Aotea Centre

"The Aotea Centre skulks in its pit. Camouflaged and fitted with a few guns, this sterile monument to municipal pretentiousness might have taken its place in Hitler’s Atlantic Wall." reports historian Gavin McLean, before lyricising upon the charms of the Auckland Town Hall on the other side of Aotea Square.

McLean might have a point, and the Auckland Council might have heard it too, or rather seen it, with all floors of the Council Offices rising behind the 'pit', with a view of the beast, the beauty, and the deathly bare square that is the paradox between.

One genuine reason that the Aotea Centre has never seemed easy in its environment could be that it has never been at ease in its times. Euan Wainscott of City Architects Office drew up the plans in 1974, some say, inspired by Finlandia Hall, the 1971 masterpiece of Alvar Aalto, which he actually put to paper in 1962. The fashion for such bold angles hewn from hunks of concrete had long since drawn to a close by the time the Aotea Centre was constructed, in 1989. And the Aotea Centre never quite nailed the 'bold'.

Also incongrouous is its name, Aotea, which would likely not have been applied in the unenlighted 70s, but was one of the first strong statements in official Maori-Language titles when it was chosen, amongst some controversy, then stuck upon a building dreamed up in a different era. 'Aotea' references the original name of Great Barrier Island, and in this respect, it does fit, the Square in front is an empty sea and the building hovers beyond, as the island marks the edge of the Hauraki Gulf.

Improvements carried out during the 1990s were designed to improve internal accoustics, and the foyers, galleries and and function rooms have responded well to gradual upgrades. In 2019, the 2200 seat main theatre, which is the largest in New Zealand, was named the 'Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre', for the much celebrated New Zealand born Opera Soprano.

Te Kanawa had performed at the opening of the centre in 1990, and is also immortalised out in the square, with a bronze statue which is curiously just a few centimetres shorter than its subject.

Regardless of criticism, this is Auckland's premier performing arts and cultural centre, though the Town Hall still holds it's own and the ASB Theatre on the Waterfront is now humming to it's own tune. New Zealand Opera and Royal New Zealand Ballet have their homes at the Aotea Centre and an ever changing feast of excellent events are on offer, under the management of Auckland Live.

The square was opened earlier than the building, in 1979. After five years digging, landscaping was laid atop a novel underground multistorey carpark, an asset which has proved a bit small at times, and later sparked argument as to how to fix its a leaky roof.

In 2000, a design competition was held to find a plan to improve the square, but decisions were deferred and the issue was raked over four more times before 2008 when an expensive carpark roof repair took place. You can park your car there.

The aesthetically empty square fulfills it's duties despite having no apparent soul and certainly none of the characteristics that endear the squares of Eurpoean centres to their townspeople. Colour, people, music, shelter, warmth, food, and activity sometimes seem a little forced in this wide and sometimes windy environ. But the efforts at injecting life are endless, and the square has happily hosted art installations, markets, bike breakfasts, and a wide range of public rallies and meetings.

Sentinels of sculpture have been placed to do their part, the most obvious being "Waharoa" (gate) by Selwyn Muru, which is appreciated and photographed non-stop by overseas visitors. As well as Dame Kiri, there is also a bronze rendition of a Sir Dove Meyer Robinson (who may also have been shortchanged a few centimetres) by Toby Twiss. If a visitor thought that the ambience might be improved with the addition of a water feature (other than a leak), they would be scratching away at an old wound. Terry Stringer made a grand sculptural fountain which echoed the roofline of the Aotea Centre, in 1979. This was the central piece with true potential to anchor the entire Aotea precinct, but Council reneged on a promise to return it after the carpark repairs, and it now lives outside Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell.

NZPlaces wonders how many dreamy young Kiwis have made their way to Aotea Square, looking for the beating heart of New Zealand, and decided at once that the travel agent over the road was a better destination.

But when we are angry! To Aotea Square we flock! Like seagulls on a weekday lunchtime, Aotea brings the squawking folk in their hordes. To be seen by the Council folk above maybe? Here New Zealand has protested about a variety of issues, since the precedent was accidentally set by entertainer Dave Dobbyn during a pre-Christmas outdoor concert in 1984. His inflammatory remarks about the attending law enforcement officers saw the concert shut down, and the music-lovers morph in to the rioters of Queen Street.

Since then, a variety of issues have been aired by visitors to the square, including a long stay by the campers of the "Occupy Movement" who stayed for many months in 2011, protesting economic inequality.

Somehow, Aotea Centre and Square, in a clunky fashion, provide a centre for a city which is still finding itself.

Image Credits: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections, Aotea Square under construction 1978, Aotea Square 1981, and Ingolfson