Wellington Central Library () is a public library building in the central business district of Wellington, in New Zealand. It is owned by Wellington City Council and is listed as a Category 1 historic place by Heritage New Zealand. The building was opened in 1991 and was a key element of Wellington’s municipal centre, Te Ngākau Civic Square. It served as the main hub for the municipal library service, Wellington City Libraries.
The building was closed to the public at short notice on 19 March 2019, after Wellington City Council was advised by engineers that the building had structural vulnerabilities which meant it might not perform well in the event of a significant earthquake.
Former library buildings
1893–1940
Wellington's first Council-operated public library opened in April 1893 on the corner of Mercer and Wakefield Streets in a building designed by William Crichton, a prominent architect of the time. An earthquake in February 1893, after the building was completed but before it opened, caused cracking that was repaired. The top of the building's tower was removed after being damaged in another earthquake in 1897. By the mid-1930s the building was deemed too small, and there were concerns about safety in an earthquake such as the recent Napier earthquake, so planning for a new library began. The library closed in 1940 and the building was demolished in 1943.
1940–1991
In 1940 a new reinforced concrete art deco-style library opened on a block between Mercer and Harris street, with its entrance on Mercer Street. (Mercer Street later disappeared when it was redeveloped as part of Civic Square in the late 1980s.) The building's design was the result of an architectural competition. Two designs, by Messenger, Taylor & Wolf from New Plymouth and Gummer & Ford from Auckland, were judged equally good so the two companies worked together on the final design. The building was a T shape, and was designed so that it could be enlarged into a H and possibly have an extra storey added, though this never eventuated. Five hundred Rongotai College students carried the library's books from the old building to the new one.
By the early 1960s the library had become too small: some books were stored offsite because of lack of space, the newspaper reading room and some staff sections were housed elsewhere, and there was a lack of space for casual seating and study.
The new Wellington Central Library
In 1989, Athfield Architects were commissioned to design a new Wellington Central Library. The brief given to the architects was for "a distinctive and attractive building that proclaims its function. The interior to be spacious, flexible, accessible and stimulating". Ian Athfield visited libraries in the United States and became interested in the vision of a library as an "information supermarket", providing as much information as possible to as many people as possible.
The Athfield Architects design won the Environmental Award in the 1992 Carter Holt Harvey Awards and the New Zealand Institute of Architects National Award (1993). The library was built by Fletcher Building and Construction.
The new Wellington Central Library was opened in 1991, and the previous library building then became the City Gallery. Both buildings are located in Civic Square, with the new library having its main entrance on Victoria Street and another entrance from Civic Square to the mezzanine level of the building.
The new building offered of extra public space and meant all services could be together in one building. There was also a public parking area in the basement with lift access to all floors, which improved access for those with mobility issues or young children. Aspects of the design were provocative and attracted controversy.