Fabricating Terrain Vague

A m a n d a T i s d a l l 1 3 4 8 0 81 8

Fabricating Terrain Vague

Abstract What is left over when buildings are gone? What are the left over spaces when development occurs? The urban landscape is scattered with ambiguous sites, places in which architecture and landscape don’t mesh, where the space is in some way is odd, leftover, unresolved, indefinable (Ferreter). “Obsolete or dysfunctional sites that punctuate the otherwise cohesive, definable organization of the cityscape” (Sola-Morales, 1995) These elusive spaces, such as abandoned lots, degrading post-industrial sites, or areas under bridges, stand in contrast to the methodically planned, readily definable spaces that make up the majority of the city (Ferreter).

These leftover spaces are hard to distinguish, since we have few exemplars for them, they possess multiple and shifting meanings rather than clear functions. They resist definition because they do not fit into the expected logic of the urban landscape (Byles, 2003, p. 2). We are not really meant to see them - they float in ambiguity and disconnection. Yet the value of these sites is in their vagueness, they serve as reminders that the urban landscape is never essentially coherent (Ferreter).

Open space in cities is unarguably valuable. Parks and squares provide relief from dense urban form and therefore allow city dwellers to find moments of pause (Ruskeepaa, 2010). Parks and squares are, however, planned and composed. Through their constructed nature, such spaces are “predetermined and occupied, and offer a limited palette of interpretations and uses” (Ruskeepaa, 2010). Unfinished urban space is different, and these spaces are potentially more valuable than the familiar urban spaces discussed above.

Terrain Vagues are often seen as leftover space or secondary to surrounding structural form. These spaces empower negative elements such as criminal activity, disregarded for aesthetics and negative impressions.

These terriain vagues harbour the potential to work together with the nature of an interlacing network of design elements.

Elliott Street Carpark, Bledisloe Lane and Mayoral Drive underpass each hold their own qualities yet exist in a banal way deeming them unseen and somewhat forgotten. At present each site is overshadowed by architecture, infrastructure, and high-rises making space for opportunistic weeds, vandals and homeless alike, lack of visual inspiration and uplifting qualities.

This project sets out to; confront visitors to these three neglected spaces; to create moments of pause, surprise and excite them; to unlock potential and create experiential spaces for Auckland CBD.

Contents 1.0 Research Question

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2.0 Definitions

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3.0 Research Propsal

3.1 Project Aims and Outcomes 3.2 Rationale

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4 . 0 D i s c o v e r i n g t h e Te r r a i n v a g u e

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5.0 Methodology

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6.0 Introduction

6.1 Development Background 6.2 Purpose of the Auckland and City Centre Master Plan 6.3 The Sites 6.4 Auckland City Council Requirements

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7.0 The Resion_ CBD

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8.0 Area in Context_ Aotea Precinct

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9.0 Landscape Analysis_ Aotea Precinct 9.1 Hydrology 9.2 Topography 9.3 Landscape Connections 9.4 Pedestrian Circulation 9.5 Heritage Areas 9.6 Public Space 9.7 Skateboarding Areas 9.8 Skateboarding Areas

10.0 Site Analysis

10.1 Elliott Street Car Park 10.2 Bledisloe Lane 10.3 Mayoral Drive Underpass

11.0 Site Analysis_ Opportunities + Constraints 12.0 Background Research

12.1 Interstitial landscapes as resources 12.2 Healthy Nature Healthy People 12.3 Vacancy and the Landscape 12.4 Skateboarding Space and the City

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13.0 Case Studies

13.1 Dancing in the Streets of Beijing_ China 13.2 Kalasatama_ Finland 13.3 Agri-tecture: The Highline_ New York 13.4 SOL Square_ Christchurch 13.5 Laneway_ Melbourne 13.6 Street Art_ Rio de Janerio 13.7 Southbank Undercroft_ London 13.8 Parque da Juventude, S達o Paulo 13.9 Blue Stick Garden, Quebec 13.10 Caixa Forum, Madrid 13.11 Barclays Bank Headquarters, London 13.12 Waterpleinen_ Rotterdam 13.13 Shared Space Street_ Kent, UK

1 4 . 0 H o w t o a p p r o a c h t h e T e r r a i n Va g u e

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15.0 The Vision

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16.0 Conceptual Master Plans, Sections and Perspectives 16.1 Elliott Street Car Park 16.2 Bledisloe Lane 16.3 Mayoral Drive Underpass

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17.0 Site Details 17.1 Elliott Street Car Park

17.1.1 General Arrangement 17.1.2 Setting Out + Levels 17.1.3 Plant Typologies 17.1.4 Timber Seating 17.1.5 Daylighted Stream

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17.2 Bledisloe Lane

17.2.1 Precast Seating + Plant List 17.2.2 Core10 Steel Trellising + Plant List

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17.3 Mayoral Drive Underpass 17.3.1 Crib Wall Living Screen + Plant List

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18.0 Reflection

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19.0 References

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1.0 Research Question?

How can appropriation and reframing infrastructure unleash the hidden potentials of three small scale Terrain Vague sites within Auckland CBD?

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2.0 Definitions Terrain Vague -

Terrain Vague’s resist definition because they do not fit into the expected logic of the urban landscape. They are ambiguous sites, places in which architecture and landscape don’t mesh, where the space is in some way is odd, leftover, unresolved, indefinable.

Interstitial -

Places of “otherness”: a space without precise use, “Located for an indetermediate period of time between functionally determined built configurations” (Levesque 2002).

Something that is found “in - between” - Referring to the notion of interval or “space of time” (Levesque 2002).

Drosscape -

Drosscape, drosscapes Large tracts of abused land on the peripheries of cities and beyond, where urban sprawl meets urban dereliction: landscapes of wasted land where the planners gave up.

