Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui construction: One year to go

Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, ‘The Window to the Wider World’, has a central role in the life of our city – it is one of Wellington’s most significant social pieces of infrastructure, our community ‘living room’.

The Te Matapihi build is progressing on time and budget to bring Wellingtonians a modern, uniquely Wellington community facility, co-designed with mana whenua. It will house integrated Library, City Archives, and Capital E services.  

Construction to date 

Construction to date has seen the internal finishes, services, and escalators ‘stripped’ out of the building and the installation of extensive propping of the building to make it safe while it is undergoing strengthening.  

49 piles have been drilled and fitted – going down a cumulative total of 878m in depth. Around 3,150m3 of concrete has been poured on site to date, including a new ground floor concrete slab.  

Earthquake proofing 

Work on strengthening the entire building, including installation of K-bracing, is well underway.  

The strengthening will make the whole building rigid so it can move as one unit in an earthquake on approximately 80 base isolators (lead rubber bearers and sliders) into the 800mm wide seismic gap (a rattle zone) that has been dug around the building perimeter. Underground services have been re-aligned to make room for the rattle zone.  

Fun facts 

• 1,000 tonnes of structural steel have been installed to date.  
• A time capsule from 1994 has been uncovered (and will be reburied in the same location on Victoria Street).  
• 22,000 lineal metres of on-site welding has been carried out, levels three and four have been extended, and 11 Nikau palms are being refurbished.  
• There are approximately 150 workers on the building site daily, with over 253,000 hours recorded so far on site. 20 microwaves on site cater for lunches, and countless cups of coffee have been bought locally! 

Building Te Matapihi – what next? 

The final year of construction sees the completion of the building’s structural steel works and bracing, the final re-alignment of the underground services, and the rattle zone. The windows will be installed, making the building waterproof once again. 

A key milestone for the project will be the reinforced building being released to rest on its base isolators and sliders.  

The walls will go in – our spaces will take shape – the central staircase will be re-instated, and the escalators installed. The building will have two atriums, to let in light, and for easy access to the different floors. 

The construction fit-out will also be completed – including the basement, bathrooms, and entrances.  

Passers-by will see the Nikau palms being reinstated, and the landscaping work done before the building is handed over to Council in early September 2025. Council will then commence the final fit-out. 

Final fit-out 

The final fit-out will see the carpet going in, thousands of books being returned, and floor-to-ceiling furnishing and fittings. Designed in partnership with mana whenua, there will be many comfortable spaces in Te Matapihi – meeting, creative, and maker spaces, and spaces to study, read, learn, research, and relax in. There will be a place for everyone at Te Matapihi, opening windows to knowledge, connection, and a sense of belonging.  

Te Matapihi will once again be an integral part of the beating heart of our capital city and the life of Wellington, and it will be the first of multiple Te Ngākau Civic Square projects that will bring our communities together for shared learning, discovery, and creative, cultural, democratic, and arts experiences.  

Keep up to date with the projects happening in Wellington city on the Positively Pōneke site.