Timber that changes character with the space
Te Puna Mahara | Cromwell Memorial Events Centre brings performance, culture, heritage, hospitality and community activity together in a new 3,000 m² facility overlooking the Kawarau Arm of Lake Dunstan.
Designed by Jasmax in collaboration with local practice SA Studio and mana whenua-owned organisation Aukaha, the centre comprises three interconnected pavilions containing a 400-seat auditorium, 40-seat cinema, museum and gallery, café, commercial kitchen, movement studio and flexible community and event spaces.
Featurecraft supplied an extensive package of architectural timber products across the interior. What is particularly interesting about the finished project is not simply the amount of timber used, but how differently it is expressed from one part of the building to the next.
A building with many roles
Te Puna Mahara replaces Cromwell's former Memorial Hall and was conceived as much more than a replacement events venue.
The new centre accommodates performances, exhibitions, meetings, hospitality, community events and everyday public use within one connected facility.
That range of functions gives the interior very different spatial conditions to respond to. A café calls for something quite different from an auditorium. A circulation space does not need to feel like a community meeting room.
Rather than repeating one timber treatment throughout, the project uses a range of Featurecraft products, finishes and details to help give those spaces their own character.
The centre's name, Te Puna Mahara, translates as a repository of memories, connecting the building with both the memorial history of the site and the narratives of mana whenua.
Warmth through the public areas
The café and adjoining common areas provide one of the clearest examples.
Natural timber battens are used extensively through the space, lining walls and continuing overhead into soffit and ceiling areas. The same warmth carries into the recessed seating alcove nearby.
At the café/bar counter, Featurecraft Decor Planks introduce the timber treatment at a smaller scale, wrapping the curved front of the joinery and adding another layer of texture to the hospitality space.
Here, the timber is less about creating one isolated feature and more about shaping the character of the whole area.
The battens, overhead treatments, counter detailing and seating alcove work together to give the café and common spaces a noticeably warm and informal character.
A darker transition through circulation
Move away from the café and the expression changes.
Black-stained timber batten treatments and routed Birch plywood introduce a much darker, more graphic character through adjoining circulation and stair areas.
Lighter patterned timber elements sit against these darker surfaces, creating a deliberate contrast with the natural timber used through the café and reception areas.
The shift is significant enough to give these spaces their own identity without abandoning the broader use of timber throughout the building.
The auditorium at a different scale
Inside the 400-seat auditorium, Featurecraft's work becomes much more architectural in scale.
Natural timber battens frame both sides of the stage, creating a strong vertical backdrop around the proscenium.
Integrated into this treatment are custom veneered plywood chevron panels. CNC-routed slots form the repeating pattern, with black felt backing creating contrast through the openings.
Repeated on both sides of the stage, the chevrons are one of the most distinctive elements within the auditorium.
From close range, the machining and individual components become apparent. Viewed from across the room, the patterned elements become part of a much larger stage composition.
Black-stained Birch plywood panels provide another contrasting timber treatment within the auditorium, further separating its character from the lighter public spaces outside.
A quieter treatment for community spaces
Elsewhere, the approach changes again.
Within one of the smaller community or meeting spaces, perforated Hoop Pine veneer panels extend across the walls.
The fine circular perforation creates a much quieter surface than the depth and rhythm of the battens used through the café or the scale of the auditorium treatment.
It is another example of the same building asking something quite different of timber.
The result is a more restrained space while retaining the warmth and natural character of veneer.
Detail beyond the main rooms
Featurecraft's involvement also appears in the spaces between the major destinations.
Routed, black-stained Birch plywood is used through stair and circulation areas, while timber detailing continues across hospitality joinery and other public-facing elements.
These applications matter because much of the experience of a civic building happens between its headline spaces.
Visitors move from reception to café, through circulation spaces and stairs, into community rooms and ultimately into spaces such as the auditorium. The timber treatments change with those transitions rather than remaining visually static throughout the building.
A civic interior with different personalities
Te Puna Mahara opened to the Cromwell community in July 2026, welcoming more than 6,500 people through the building during its opening weekend.
For Featurecraft, the project is a strong example of the breadth possible within one architectural timber package.
Natural timber battens create warmth through the café and public spaces. Decor Planks bring finer texture to the café counter. Black-stained routed Birch plywood gives circulation areas a darker, more graphic character.
Perforated Hoop Pine veneer creates a quieter treatment within community rooms. In the auditorium, timber is used at a completely different scale to define the stage and integrate the custom chevron detailing.
The result is not one timber treatment repeated throughout the building.
It is a series of different responses to very different spaces.
Project details
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Location: Cromwell, Central Otago
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Client: Central Otago District Council
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Architect & Interior Design: Jasmax
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Local Architect: SA Studio
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Design Collaboration: Aukaha
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Main Contractor: Naylor Love
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Project Contributors: Alpha Interiors, Pooles Joinery
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Featurecraft Scope: Timber battens, Decor Planks, architectural wall and ceiling panels, routed and perforated panel and custom feature elements
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Completed: 2026
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Photography: Mickey Ross