A purpose-built facility protecting one of New Zealand's most significant scientific collections
Te Papa Tongarewa is building a new home for one of New Zealand's most significant scientific collections. The Te Papa Biodiversity Research Centre is a purpose-built research and storage facility in Upper Hutt that will house the museum's natural history wet collection, relocating it from the existing Spirit Collection Area on Tory Street in Wellington. The new centre is designed to hold more than 860,000 preserved specimens, including the world's largest collection of New Zealand and Southern Ocean fishes, and to safeguard them through to around 2080.
The centre is being constructed on Dante Road, Trentham. It is designed for seismic resilience, is targeting a 5-Star Green Star rating, and has been designed with support from mana whenua, embedding mātauranga Māori in its design and purpose.
Project Leadership
Rubix has been engaged on the project since its early stages, providing project management and Engineer to the Contract services. Our scope spans project planning, design phase management, procurement, contract administration and construction delivery, providing client-side leadership across the full programme from design and consenting through to the current construction phase.
Challenges and Delivery Approach
The centre is a highly technical, scientifically designed building. Its specialist requirements, particularly the storage and handling of specimens preserved in alcohol, involve complex technical, operational and compliance considerations. Rubix has worked closely with Te Papa and the wider project team to identify issues early and resolve them efficiently as the design developed.
Construction is being delivered as a horizontal build, with several low-rise buildings being coordinated and constructed in parallel rather than through the more traditional ground-up sequence of a single structure. This has concentrated coordination demands across the project team and required disciplined planning and close collaboration between Te Papa, the consultant team, Rubix and main contractor LT McGuinness.
Sustainability and Outcomes
The design stage is complete, the main contractor has been procured through a competitive process, and construction is now well underway. The project remains on programme, reflecting the collaborative efforts of the contractor, consultant team and Rubix in resolving challenges as they arise.
Once complete, the facility will provide a resilient, purpose-built home for Te Papa's natural history wet collection, protecting a nationally significant scientific resource and supporting research, discovery and education for decades to come.
Project renders courtesy of Warren and Mahoney.
Points of Interest
- Purpose-built facility designed to house more than 860,000 preserved specimens.
- Home to the world's largest collection of New Zealand and Southern Ocean fishes.
- Designed with support from mana whenua, embedding mātauranga Māori in its design and purpose.
