BOOKED OUT | Stories of the Gallery: An architecture tour

Join one of the architects who designed Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki as you know it today, for an exclusive tour. 

Refurbished in 2011, the Gallery’s building is renowned internationally and nationally, winning Metro Magazine’s Favourite Modern Building award in 2015 and World Building of the Year at the 2013 World Architecture Festival Awards.  

Neil Martin, the local project director and architect of the refurbishment, will take visitors on a rare tour around and through the building, sharing his insights into the building’s concept development and construction. Traverse space, place, material and time to learn about the narratives built into the building’s fabric and how they respond to the Gallery’s specific environment in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.  

The tour will start at the Gallery’s forecourt and will weave around the building, including its heritage rooms and sculpture terraces. 

This tour is free but numbers are limited – book quickly to make sure you don’t miss out! 

Bio 
Neil Martin has practiced and studied architecture locally and internationally for over 35 years. He has a Masters degree from Columbia University, New York, has tutored in the design studios at the University of Auckland and Unitec School of Architecture and has served on the Auckland Urban Design Panel. Neil specialises in designing complex projects and gallery architecture, working with heritage buildings and urban design, and in fostering community and cultural engagement through design. 

Neil’s work focuses on social and cultural contexts to create pathways for the design of meaningful public and community outcomes. He has been instrumental in infusing celebrated public projects with local cultural and material values. Significant projects include the redevelopment of Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, the recently completed Auckland War Memorial Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira refurbishment, and the University of Waikato Tauranga campus project. 

From 2000 to 2011 Neil was design director at Archimedia and from 2011 to 2020 he was architect and principal at Jasmax Architects. In 2020 he established Evatt Martin Architects with partner Justin Evatt.