National Wetland Centre

The National Wetland Trust has bought 0.4 hectares of land on the shore of Lake Kopuera at Rangiriri, 70 km south of Auckland. 

Rangiriri will be a main access/exit for the proposed motorway extension between Auckland (New Zealand’s largest city) and Hamilton. The village is already developing into a tourist destination with a colonial hotel, Heritage Café, and historic sites. 

On the site we will build a state-of-the-art interpretation centre, with research and educational facilities, wetland gardens and heritage trails. The site is close to three of New Zealand's five internationally recognised wetlands.
 

Read our Wetland Centre Business Plan (1.6 Mb)

Wetland Centre Design

We want the Wetland Centre to be:

• enticing to the casual visitor, as a place to enjoy and learn.

 
• an educational facility for wetland managers, schools, farmers and others who seek a deeper understanding of wetlands.

 
• a depository of wetland information and knowledge.

 
• a facility for furthering wetland research.

 
• the start of a walking trail around Lake Kopuera and of vehicle-based wetland ‘Heritage Trails’ around the Waikato and nationally.

 
• a meeting place for wetland organisations and others with an interest in the natural environment.

The architects and landscapers have created a design that blends the buildings with the landscape. 

A building at the street front will have amenities, a retail outlet, offices and a friendly welcoming smile to greet the visitor. The building will reflect its colonial neighbours, while water hints at the magic and intrigue beyond.

The design then breaks down the traditional visitor centre building, where everything is static and under one roof. At the Wetland Centre we want to make wetlands the experience. So instead of one building, we want to build a series of pavilions scattered across the site but linked by a boardwalk leading from the street to the lake. These glass pavilions become rooms within the landscape, appearing to ‘float’ above a series of wetland ‘gardens’. 

The displays and their messages will be integrated throughout the whole site, indoors and outside. Displays will encourage visitor understanding of wetland values and issues, and support for their conservation and restoration. The pavilions contain further opportunities for interpretation, web camera connections to living wetlands, and other wetland resources. A separate children’s’ discovery pavilion is planned where a hands on / wet feet experience, might help instil an excitement about, and concern for, wetlands. 

The site leads onto the wetlands surrounding Lake Kopuera. While currently degraded with willows and other weeds, it is planned to restore it with the assistance of the Department of Conservation.

View the Wetland Centre plans on these PDF files. The PDF Reader is available free from the Adobe site.

  National Wetland Centre Concept Plan   (700.3 kb) 

  National Wetland Centre Site Sketches   (628.6 kb) 

Design Brief

• A distinctive New Zealand character.
• Eco-friendly and energy efficient.
• Integrated with the surrounding landscape design.
• Visually appealing and creative - to draw people in and hold their attention.
• Take advantage of the near-surface water table.

• is part of the educational package, creative, innovative, inspiring
• is integrated with the building design
• has a totally indigenous character
• demonstrates as many wetland types as feasible
• exhibits wetland flora (and fauna if feasible)
• is disability-friendly
• is a lead-in to the walkway to Lake Kopuera
• caters for the needs of children
• has areas where groups can congregate at places of special interest
• makes allowance for a possible future plant nursery.