Abstract:
A fault-line metaphor was employed by JASMAX Architects in the design of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa (usually referred to as Te Papa). Design architect Peter Bossley said, at the time, that the metaphor helped to make sense of a complex design brief and to bring order to the exceptionally large interior space of the Museum building. This essay asks what other cultural effects the fault-line metaphor may have had. What is the use of a metaphor, not only for organising the initial processes of a design but in the form and significance of the final architectural product?
