13 October 2011

Motat Takes Off To Critical Acclaim

Aviation Display Hall Announced A Multi-Award Winning Building

MOTAT’s recently opened Aviation Display Hall is already making its mark on New Zealand architecture, winning two New Zealand Institute of Architecture Awards (NZIA) last night and another two NZ Wood Timber Design Awards on October 11.

MOTAT’s Aviation Display Hall has received awards from:

New Zealand Institute of Architecture (NZIA)
• Winner of Public Architecture
• Winner of Sustainable Architecture

New Zealand Wood Timber Design
• Winner of Clever Wood Solutions
• Winner of Sustainability

MOTAT’s Aviation Display Hall also won Highly Commended in the Commercial Engineering Excellence category for the New Zealand Wood Timber Design Awards.

The Aviation Display Hall was created for MOTAT by architects Studio of Pacific Architecture Ltd, main contractors NZ Strong, and structural engineers Holmes Consulting Group and took almost two years to build.

The annual and prestigious NZIA Awards showcase and celebrate outstanding Auckland architecture within ten category segments. Judging is based on a range of criteria including the relationship of the building to its site, context and presence, environmental performance, structure and construction and texture and spatial qualities.

The New Zealand Wood Timber Design Awards have been held since 1975 and recognise excellence in timber engineering and innovative and high quality building design.

MOTAT Museum Director, Jeremy Hubbard says MOTAT was honoured to have received such prestigious recognition.

“We are thrilled that the MOTAT Aviation Display Hall is counted amongst New Zealand’s best. These awards are entered by hundreds of companies across the country and are very highly regarded in the New Zealand architecture industry,” says Mr Hubbard.

The Aviation Display Hall, which is made of 560,000 nails and 531 cubic metres of poured concrete, features a northern façade with translucent skin which assists in providing natural temperature regulation including heating and cooling.

The Aviation Display Hall’s structure is almost entirely fabricated with laminated veneer lumber (LVL), reputedly giving it the largest clear span of any LVL timber structure in New Zealand.
Also with a rainwater harvesting system, gas management strategies and natural ventilation, it was no wonder the Aviation Display Hall won both the NZIA Sustainable Architecture and the NZ Wood Timber Design Sustainability Awards.

Evzen Novak of Wellington based architecture firm Studio of Pacific Architecture Ltd was also delighted with the triumphs.

“We started the journey in 2004 when creating the largest span LVL building in New Zealand seemed a huge technological challenge. The challenge has paid off handsomely and we are really pleased to have positively contributed to public architecture in Auckland and to have enhanced MOTAT’s aviation experience.”

The 3,000m2 custom designed Display Hall is more than double the size of MOTAT’s original Aviation Hangar and currently houses an impressive collection of MOTAT aircraft, including a Lancaster Bomber, Cessna and Tiger Moth.

The collection will continue to grow as an RNZAF Skyhawk arrives at MOTAT on the 27 October.

The RNZAF Skyhawk will be publicly assembled by the Royal New Zealand Air Force at the end of the month, giving visitors the chance to get up close to the magnificent aircraft and have their questions answered by the experts as it is put together. The Sunderland and Solent Flying boats are also due to be transported inside the Display Hall at a later date.

Mr Hubbard says it is fantastic to now have a multi-award winning building in which to house our impressive aviation collection.

“We are custodians of a proud history and we take that responsibility very seriously, so this will mean a lot to us and to New Zealanders who can come and share our wonderful collection.”

ENDS

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