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Giant images of kauri snails or pūpū-rangi decorate a ceiling at the deepest new Auckland train station in the $5.5 billion City Rail Link.

Barry Potter, Auckland Council’s director of resilience and infrastructure, said the Karanga-a-Hape Station had symbols which make it unusual.

“This station has a special ceiling. I’m a little cautious about spoiling the surprise, but it’s a ceiling of large sculptural kauri snails representing the history of this area. This ridgeline was a kauri forest,” he said.

The design kaupapa was gifted to the project by mana whenua (local iwi and hapū), and the snail artwork at that station within the City Rail Link is by Reuben Kirkwood (Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki).

“Karanga-a-Hape Station is unique. There’s been engagement with iwi throughout the design process. Māori artists have brought te ao Māori themes into the architecture and the art,” Potter said.

These giant anodised aluminium snails are being installed at the station’s Mercury Lane entrance, he said.

Snail symbols on the ceiling inside the new Karanga-a-Hape Station for the City Rail Link. Photo / Auckland Council

The station is between Beresford St, Karangahape Rd and Mercury Lane.

Potter said so many different businesses and entities had joined together to build the project.

“The team on the City Rail Link project – we’re talking literally about a few thousand people – construction workers, different subcontractors, the main contractors and Link Alliance, City Rail Link Limited, Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, KiwiRail, the Ministry of Transport ... so many people have been involved in this project all the way through,” he said.

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A closer look at the snail symbols at the new Karanga-a-Hape Station. Photo / Auckland Council

They had created the most complicated transport project in New Zealand’s history.

Te ao Māori symbols will bring alive memories and treasures for passengers to see as they pass through the underground.

Inside the new Karanga-a-Hape Station for the City Rail Link. Photo / Auckland Council

Exposed structural steel work at ground level represents Tāne, separating his parents to create te aō Marama, or the world of light.

Newly revealed images show other features of the new train terminal.

Auckland Council's Barry Potter told the Herald about some of the unusual features within the new station. Photo / Auckland Council

Patterns, art and architecture in all the stations follow the Māori creation kōrero of Ranginui and Papatūānuku.

The Sky Father and Earth Mother were locked together in a lasting embrace until their son Tāne pushed them apart, allowing light into the world.

The Karanga-a-Hape Station’s design reflects that narrative by figuratively anchoring the earth and connecting to the heavens above, the council says.

Kirkwood, the nominated iwi artist, and Jessica Beagelman, the architectural lead, have worked together with mana whenua to integrate the narrative into the station design, all within the technical constraints of the station.

The new Karanga-a-Hape Station. Photo / Auckland Council

Eight iwi represent mana whenua, working on designs for the stations:

1. Te Āta Waiohua;
2. Te Kawerau a Maki;
3. Ngāti Maru;
4. Ngāti Paoa;
5. Ngāti tai ki Tāmaki;
6. Ngāti Tamaoho;
7. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei;
8. Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua.

On June 30, the Herald featured the art and architecture of the new Te Waihorotiu Station at mid-town.

A ceiling dangling 4000 shiny golden aluminium rods, with a central kauri carving, will greet travellers coming into the Wellesley St entranceway.

He is referring to the waterway which once ran through Myers Park, Queen St and other parts of Auckland, telling how its importance and cultural significance is reflected in the station’s design.

The waterway has been metaphorically “daylighted”, brought back to life or revived through the remembrance of its kupu ingoa or name.

A kauri carving by Paraone Luiten-Apirana (Ngāti Hikairo, Ngāi Tūhoe, Te Arawa) and Graham Tipene (Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei) represents a sea serpent-like creature, Horotiu.

 has been the Herald‘s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.