21 facts you might not know about Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre

1. Located at 50 Cable Street, Te Aro, Tākina is in the heart of Wellington directly opposite Te Papa, only a two-minute walk to the waterfront!

2. The Māori meaning of Tākina is to encounter and invoke, to connect and to bring forth. 

3. Tākina was bestowed the name to acknowledge and reflect the way that Wellington summons great winds, which are considered a metaphor for bringing magic, energy, ideas, and the sharing of knowledge.

4. Mana whenua (Wellington’s local iwi) played a vital part in shaping the building’s identity, with the centre’s name and karakia being gifted by Taranaki Whānui. 

5. Each year around 300,000 people visit Tākina – be that for a cup of great coffee at Zephyr Cafe, visiting exhibitions, getting local information about what to do in Wellington at the i-SITE or attending a conference.

6. Tākina sits across three levels. The upper two levels are purpose-built for international and local conferences, with capacity for up to 1600 delegates.  

7.  Since opening Tākina has hosted 5 major exhibitions open to the public – Jurassic World by Brickman, Marvel: Earth’s Mightiest Exhibition, Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder, The Art of Banksy, and Disney: The Magic of Animation, which is on now until 13 July.

8.  On the ground floor there is Zephyr Cafe offering the best of Wellington’s cuisine – a place to meet, relax and enjoy everything that's happening in Tākina. 

9. The Wellington i-SITE visitor information centre moved into Tākina in November 2024. The i-SITE welcomes visitors from around the world to Wellington, helping them stay longer and do more in our beautiful capital city.  

10. Tākina has opened a new realm of possibilities for conference hosting in Wellington. For the first-time large-scale trade events and conferences that have never been hosted in Wellington are choosing Wellington for their event using the 18,000 square metres of space spanning all three floors. 

11. Tākina has already hosted many domestic, Australasian and international conferences. The 46th International Council for Traditions of Music and Dance World Conference was one of the biggest international events ever held in Wellington with delegates from 83 different countries.

12. New Zealand’s two largest tourism events have been hosted for the first time ever in Wellington because of Tākina. TRENZ and MEETINGS each brought people from around the world to visit Wellington and do business.

13. The largest dinner served in Tākina has been for 1425 delegates attending the Water New Zealand conference.

14. The influx of visitors to Wellington on business to Tākina are already boosting the city’s economy by more than $50 million dollars each year.

15. Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre was named 2nd place in the World-Architects ‘Building of the Year’ awards for 2024.

16. Tākina is designed with accessibility in mind. Aside from accessible entrances and lifts, Tākina has hearing assisting augmentation throughout the venue, which can be tuned into from personal devices through the buildings Wi-Fi network.  

17. The design of Tākina achieved the country’s first five-star NZGBC Green Star Design rating for a Convention Centre. This is a huge achievement and is in line with New Zealand’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. 

18. Sustainability was forefront in the design process for Tākina. Tākina uses 60 percent less energy and emits 66 percent less carbon than buildings of a similar size and function.  

19. All the timber materials for the centre were sourced from sustainable forestry. 

20. The building is designed with water efficient fittings and systems to harvest rainwater and is estimated to reduce waste of drinkable water by 30 percent. 

21. The construction of Tākina was one of the largest civic projects undertaken in the city in recent years. It used 6000 cubic metres of concrete, 2500 tonnes of structural steel, 32 base isolators for earthquake protection, and had 300 on-site workers during construction. 

Tākina is a conference and exhibition centre that is purpose built to host great conferences, exhibitions, events and experiences in the heart of Wellington for many generations to come.