Te Rou Kai / Pipi Beds

Carved basalt sculptures, paving stones with small stainless steel pipi shells and 24 pop-jet fountains decorate the south-eastern corner of Takutai Square in Britomart, celebrating the past life of this location. This site was where the harbour and foreshore once was, an area that was also a rich food source for Māori before colonisation. The area's once-abundant sea life was harvested by the surrounding papakāinga (villages), such as Te Rerenga Oraiti Pā. A fortified headland, Te Rerenga Oraiti Pā stood guard at the eastern end of the Britomart complex, but was levelled and used for land reclamation.

The 16 boulders, which were carved in collaboration with Ngāti Whātua artists, are inscribed with motifs and placed in a loose grid formation. The water of the pop-jet fountains mimics the squirting shellfish that were once common in the former pipi bed, called Te Rou Kai. The stainless steel pipi are life-sized and embedded in the concrete that people walk on every day. Te Rou Kai / Pipi Beds was partially funded by the former Auckland Regional Council.