The Power Station

From 1925-1986 a series of 8 hydro-electric dams with power stations were constructed from Lake Tekapo down the Waitaki River. During the period of construction, entire hydro-towns were built to house the workers and their families. They included schools, shops, medical facilities, pubs, and churches. Once the construction of a dam and its power station was completed, the towns were abandoned and the workers moved onto the site of the next dam. The architecture of the Power Station has a unique story to tell, presenting the Power Station’s identity in ways that do not always align with its architecture, or functions. This design-led thesis investigation proposes that New Zealand’s Power Stations are of heritage significance, and the stories they have to tell need to be safeguarded, even if the hydro-towns responsible for their construction no longer exist.

The research site for this investigation is the abandoned settlement of Waitaki Village. As a design-led investigation, the thesis proposes to engage new architectural constructs within the abandoned site that act as architectural narrators of the site’s stories. To achieve this, the thesis proposes to embed this new architecture into an allegorical architectural project that enables their stories to come to light.

This thesis investigation asks: How can an essential story of New Zealand Heritage, represented by one of New Zealand’s hydro-electric Power Stations, be safeguarded by representing its story as an allegorical architectural project?