Te Kakano is the 'seed' for the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Maori Art Gallery.

What is it?

Te Kakano is a stand alone architectural sculpture in the shape of a koru. It is big enough to allow the public to enter via two spiral passages. The outer spiral leads up a ramp to a lookout fl anked by a roof garden. The inner spiral includes seating and a courtyard with mosaics, ceramic columns and other artistic elements in Hundertwasser’s style. The whole structure measures 5 metres at its highest point and 10 metres at its widest. It is a permanent public amenity designed by local firm HB Architecture and has been approved by the Hundertwasser Foundation in Vienna. It is anticipated that it will become a tourist attraction in its own right and an exciting sample of what is to come. Te Kakano, formally known as the Folly, has always been part of the whole project and received resource consent at the same time as the HAC back in 2013.

Where is it?

The site of Te Kakano is on the lawn in between the big pohutakawa and the river near the old NRC building at the Town Basin. Why are we building it? The construction of Te Kakano is the essential first step in the construction of the Hundertwasser Art Centre with Wairau Maori Art Gallery complex and is a requirement of the Hundertwasser Foundation in Vienna. Its purpose is to give builders and artists the opportunity to adapt their skills to the specific finishes required to build in Hundertwasser’s style.

Who will build it?

It will be built by qualifi ed locals under the guidance of Richard Smart from the Bay of Islands who has had extensive experience working alongside Hundertwasser himself in the creation of the toilets in Kawakawa. These same qualified locals will then be employed on the big build having had the experience of working on Te Kakano. Health and Safety standards will of course be employed for the whole project as a requirement of the law. When will it be built? All funds are now in place and we are ready to start construction in May.