Tane was a son of Father Sky and Mother Earth, who had trapped their many children between their enduring embrace. Tane used his strength to prise his mother and father apart, allowing space and light to enter the world for the first time. Peke Waihanga use this as motivation to inspire strength in their patients, with the design intent of bringing space and light to the new facility.

The form of the building was kept simple, smaller scale at the rear to tie in with the residential boundary, rising to a peak at the front, allowing space and light to flood the patient areas. A feature the Glulam ‘tree’ centred within the patient Waiting Area. The tree is a physical symbol of Peke Waihanga’s patients’ strength and growth through an often traumatic experience. The tree also creates a connection to nature.