Te Ngākau Civic Square

The square is paved with terracotta bricks and has Ferns, a Neil Dawson sculpture, suspended 14 metres above its centre.

The square is used for public events and is a popular place for office workers to eat their lunch on warm summer days.

The first real plans for the Civic Square date back to 1943, when the Architectural Research Group proposed a public square surrounded by civic buildings including the then-new library, a new town hall, theatres, and an underground car park in the area under the front of the library.

[5] However, there was public opposition to demolition of the town hall, and in 1983 the council decided to retain the building even though the Michael Fowler Centre had been built right next door.

[4] The project involved building a new library, conversion of the existing library into the City Gallery, extension and refurbishment of City Council buildings, earthquake strengthening and refurbishment of the Town Hall, car parking space, design of the new public space and a link to the waterfront.

[12] In 1980 the Michael Fowler Centre was built immediately in front of the Town Hall's main entrance, in anticipation of the older building's demolition.

In 2014, earthquake strengthening was put on hold after cost projections increased due to unforeseen technical issues.

[13][14] In March 2017 Wellington City Council announced its intention to bring the Town Hall up to 100% of the New Zealand building regulations at a cost of $85 million.

The extra work required included seismic base isolation to better secure the long term future of the building, while delaying the opening by a further two years.

[17] In 2023, the council agreed to a cost increase to $329 million, due to the poor condition and excessive waterlogging of the reclaimed land under the building.

[25] In March 2024, Wellington City Council confirmed that the building had suffered irreparable damage in the 2016 earthquake, and stated that demolition would begin in April 2024.

[29] A colonnade ran along the outside of the building from Victoria Street up a ramp to Civic Square, with its columns designed as metal nikau palms.

[29] At the third floor level a two-storey cantilevered portico connected the library to the neighbouring Civic Administration Building.

Engineers had specific concerns about the fixings on the precast concrete floors which were of similar design to those in Statistics House, a building which had partially collapsed in the Kaikōura earthquake.

[34] In July 2019 the New Zealand Institute of Architects mounted a campaign to save the library, in response to the mayor's suggestion that it be demolished.

[36] Public consultation took place in September 2020, when the council put forward five options, including construction of a new building.

[38] After public consultation closed in October 2020, the Council announced that it would spend $179 million to repair and upgrade the library rather than demolish it.

[53] The wedge-shaped bridge crosses over Jervois Quay, connecting Te Ngākau Civic Square to the Wellington waterfront at Whairepo Lagoon.

[55] Capital Discovery Place (Te Aho a Maui) was a children's science centre and technology museum built underneath the Civic Square approach to the City to Sea Bridge.

[57][58][59] The concept was that the centre had a "strong New Zealand focus, with science treated as part of everyday life, and linked closely to arts and culture".