Counting down to 2026!

2026 is going to be a big year for Wellington.
It’s not far away now.

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My countdown

Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui (Central Library)
Te Matapihi is scheduled to reopen in early 2026.

From the WCC website
The redesign of Te Matapihi is inspired by te taiao – the natural environment, with specific reference to the flora and fauna of the forest floor, which flourished for centuries along our waterfront.

Athfield Architects, led by Zac Athfield, and Tihei Limited, led by designer and artist Rangi Kipa, are bringing the elements of te taiao to life to create an inclusive and accessible community space for all. When Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui reopens you will find:

  • the Central Library Services

  • the City Archives

  • Nōku te Ao Capital E - services for young people to grow their creativity

  • the Council Customer Service Centre

  • a large ground floor café, linking to Te Ngākau Civic Square

  • active spaces for meeting and making connections

  • creative spaces

  • quiet spaces to study and read

  • special collections including our city’s taonga, and mana whenua and subsequent settler communities’ heritage

  • the books will be back! Over 250,000 items will be on display

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The Wellington Town Hall
Construction is due to be completed in July 2026.

From the WCC website
Progress on the Town Hall is now well ahead of schedule, with construction completion due in July 2026.

This is eight months earlier than expected when the Council increased funding in October 2023 and the project was re-planned.

The project will also return between $15m-17.5m to the Council out of the budget approved in October 2023, with the final figure dependent on the closing out of remaining risks.  

The Council was also briefed today on progress towards completion of front-of-house facilities which will support the operation of the Town Hall venue. As identified in the October 2023 re-plan, front-of-house facilities will be constructed on part of the empty Municipal Office Building (MOB) site (the building is currently being demolished).  

The preliminary plan for front-of-house facilities confirms the cost to be within the approved budget of $28m from the October 2023 re-plan.

It will be completed in time for the opening of the Town Hall. The front-of-house facilities, designed by Warren and Mahoney, will feature a relatively lightweight timber frame and in a major cost-saving move, will use the existing MOB foundations.  
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The new Archives New Zealand building
Likely to open to the public in 2026.

From the NZ National Library website
The Heritage Campus encompasses the new archival building and National Library building in Wellington.

It also represents the establishment of collaborative ways of working within the new, shared spaces.

Not all services will be fully operational immediately, as some may take longer due to the relocation of holdings and the setup of specialised equipment. Some services will be reintroduced in stages.

A major part of the move will be the installation of new and existing equipment into technical spaces – the conservation / preservation lab, the audiovisual and digitization facilities – within the new archival building.  The move will be staged to maintain operations as much as possible so requests can be triaged and urgent requests prioritised.

Archives Reading Room will remain in Mulgrave Street until the end of 2025. During this time holdings that have been moved to the new building will be available by appointment in the National Library Molesworth Street reading rooms.

The kaimahi and services move will be complete in February 2026 when the new archival building opens to the public. It’s estimated the move of holdings will continue until the end of 2026..

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