New-look centre 'great asset' to Napier

FACELIFT: The Napier War Memorial Conference Centre will have greater street presence on Marine Parade after its refurbishment. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

The refurbished Napier War Memorial Conference Centre will soon be in such good shape that it will provide a $5.4 million state-of-the-art conferencing facility for Hawke's Bay.

As well as getting an extension to its ballroom, the centre's Marine Parade face will be given greater street presence.

A new exhibition hall with space for trade exhibitors will be built next to Ocean Spa and the war memorial which sits inside the foyer will be moved to a new position of prominence with views down the lawn to the Sound Shell.

Napier Mayor Bill Dalton said the facility would provide the city and Hawke's Bay with a "great asset" to attract the important conference market.

As part of the upgrade, the ballroom's capacity for dining will be increased while keeping its curved form and panoramic views across Hawke Bay. Extra foyer space will improve the meet-and-greet area for guests and enhance flow between key meeting rooms and the new exhibition hall.

Napier-based Citrus Studio Architecture, in association with Graham Weaver Architecture, have sculpted the new exhibition hall in a gentle curve to provide new pedestrian access between the centre and the Ocean Spa complex, to the lower carpark and the beachfront Rotary Pathway.

Citrus Studio's Brent Scott is excited by the project. "Bringing elements of the building closer to the street and the relocation of the war memorial to a more visible and meaningful setting has been particularly satisfying," he said. "We wanted the entry plaza to be a vibrant public space that people will enjoy whether stopping or simply walking through.

"It's framed on the port side with the black base of the exhibition hall, broken up with blue and green panels inspired by the colours of paua shells, and on the city side by the spine of the war memorial clad in hinuera stone."

Curved architecture is synonymous with the coast, Mr Scott said. "The original rotunda form of the 1950s Natusch-designed War Memorial Hall stood alone on the foreshore, but is now seen as part of a precinct of curved forms with Ocean Spa next door and the Scenic Circle hotel opposite. We've strengthened this connection with a curved wall cocooning the new war memorial, sitting on the axis of the floral clock and the Sound Shell, and have given the exhibition hall a soft curve to the north, opening up the new public route to the carpark and views to the Pacific."

The eternal flame and plaques will be housed in a new war memorial space which will be entered from Marine Parade as well as the centre foyer. A large window in its new curved wall, overlooking the lawn and gardens, will allow for 24-hour viewing of the memorial from a path behind the floral clock - welcomed by the Napier and Taradale RSAs.

The refurbishment was brought forward after it was discovered this year the building needed earthquake strengthening. These strengthening works, designed by Stratagroup engineers, will be done at the same time as the refurbishment and expansion.

The centre remains open for business until April when work will begin. It will reopen in February 2017.

Napier City Council venues manager Glenys Fraser said bookings affected by the closure period had been moved to alternative local facilities. Several clients had also decided to postpone their bookings to 2017 or 2018 so they could enjoy the improvements.

"Clients we've spoken to are hugely excited to hear we're expanding and we're getting a steady stream of bookings for the new-look venue."

Staff will be available during the closure period to continue to take booking for 2017 onwards, Ms Fraser said.