Te Upoko o te Ika a Māui / Wellington

Sewing machines, 3D printers and a taniwha slide sit among the hundreds of thousands of books inside the freshly refurbished five-storey library.

The original library opened in 1991 – when it was also given the name Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui, which translates to ‘the window to the wider world’.

It has been closed since March 2019 after a seismic assessment found it was a threat to life if a serious earthquake occurred. It has now had a $217.6 million makeover. While much of the shell of the original award-winning library remains, many of its concrete walls have been removed, bringing in more natural light.

The library will reopen on Saturday, 14 March.