
“When they are built, all New Zealanders will easily recognise the stories and the designs in the stations as something that is unique and special to our country,” Sweeney said.