RM Designs have released the first images of ‘Te Ara Pounamu’. The building will be at the gateway to Mawhera and the flagship for the Pounamu Pathway on the West Coast of New Zealand.

Bernie O’Fagan of RM Designs says, “The slide shows the creative process from how we envisioned a pokeka, a Maori rain cape, encapsulating the building. How our clever crew and partners have turned this “ribbon” into a buildable structure, I’m not sure. The real story is the belief and investment into the Coast and tourism by the stakeholders.”

“We thank Pokeka Poutini Ngai Tahu the owners of the site, which is a joint venture between Te Runanga o Ngati Waewae and Te Runanaga O Makaawhio. The building includes a hybrid of offsite components and will be inclusive of the local workforce , under a local head contractor. It sees some of our usual partners, especially ENGCO Consulting Engineers(masters of timber) a new relationship with SMART Project Management LTD, and great to be working again with Samuel Richard Leslie now of Timberlab, with whom we started our mass timber expedition almost ten years ago.”