27 August 2009 - Over the last 80 years Auckland Museum has sat atop Pukekawa in the Domain, bearing witness to a rapidly expanding and diversifying city. Auckland's skyline at night reveals a busy and bustling metropolis, and the museum will soon be joining it. Hoarding going up around Auckland Museum marks the start of a long-overdue exterior lighting replacement project, which is providing a chance to bring the latest technology into play to illuminate the city's iconic building in wonderful new ways.

Construction has begun on a project that will see the latest in programmable, low-energy LED lights installed around the neoclassical columns and exterior of the building.

"To mark the building's 80th year and to take advantage of rapidly changing technology in the field of energy-efficient lighting, we're creating something elegant and classical," says Museum Director Dr Vanda Vitali. "We want to honour the War Memorial aspect of the museum and do justice to the iconic structure in a truly innovative manner."

Year after year Aucklanders vote the museum as the city's best example of architecture. Jeremy Whelan of Ignite Architects, who initiated the Best and Worst Survey, explains the museum comes out on top because it's "Familiar, authentic and memorable. Buildings such as the Auckland Museum create a strong sense of place."

"We believe our building is so important to the people of Auckland because it's the emotional and cultural hub, not just of our city, but our identity, our memories and our imagination as well," says Dr Vitali. "With the world's focus increasingly on Auckland, and with the approach of the Rugby World Cup, the museum's new lighting will celebrate our heritage and show us looking forward. This is an exciting time for the city."

The project has been developed with environmental sustainability in mind and uses the latest-generation low-energy LED lights. Once completed, the power required to run the lights will equate to approximately 1% of the Museum's total yearly usage. In addition, Auckland Museum is partnering with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority to reduce power consumption across the building.

The museum will debut the new lighting to commemorate 80 years of the building on 30 October, with the public invited to participate in the launch.