Wellington Earthquake Museum  

Design brief: To design an earthquake museum for Wellington, NZ, that would host four main facilities; a memorial to remember the victims, an education space to promote earthquake awareness, a permanent exhibition, and a gallery. The client desired the structure to be steel or timber.

 

The proposed Earthquake Museum is located on Waterloo Quay. The site is broken. There is a disconnect between the city and the harbour front as well as the two historical buildings flanking the site. The museum seeks to conceptually stitch together the site and create a narrative of reconnection. This is achieved through the use of a perforated steel facade, which staples the site together as well as structurally supporting the building. This stitching is a theme interwoven throughout the building and is used for its structure, which can withstand an earthquake, as well as in its plan. The visitors are taken on a journey that winds them back and fourth and in and out of the museum so that they experience the site as a whole and reconnects them to the dynamic urban environment they are in.