BREAKING Challenging Conservation Principles with Intuition and Methodology: Expanding the National Library of New Zealand, Wellington

Abstract

The conservation and adaptation of heritage buildings have caused debate as to how new work is addressed and the impact it has on the original built environment. There is an unidentified understanding of what is deemed to be appropriate or inappropriate adaptation, with major examples of successful adaptation breaching the recommended conservation guidelines. A heritage conservation issue is not simply addressed by referencing the guidelines. They are just guidelines and do not constitute successful design. This brings forward the question: what possible kind of design solutions, methodologies and thought make it possible to give primacy to the new work while still retaining the design integrity of the old? To examine these issues, this thesis examines the 2008 proposal to redevelop and expand the National Library of New Zealand and the controversy it stimulated. It establishes the significance of the building and assesses the proposal with relevance to best practice heritage conservation guidelines. The thesis develops an alternative design solution based on the 2008 brief. The design fulfils the library's demand for a significantly improved image, identity and expansion. The design retains the integrity of the existing building and the nature of the research conducted within it. The objective is to generate a solution that addresses the combined and individual meanings of the new work and the existing architecture. This thesis shows that it is possible to redevelop and expand the National Library without compromising its design integrity. The addition of the new work combined with the heritage building fabric plays an important role in the prominence of the combined architecture. The new work contributes to a new meaning of the National Library without being detrimental to the existing architecture.