For Objectspace director Kim Paton, Te Oro community arts centre in Glen Innes, Auckland, stands out for its striking design and warm sense of welcome
My Favourite Building: Objectspace director Kim Paton
“I think it would be hard not to love this building. Visually it’s striking and beautiful, but without being grandiose. There is a crafting in its design, in the extraordinary woven tukutuku panel that greets you on arrival, and the feeling of usability and warmth in its spaces that make it feel special.
It’s a community space, a public space – and a manifestation of Maori and Pacific culture in its design and function. I’ve been thinking a lot about it recently because, next year, Objectspace moves from its long-time home on Ponsonby Road to a purpose-designed building by RTA Studio in Grey Lynn, with new exhibition spaces and an expanded focus on architecture and design.
Te Oro, for me, embodies what we all want so greatly in a public arts centre or gallery – to simultaneously enrich and awe us as a piece of architecture, while inviting us in and declaring itself our home. It’s Te Oro’s sense of community and belonging I aspire to more than any other attribute for Objectspace’s future.”
Kim Paton is the director of Objectspace, which is now fundraising for the build of its new home. For more information, visit objectspace.org.nz.
Photography by: David Straight.
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