In September 2016 the John Scott designed Visitor Centre at Aniwaniwa near Lake Waikaremoana was demolished by the Department of Conservation, despite vigorous protests from the architectural community and despite the building’s classification as a Category 1 Historic Place. The former Urewera National Park Headquarters was only forty years old but had been empty for nearly a decade. DoC claimed that the building was an earthquake risk and that it had water-tightness issues but both claims were disputed by independent engineers and architects.
