Restore the Mauri and Reveal the Maunga - Mark Teesdale

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Design Vision: To provide a unique ‘gateway’ experience that reveals to visitors the restored natural history of New Zealand in the form of Maungatautari Ecological Island.

Site Description: Maugatautari is a forest-covered volcano rising to 797 metres above the central Waikato. The three andesite volcano peaks – Te Akatarere (727m), Pukeatua (753m), and Maungatautari (797m) were formed some 1.8million years ago. Maungatautari is bound by the Waikato River to its east and north (in the form of man-made Lake Karapiro). Maungatautari is centrally located within the Waikato region. The Townships of Cambridge, Te Awamutu and Putaruru lie within 20km of Maungatautari, and Hamilton, Morrinsiville, Matamtata, Tokoroa and Otorohanga are within a 40km radius.

Objectives:

• Connect and create an arrival experience between Arapuni Road and the southern cell enclosure to reflect the process that have shaped Maungatautari.
• Provide design ideas and locate a visitor interpretative centre and café to service the southern enclosure. The visitor centre is to provide souvenir retail and interpretative material.
• Create a threshold experience from outside the enclosure to inside.
• Provide for educational components, both ecological and cultural.
• Design for daytime and nighttime use.