Te Manawa (Westgate)
Te Manawa is a community hub located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is Auckland Council’s first fully-integrated community hub which unofficially opened its doors to the public on 26 March 2019. The official opening by the Mayor of Auckland Phil Goff took place on 6 April 2019 which was followed by a community open day attracting around 5,000 visitors. Te Manawa's services and resources include a library, Council Services, rooms for hire, commercial kitchen, studios, creative spaces, community programmes, work and study areas along with a Citizens Advice Bureau. It immediately serves the suburbs of Westgate, Massey, West Harbour and Hobsonville along with visitors from across Auckland.
Building
Te Manawa is the central piece of work of the new Westgate town centre development. It was designed by Warren and Mahoney and built by Fletcher Construction. This project won the New Zealand Institute of Architects Auckland Awards Public Architecture in 2020 and DINZ Best Awards 2019 – Silver Pin - Public & Institutional Spaces. Its interior design was one of the four shortlisted Interior Awards Winners under Civil category in 2019.Te Manawa has been awarded a 5 Green Star - NZ Custom Design Certified Rating by the New Zealand Green Building Council. Its green design includes stormwater detention and re-use, solar power and sensory heating and air-conditioning.
Naming
The facility was gifted the te reo Māori name 'Te Manawa' by Matua Heta Tobin of Ngāti Whātua Ngā Maunga Whakahii o Kaipara who had also gifted the name Te Pūmanawa for the wider Westgate development and the Square which adjoins Te Manawa. Te Manawa means ‘the heart’ and reflects the buildings purpose to be at the heart of the community, a place where people are the life blood.Te reo Māori names were also gifted for the internal rooms to reflect the activity and thinking that would happen in these areas. Sadly, Heta Tobin passed away before Te Manawa opened but his gift remains as a legacy to the building project and the community.
Art
A distinctive feature and anchoring piece of interior architectural work is in the children's area on Level 1 named 'Te Whare Tapere'. The space was designed by multidisciplinary award-winning artist Robin Rawstorne and was inspired by the concept of a pool in the middle of a forest glade with ripples radiating outwards. The ripples reflect the growing levels of a young readers development. The space was designed to encourage play, ownership and investigation and includes a stage for story-telling and performances, nooks to curl up in and moveable book bins to change the area's shape and size.On 9 July 2020 a glass sculpture by Auckland artist Te Rongo Kirkwood was installed in the area named 'Pūrerehua'. The art work, named 'Te Kaeaea', is a life size representation of the now extinct Hokioi. With a wingspan over 3 metres, these huge and powerful native birds used to prey on Moa and were the largest eagles known to have existed. They lived on the outer fringes of the forest and would swoop down on prey from high heights. There are a number of Hakangeri in Tamaki Makaurau and in Waikato that talk about this bird.
In December 2020 the artwork 'Te Ara Tiatia' by Mei Hill was installed. Consisting of three glass panels on the exterior of Te Manawa the work is Inspired by the late kaumatua, Heta Tobin, who had long stressed the importance of learning and celebrating Matauranga Māori - Māori Knowledge. Te Ara Tiatia is one of the first public artworks of scale to celebrate Te Reo Maori. It is also a learning tool for the viewer to explore and discover 'kupu' meaningful to their own journey.
Services
Library services
Te Manawa inherits the library services of Massey Library. It is a part of the wider family of Auckland Libraries, which has extensive collections of books, e-books, newspapers, magazines and online resources, even free movie streaming. There are designated places for its fiction, non-fiction, children's and teen's collections. Te Manawa's community language collections include Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Pacific Island languages, such as Fijian, Samoan. There are PCs and a Wi-Fi connection available for library members and the public. Te Manawa has a designated study space allowing customers to sit down and study quietly.In 2010, the then Waitakere City Council considered that the former Massey Library was unable to meet future demand created by the rapid development of the NorthWest Shopping Centre and surrounding amenities. The Council proposed the development of a new library, approximately three times larger than Massey Library, a town square and bus interchange. Massey Library was permanently closed on Thursday, 21 March 2019 shortly before the soft launch of Te Manawa.