Auahatanga – Creative Spaces: Tūranga

Auahatanga – Creative Spaces: Tūranga

Ideas come to life at the library

Step into a world of possibilities at Auahatanga Creative Space — where cutting-edge technology meets your inspiration.

No bookings needed — just bring your curiosity and bring your ideas to life.

Our welcoming environment invites you to:

  • Experiment with state-of-the-art digital tools at your own pace
  • Connect with our knowledgeable team for project guidance and inspiration
  • Uncover creative possibilities you never imagined were within reach

Drop in during our open hours

Events

Book a Creative Skills 1-to-1 Session

1-to-1 session with a member of the Libraries team to support you with your creative project, focusing on a single piece of technology.

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Taupuni Waihanga / Production Studio

The Production Studio is a space for making, creating and getting crafty. It is located on Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4, Tūranga

Taupuni Waihanga / Production Studio is open from Monday to Friday 9am to 8pm (but is closed on Thursdays from 9am to 10.30am for cleaning and maintenance), and on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

There are open creative times across the week where you can use the studio and work on your creative projects. Classes also run throughout the year.

Find Tūranga creative time sessions in the calendar.

Laser Cutting

A laser cutter provides a fast and accurate way of cutting a variety of materials, such as paper, card, acrylic, wood, laminate and fabric.

We are no longer cutting MDF on our laser cutters. MDF contains synthetic formaldehyde. Laser cutting this material produces toxic dust and fumes which are harmful to people and the health of the machine. Supplying your own materials? For a list of approved materials for laser cutting please ask a member of our creative team.

There is a Thunder Laser Nova-35 80W CO2 Laser at Tūranga.

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Find out more: Laser Cutting

Can't make a Creative Time or need expert guidance?Can't make a Creative Time or need expert guidance?

Vinyl Printing and Cutting

The vinyl printer and cutter is a large format inkjet printer that can be used to print graphics and types of vinyl media.

There is a Roland BN-20 vinyl printer available at Tūranga.

Badge maker

A badge maker allows you to make custom wearable button badges. The badge design can be hand-drawn or designed on a computer using software such as Inkscape, Affinity Designer, or Adobe Illustrator.

There is a Alond Galaxy 4N Badge Machine at Tūranga.

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Find out more: Badge maker

Auahatanga Creative Spaces: PricingAuahatanga Creative Spaces: Pricing

Sewing machines and overlockers

Construct your own projects from fabric using our sewing machines and overlockers.

Tūranga has four sewing machines and two overlockers.

Embroidery Machines

Construct your own projects and embellish with stitched designs using the embroidery machine.

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Find out more: Embroidery

Heat Press

A heat press is a large type commercial iron. It has controls for pre-set temperature, time and pressure, making it ideal for the application of heat transfer vinyl to fabric, garments (such as T-shirts) and other media.

There is a Cugi heat press at Tūranga.

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Find out more: Heat Press

Photo, Slide and Film Scanner

A photo scanner is a device that scans media and creates a high-quality digital file. Our photo scanners can scan a variety of physical media formats to digital files.

Tūranga has two Epson Perfection V600 scanners.

Craft Cutter

A Cameo 4 cutter contains a very sharp blade that is controlled by a computer. The blade can move precisely to cut shapes out of materials such as paper, card, adhesive vinyl, heat transfer vinyl, sticker paper, or sublimation paper / invisible ink paper.

There is a Silhouette Cameo 4 desktop cutting machine at Tūranga.

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Find out more: Craft Cutter

Media conversion station

Our media conversion station can be used to create a high-quality digital copy of a variety of media.

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Find out: Media conversion

Acrylic Bender

Our acrylic bender is a versatile tool designed for shaping and forming thermoplastic sheet materials. It allows creators to produce clean, precise bends in acrylic, making it ideal for signage, display stands, enclosures, craft projects, and custom fabrication.

Taupuni Oro/Ataata – Audio/Video Studio

Located on Auahatanga | Creativity, Level 4 of Tūranga, the Audio/Video Studio is a place to shoot and edit video, record and edit sound, and to compose, record, and mix sound recordings.
No food or drink is allowed in the studio except for closed drink bottles.

Bookings are not required for the Audio/Video Studio but are recommended if you want to guarantee a timeslot.
Book Taupuni Oro / Ataata / AV Studio
(Note: Schools and educational organisations should book by emailing turangaavstudio@ccc.govt.nz. Please include your organisation’s name, contact name and number and a brief summary of what you would like to do).

Depending on availability, the studio can be booked in 30-minute blocks up to 3 hours (with a minimum booking time of one hour and a maximum of 9 hours per person per month). Please provide a minimum of 24 hours' notice if you need to cancel your booking.

First time users need to allow for a 15-minute orientation at the beginning of the session.

Events

Studio equipment and instruments

The studio features a control room and live room for audio and video recording. There are four iMac workstations in the studio itself, with relevant hardware and software.

Studio equipment

  • 4x 27” Retina 5K iMac (Intel i5 3.4GHz, 16GB Ram, 1TB Storage)
  • Behringer X32 Producer Digital Mixing desk
  • Ableton Push 2 MIDI Controller
  • Native instrument Maschine MK3
  • Green Screen wall
  • Audio software like Logic Pro X, Reaper and Ableton Live 10 intro
  • Rode NT-1 microphones x 3
  • 49 key Midi Keyboard

Instruments

  • Washburn Bass Guitar
  • Takamine Acoustic Electric Guitar
  • Acoustic Classical Guitar
  • Fender Squier Stratocaster Electric Guitar
  • DG Centaur Hybrid Electro Acoustic Cajon - Percussion
  • Nux DM-1 Electric Drum Kit
  • Boss RC202 Tablet top Loop Station
  • Korg MS20 Mini
  • Arturia Minibrute
  • Pioneer DDJSX3 DJ controller
  • Presonus AudioBox iTwo iPad Recording Interface
  • Set of Boomwhackers

Full list of Audio/Video Studio software

 

In the AV Studio

Blog posts

AV Studio Interview - Ali Kouzehgari

Alex chats to AV Studio regular, Ali Kouzehgari about how he uses the studio and what he's learned about making music.

In the AV Studio: How to mix vocals

Alex explains how mixing vocals works - find out more about equalization, compression and reverb.

In the AV Studio: Know your microphones

AV Studio specialist, Alex, explains the different sound recording options available and why you definitely shouldn't "drop the mic".

In the Studio: Equalization Techniques

Taupuni Oro/Ataata – Audio/Video Studio is used for vocal recording. Find out about equalization, & what it does for the recorded sound.

In the AV Studio: Ngā Kōrero Auaha – Creative Stories

Featured

John visits the Mobile Library and records an audiobook

John discovered the mobile library while walking his dog, and is now a regular visitor. He has even recorded an audiobook at Tūranga!

Ngā Kōrero Auaha – Creative Stories: King Cass

Rapper King Cass uses the Taupuni Oro/Ataata Audio/Video Studio at Tūranga to record and produce his motivational hip-hop music.

Ngā Kōrero Auaha – Creative Stories: The Burdetts

Lorelei & Rosanne Burdett talk about their experience using Tūranga to record an audio version of Lorelei's book about her mental health.

Total Professional by Peter Weatherall

Enjoy a song by library customer Peter - it's all about Matatiki Hornby Centre and the fun of making music in the audio studio.

Our Library Stories: Share your library story

Share what the library means to you. Your experience could inspire someone to walk through our doors.
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