About the Project

Celebrating its location at the heart of the Manawatū campus, our Library Te Putanga ki te Ao Mātauranga is a gateway to the world of knowledge. This project will transform the current Library building from primarily a storehouse of books to a space for tomorrow’s learners and researchers to “get stuff done”.

Designed with the library user experience at the centre after consultation with students and other library users, the transformed building will provide flexible, comfortable, safe and inspiring places to work individually or collaboratively, balancing collection space with people space. The design will invite and enable all members of our University to be part of the learning journey; it will integrate Te Ao Māori and tikanga Māori throughout, respecting Rangitane as mana whenua and our place in the Manawatū while also welcoming the wider communities the University seeks to serve and partner with. It will make it easier to find your way around, locate point-of-need services, spaces and high-demand resources, honour our unique and heritage collections and provide responsive delivery to low use collections.

The design of the transformed building will embody te ara mātauranga – the pathways to knowledge and learning – inspired by the University’s name Te Kunenga ki te Pūrehuroa. The key values underpinning the library’s service are manaakitanga (hospitality) and kaitiakitanga (guardianship), and these will be embedded in the design and experience of the transformed space. The building is designed to welcome, inspire and feel safe for all, to easily connect people with each other and with knowledge, and to care for and showcase the unique resources and taonga held within.

Design is taking place during 2021, with construction to commence mid-2022. The project involves seismic strengthening of the structure and a major interior refurbishment. It will be staged with the first stage requiring the closure of the front Library (Library 1) building. The Library is two buildings joined together – Library 1 in front faces the concourse and Library 2 at the rear faces the pond. When construction starts, the Library will operate out of Library 2, with a new temporary entrance created to access that building.  Once Library 1 has its strengthening and refurbishment completed, it will become operational and Library 2 will be closed for second stage of work. It is expected the construction will take approximately 3 years.

During construction there will be some additional Library study spaces setup on campus.

Renowned architects Warren and Mahoney, whose previous works include Auckland’s recently opened shopping precinct Commercial Bay and projects for the University of Sydney, La Trobe University in Melbourne, University of Auckland and the student central building on Massey’s Auckland campus, are providing architectural services, alongside BECA, who will provide structural and building services, and AECOM for cost management services.

See more on Massey News Library transformation project underway on Manawatū campus