Combining interpretation, exhibition, and performance with informal public use at Te Papa's only living exhibition.

Bush City is an example of what can be achieved with New Zealand indigenous plants, providing the correct plants are selected and the right growing conditions are provided.

Boffa Miskell was part of the Te Papa design team, creating the design and documentation for the exterior landscape. By the time we became involved, the concept and siting of the museum building and environs had already been decided.

A long narrow site on the western side of the museum building was designated for part of the natural history exhibition area for development of a harbour park. The museum’s natural history specialists had developed a brief describing conceptually what they wanted this outdoor exhibition area (later called Bush City) to achieve.

The initial work involved developing, with the museum’s natural history specialists and the wider project team, a detailed brief for Bush City. Boffa Miskell produced preliminary design concepts which were then refined through a series of workshops with the project team and a preferred concept adopted.

Project team

Boyden Evans
Steve Dunn

Worked with

Fletcher Construction
Jasmax Architects

Project date

2006

Awards

Silver Award | Landscape Design Commercial / Industrial / Institutional Category | NZ Institute of Landscape Architects / Resene 'Pride of Place' Awards

As an integral part of the developed design process, Te Papa involved many external advisors: specialists and consultants from within New Zealand and overseas (iwi, botanists and ecologists, environmental interpreters, museum planners and designers, and educators) to work with the design team to evaluate and refine the preferred concept.

The resulting concepts include new routes, gathering spaces and a Pacific winter garden. The New Zealand creation story is interpreted throughout the 2.1-hectare site. Themes of land formation, ecology and biculturalism help to tell the story.

Four outdoor spaces that required interpretation, exhibition, performance and informal public use:

  • Bush City
  • Marae Approach
  • Outdoor Exhibitions Area
  • Urban Plaza.

The exposure to salt–laden winds was also a dominant influence in the layout and design of Bush City as were the demands of creating suitable substrates to accommodate a wide variety of native plants to create a range of habitats. Seven different soil profiles were developed to create specific growing conditions for different assemblages of plants.

Bush City is a combination of New Zealand habitats represented by careful assemblages of indigenous plants that visually represent an expression of distinctive landscapes –from coastal forest, to wetland, to volcanic landscape and pioneer scrubland.

Bush City utilises a range of techniques to create depth and detail to the plantings – the long narrow site has been manipulated by changes in level and vertical separation to exaggerate the sense of scale and density of vegetation.

All plants were propagated from wild populations and the ecological details are recorded on the Te Papa plant database. The plants were able to be sourced and grown specifically for the project and then hardened off in the on-site nursery for at least six months prior to planting. At opening day in February 1998, Bush City exhibited a lushness and maturity seldom seen in landscape projects.

Bush City has not only provided Te Papa with a unique visitor experience on a very small site, but also an opportunity to interpret and tell stories about New Zealand’s fascinating indigenous plants and the diverse landscape they inhabit.

Read more about Bush City and take a virtual mini-tour in our Bush City Storymap

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