Te Waihorotiu railway station, previously Aotea Station or Midtown Station, is an underground railway station under construction in Auckland. It is due to open next year. This shows the ceiling with the 4000 aluminium rods and a carving. Photo / Michael Craig
Te Waihorotiu railway station, previously Aotea Station or Midtown Station, is an underground railway station under construction in Auckland. It is due to open next year. This shows the ceiling with the 4000 aluminium rods and a carving. Photo / Michael Craig
A ceiling dangling 4000 shiny golden aluminium rods, with a central kauri carving, will greet travellers coming into the Wellesley St entranceway of the City Rail Link new Te Waihorotiu Station.
Patrick Brockie, City Rail Link (CRL) chief executive, points to this glowing feature above the ticket gate line: “Thesemimic the reeds of the Te Waihorotiu Stream”.
He is referring to the waterway which once ran through Myers Park, Queen St and other parts, telling how its importance and cultural significance is reflected in the station’s design.
The waterway has been “daylighted”, brought back to life or revived through the remembrance of its kupu ingoa or name.
A kauri carving by Paraone Luiten-Apirana (Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Arawa) and Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei) represents a sea serpent-like creature, Horotiu.
Four thousand bronze rods represent reeds of the stream and the kaitiaki is represented by a kauri carving at their centre in the new train station. Photo / Michael Craig
That is a kaitiaki or guardian and is tucked in the bed of reeds within the ceiling of the City Rail Link station.
Points of light among the reeds mirror and reflect the star-lit sky and provide functional lighting at the gateway to the station.
Like reeds amongst the waters which once flowed through what is now the city's heart. Photo / Michael Craig
Horotiu faces to the east, providing a warm welcome to all who arrive and haere rā to those leaving the station.
A 10c coin has been incorporated into that carving, with special meaning.
The station is unique.
“Te Waihorotiu, Karang-a-Hape and Mangawhau are all a little bit different. They all have their own cultural elements, their own designs,” Brockie says.
Art at the station platform. Photo / Michael Craig
Eight iwi represent mana whenua, working on designs for the stations and not just Te Waihorotiu but the other stations too:
Te Āta Waiohua;
Te Kawerau a Maki;
Ngāti Maru;
Ngāti Paoa;
Ngāti tai ki Tāmaki;
Ngāti Tamaoho;
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei;
Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua.
“They’ve been meeting since 2012 and we’re very grateful for the mana whenua influence in the station designs,” Brockie said.
City Rail Link chief executive Patrick Brockie. Photo / Michael Craig
The $5.5 billion CRL is due to open next year but Brockie said timing would depend on KiwiRail and Auckland Transport because the CRL business will have handed over the stations and tunnels.
All stations within CRL integrate Māori design principles and narratives, reflecting the cultural heritage of the area.
Signs are first in te reo Māori, then English. Photo / Michael Craig
The project has Māori creation stories and the concept of Ranginui (Sky Father) and Papatūānuku (Earth Mother) as foundational elements in station designs.
Each station incorporates unique design elements inspired by local stories, history and the surrounding environment, Brockie said.
Ceiling work within the station. CRL is due to open to the public next year. Photo / Michael Craig
So pillars at the Wellesley St station of Te Waihorotiu represent Tāne, pushing apart his parents Ranginui and Papatūānuku to create te ao marāma, the world of light, allowing for the existence of humans and all living things.
Signage is in te reo Māori first, then English:
Ararewa/lift;
Tikiti/tickets;
Putanga/way out;
Pārongo/information;
Wharepaku/toilets;
Putanga Wellesley/to Wellesley St;
Ararewa ki te Tauranga Tangata/lift to concourse.
Why?
“That’s the understanding we have with mana whenua. That’s the prominence we want to give the Māori language and culture in the stations,” Brockie said.
Entry to the CRL at the mid-town station, Te Waihorotiu. Photo / Michael Craig
Seven skylights at the station represent seven stars in the Matariki constellation, not nine. Brockie said mana whenua wanted the seven skylights, not nine.
There is a practical reason for those skylights.
Station from the exterior within the CBD. Photo / Michael Craig
“When they are uncovered, those will let the sunshine through, down into the platforms and the concourse.
“That’s another aspect of Māori cultural elements in the station design,” Brockie explained.
One of this country's biggest art works: circular symbols represent moving water and are on dark mesh above platforms at Te Waihorotiu Station. Photo / Michael Craig
Giant circular symbol motifs on dark mesh grill above the platforms represent moving water.
Orange/yellow pre-cast panels were made to pay homage to the Waitematā sandstone of the area.
Glass has been printed to show the art work of children who were asked about the City Rail Link and where they would like to go. Photo / Michael Craig
Aluminium cladding within the station concourse ceiling looks like wood, but it’s not.
It has a wood finish but could not be made of that due to fire risks.
That is another attempt to bring the natural world into the subterranean tunnels which serve as a public utility.
Ceilings at the new station display Māori design and symbols. Photo / Michael Craig
A giant X structural truss has been made in the same pattern as the binding on waka, usually made of harakeke, creating strong yet flexible lashings.
Entering off Wellesley St, Te Waihorotiu is three levels:
The main ticket area off the street, in this case entering from Wellesley St but other entrances are off Victoria St and Albert St;
Station concourse more than 400m long, a giant impressive space spanning the length from Wellesley St to Victoria St;
Station platform, 203m long beneath that.
A tour is punitive due to so many stairs throughout giant underground levels, dug partly via cut and cover and partly by the tunnel boring machine.
Ticket machines within the new station. Photo / Michael Craig
The station and its three levels are now only accessible via stairs.
Escalators are installed but are not running yet.
“The stations are more expensive than the tunnels,” Brockie says of the new mid-town structure.
All the elements of design and showcasing history, links and mana whenua contribution is something which brings the CEO great pride.
Brockie says: “No other train station in the world will look like this one.”
Anne Gibson has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
