Standing inside the grand, glass-fronted foyer of this landmark building, the soaring ceiling reaches 14.4 metres high. This imposing space fronts a more business-like three-storeys containing two floors of gallery spaces, a reference library, auditorium, education centre, restaurant, shop, collection storage and a warren of offices that house the Gallery’s staff. There are nine exhibition spaces across two floors, connected by a double-height marble staircase rising from the foyer.

Built in 2003, this building replaced the Robert McDougall Art Gallery in the Botanic Gardens. It was designed by Melbourne architect David Cole of the Buchan Group, who won the design competition over 90 other entries. The building’s te reo Māori name is Te Puna o Waiwhetū. The name was gifted by Dr Te Maire Tau and Ngāi Tūāhuriri and translates as ‘the spring that mirrors the stars’, referring to the artesian spring beneath the Gallery as well as our role in contributing to the cultural wellbeing of the community.

The Gallery building performed well in the Canterbury earthquakes of 2010–11 – so much so that the Civil Defence team used it as its headquarters in the aftermath. In the 6.3 magnitude quake on 22 February 2011, the 2184 panes of glass that make up the double-storey façade held – just one of the glass entry doors shattered. The Gallery has now been retroactively base-isolated, essentially decoupling the building from the ground. Around the outside of the building is a moat of tiles which allows the building to move, and in the carpark underneath you can see some of the 140 huge rubber-topped pillars on which the Gallery floats. These feats of engineering mean that the whole building will sway in an earthquake rather than being jolted, preventing potential damage to the building and harm to people and art.

The Gallery’s spectacular flowing glass and metal façade evokes the sinuous form of the koru and the Ōtākaro Avon River that winds through Ōtautahi Christchurch. There are three entry points through the façade into the foyer, as well as entry via the restaurant, Design Store and carpark lift. In the building’s original design, crescent-shaped pools of water appeared to flow under the façade and a pond sat under the stairs – these were later removed. The height of the foyer and the stone and glass interior ensure cathedral-like sound quality when musicians play here.

The main internal and external walls of the building are made of bluestone granite quarried near the Waitaha Canterbury city of Timaru. Bluestone and red basalt also feature inside the Gallery, along with the Italian Carrara marble that forms the grand staircase. This stone has been used for many famous statues, such as Michelangelo’s David, and has strong links to European art. There are two public lifts inside the Gallery, one down to the carpark and one up to the first floor. Often, wraparound vinyl artworks on the walls of the lifts