Len Lye was a famous kinetic artist from New Zealand. The Len Lye Centre is dedicated to
his work and is the country’s first single-artist museum.
Designed by Patterson Associates, the $8.3 million USD building integrates with the new
art and cultural precinct in New Plymouth. It merges with an existing heritage art gallery
in a converted cinema to create new archives, new exhibition space, education studios, a
new 62-seater cinema and a motor room to house Len Lye’s kinetic works, all across 3,000
square meters of internal space.
The building is renowned for its façade. It is formed by twenty 14-meter high pre-cast
concrete columns that are clad in highly polished stainless steel – one of the main material
industries in New Zealand’s Taranaki region, where New Plymouth is situated. Glazing is
hidden within the deep-pocketed recesses. The façade is intended to link rather than
divide the external and internal environments.
The form of its columns creates a curtain that reflects natural light into the building
during the day and artificial light back out at night; the images and reflections drawing
people in. From above, the colonnade’s top edges create a Koru form, linking to the Museum’s
Polynesian influences.
Strict international standards mean that the museum must operate within precise indoor
climate criteria at all times. To realise an asset with such complex physical geometry
– and with such a high performance requirement – the team worked within a building information
modelling (BIM) environment to ensure the best possible outcomes.
The project team shared their graphical and non-graphical data in a common data environment
(CDE), acting as a single source of information for the scheme.
Working with different graphical authoring software, they exported their graphical information
models into IFC format - an international open file standard that others can read – to
improve interoperability. This was done in several demonstration scenarios to start with,
to ensure that protocols were tested and agreed amongst the team from day one.
To co-ordinate the complex architectural and structural forms, and the advanced internal
systems, the project team continually developed and federated their models, effectively building
the finished museum virtually at design-stage.
This paid huge dividends with the façade and meant that the interlocking concrete forms
were accurately positioned.
Having a clear understanding of the building’s systems and how they would perform in use,
enabled the team to reduce the costs of their installation. Museums of this size typically
require 2-3 plantrooms, but the team were able to plan the Len Lye Centre into just
plant one space. They also co-ordinated with the HVAC engineers and sub-consultants to
improve the route of ductwork runs through the building.
The information model was also used to simulate daylighting, sun paths and heat gains across
the façade, a critical aspect to get right.
It also enabled Len Lye staff to easily sign-off design proposals and to test place artwork
within the virtual building, forward planning exhibitions two years before the gallery actually opened.
Heading to site, data within the information model was extracted to provide construction-issue
documentation and to inform programming and costing.
The architectural model of the façade columns was transferred directly to the pre-cast concrete
manufacturers. This ensured a high degree of accuracy and saved the time typically required
to create separate fabrication plans.
Throughout the two-year construction period, contractors were able to access the information
model and the 2D data generated from it on tablets. This helped them to better understand
and visualise proposals, avoiding rework and resolving issues much faster where they did arise.
Completed in 2016, the Len Lye Centre is now one of New Zealand’s leading BIM case studies;
a shimmering monument to a key part of the country’s heritage and an impressive step
forward into its future.
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