Futuna's future

File under: architecture, Wellington

The Architecture Centre finally have their forums back online, after being hacked a while back. One of the topics they're discussing is how to save the poor old Futuna Chapel.


Despite plenty of support for extending its heritage status in the district plan, its future is still far from certain. So, the Arch Centre have come up with this interesting proposal:

Futuna is dear to our hearts, but its ongoing and current situation and context is an incredibly frustrating one. After some discussion, the committee considered whether the difficulty of getting public interest, support and action, to find a long term solution to ensure Futuna is an important part of Wellington, is in part to do with its location in Karori. There is currrently some discussion regarding what buildings should be built in Waitangi Park. Should we propose that this is a more productive place for Futuna to be sited? What other bright ideas do you have for ensuring Futuna Chapel coontinues to be an important icon of New Zealand and Wellington architecture?

I'll need time to think this through before I decide whether this is a good idea. At first thought, it's a fantastic idea, but I wonder how well it would fit in with the proposed ground floor uses in the draft design brief for the new buildings at Waitangi Park.