Case Study: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa achieves an immersive, detailed Aztec exhibition design with VectorWorks

Vectorworks Helps the Aztecs Rise Again in New Zealand

The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa faced a complex challenge: create and stage "Aztecs: Conquest & Glory," a major touring exhibition that told 200 years of Aztec history using roughly 200 rare artifacts borrowed from more than 30 Mexican institutions. The project demanded precise measurements, sensitive handling of human remains and culturally significant objects, heavy coordination across time zones and languages, and a design that could be flat-packed and withstand earthquakes for transport to partner museums in Australia.

Designer Ben Barraud used Vectorworks Spotlight to turn curator object lists and photos into scaled 2D and 3D plans, image props and interactive walkthroughs, and produced detailed construction drawings and PDFs for international review. He also designed a lightweight, flat-packable 1:10 Templo Mayor focal piece and robust display cases; the show opened at Te Papa (Sept 2013–Feb 2014) ready to tour to Melbourne and Sydney, streamlining collaboration, saving design time, and bringing the Aztec world vividly to life.

Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

Ben Barraud

Designer