CIRCLES! Te Hononga, Kawakawa
Hundertwasser Memorial Park & Library by AVAIL PACIFIC LIMITED
Kawakawa, a small town near the Bay of Islands, has some extraordinary architecture. One is Te Hononga, a community center, park, plaza, and library. It is a place to celebrate arts and culture and to connect with each other and the environment. The building takes many design cues from the famous Hundertwasser Toilets (on the plaza’s west side) by Austrian/New Zealand artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser. A few of these include using recycled materials, curves/circles, and Neo-Plasticism colors mixed in with natural materials. The toilets are in front of Te Hononga, flanking the side of the plaza. The color scheme (used in many of Mondrian’s paintings) chosen by Hundertwasser also influences the town itself.
The plaza features circular patterns that contrast the building's elevation, which looks like sloping lines from a distance. But as you get closer to the building, the curves of the intersecting circular forms reveal itself to you. Strangely, I found the square blue planters to be out of place. As you get closer, you will also find a variety of artworks integrated into this building (i.e., bird statue on the roof, Hundertwasser columns, pastel sedimentary mural, Mondrianesque tile panels, recycle bottle/concrete wall, etc).
The walkways are flanked by exterior wood columns that are lifted off the ground. From an aesthetic angle, it makes the structures look really light and slim. From a practical angle, the architects considered preserving the wood for as long as possible. Concrete is permeable; it retains moisture after rain, and if the wooden columns touch the concrete directly, the moisture will slowly create interior rot. This can lead to a loss of structural integrity. On the other hand, metal can resist moisture and cannot transfer the moisture to the wood. It does need to be painted/coated.
The interior of the library’s circulation has meandering walkways flanked with books or large windows. The space is open-plan, so it is impossible to get lost despite its unconventional shape. The ceiling plane also tries to incorporate subtle curves with hanging vertical felt panels that also carry the colors from the exterior.
The most surprising part is the kids' reading area. Along its numerous rectangular windows is a large circular one that allows someone to occupy it. The fabrication and waterproofing of this window must not have been easy. I can only imagine the complexity and expertise required to detail such an intersection between the curved wall and the circular window.
One thing that was really revealing upon seeing the plans is that the building does have corners, but this isn’t something that can be experienced in person as the ground and the columns create more layers of circles.
While I wasn’t aware of this piece of architecture on this trip, this surprising stop to see the Hundertwasser Toilet led to my discovery of this exciting contemporary architecture. It turned out to be a great example of how the existing inspires the new and how contemporary buildings can respect art from a different time period.
This article is part of a series during my year-long sabbatical. If you enjoyed this article or the images, make sure to give it a like. If you loved it, follow me on Instagram and find more of my work at www.georgexlin.com.