Drosscape is an urban design framework that looks at urbanized regions as the waste product of defunct economic and industrial processes.

Brownfield -

Brownfield can be definied as sites that: Are dereclict or underused, are mainly in fully or partly developed areas, require intervention to bring them back into beneficial use and may have real or perceived contamination problems (dixon et al. 2007)

Vacant -

Having no contents; empty; void

Forgotten -

From forget: to omit or neglect unintentionally; to omit mentioning, leave unnoticed, to fail to think of; take no note of.

Unexpected Not expected; unforseen; surprising.

Evocative -

Bringing strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.

Evoking or tending to evoke an especially emotional response

Freedom -

The state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement.

The power to determine action without restraint.

Surrealism -

A 20th-century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind.

Appropriation

The act of appropriating, taking for ones own use.

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3.0 Research Proposal 3.1 Project aims and outcomes As cities grow and become more condensed a higher strain is placed on the need for public spaces to provide physical relief from urban strain. Large pockets of land are becoming scarce and as a result Landscpae Architects are beginning to need to take more responsibility for smaller less obvious leftover spaces around the city. Landscape architecture is better able to depict the complex transition from the industrial to the urbanized.

These areas are open to the unexpected where fragments of the old and the contours of the new merge.

The aim of this design project is to investigate, through engagement with site and through design experimentation, stratergies for intervention within leftover urban spaces ‘terrain vague’. Firstly by connecting to the potentials of each site and the interconnections of pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders creating an uptown/downtown link. The notion of the the unexpected which would interrupt an average persons day and create a moment of pause was my initial drive. In addition to experiential goals these spaces are intended to work by addressing health benefits of natural interaction and the heightened security which is usually a large problem associated with secluded spaces such as alley ways, lanes and other hidden ‘corners ‘ within the city. These terrain vague spaces are united by no single physical or formal characteristic, they are a field in flux, space that is empty yet brimming, a void blurry with anticipation. They offer room for spontaneous, creative appropriation and informal uses that would otherwise have trouble finding a place in usual public spaces. “The relationship between the absence of use, of activity, and the sense of freedom, of expectancy, is fundamental to understanding the evocative potential of the city’s terrains vagues. Void, absence, yet also promise, the space of [the] possible, of expectation” (Byles, 2003, p. 2).

Through this project I aim to explore how terrain vague space is currently understood and dealt with in the field of Landscape Architecture. This will be done through the study of theory and case studies that relate to terrain vague space and of sites that are percieved as being degraded, leftover or forgotten. Design intervention is to be based on theoretical research and qualities inherent to each site and their surroundings, the overall aim is to explore concepts of terrain vagues and to investigate an intervention that encourages social, environmental and economic well-being for the area.

My interest in terrain vagues stems from a fascination in seeing beauty in derelict spaces within the urban environment and the increasing global awareness on the reuse and reclamation of many types of Terrain Vagues, including landfills, former industrial-manufacturing sites, infrastructural corridors, abandoned and vacant urban land, abandoned and mined landscapes, and toxic landscapes. Instead of the approach to design to create function I feel it is equally important to design to maintain the richness and special atmosphere of the terrain vague as a place colonized by nature and people in a more uncontrolled manner, “the uncontaminated magic of the obsolete” the charm of the formless and intermediate (Monte, 2008, p. 23). I beleive ouncils fail to think of these spaces to have a great possibility.

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3.2 Rationale Auckland wants to become the most livable city in the world and is predicted to grow by one million people in the next 30 years (The Unitary Plan, 2013), which will result in the densification of Auckland city and a demand for more public space. Where and how can I identify areas suitable for public open space? one way of doing this could be to utilize peripheral sites within the CBD. Within all urban settings there is vacant, leftover and under - utilised space, which go unseen because of their banal, unobtrusive nature, these spaces can range from small crevices between buildings, to large areas of space under or alonside transport infrastructure. These are described as ‘Terrain Vagues’ coined by the Architect Ignasi de Sloa Morales as “ambiguous, unresolved and marginalsied spaces in the urban landscpae” (Sola Morales 1994). According to Levesque (2002), “jostled by the accelerated pace of change in modern society, the urban environment evloves along lines that are increasingly difficult to read” and due to this, there has been a renewed interest by Landscape Architects in urban leftover space in the last fiteen years or so (Levesque 2002).

The issue of terrain vague is a highly topical issue. According to Osty (2008), cities are spreading and extending their limits to encroach further and further onto natural and rural land. However, at the same time, areas within cities become leftover spaces due to economic upheavals, changes in trnsportation and changes in lifestyle (Osty. 2008. p. 13) The first step in defining and reclaiming the potential of these physically excluded sites is to recognize that such waste deposits are an inevitable result of growth (Berger, 2007). “Waste landscape is an indicator of healthy urban growth” (Berger, 2007, p. 35).

Vacancy is usually associated with spaces which do not serve a purpose or function. I am approaching this subject with the notion that these spaces are ‘Terrain Vagues’ and have a purpose and function. The absence of use and activity of these spaces, the state of deterioration and abandonment, sets them apart from the order, growth and vitality of the rest of the “gentrified” city. At the same time, these spaces offer, the opportunity to experience the city in a different way. This openness within the city creates space for imaginary landscapes to emerge, allowing our gaze to blur the line between perception and reality. The vacant lands become a territory for transformation, no longer ignored or abandoned but yet uncertain and transient (Dumitrascu, 2006).

In practice, however, adapting the term for architects and other designers engaged in making urban form is problematic. According to Sola Morales architects always design to remove this kind of condition or to solve a place’s problems through design (Sola-Morales, 1995). Sola Morales suggests that architects should instead fight to keep their differences and design to resist planned continuity, using the differences of terrain vague as motivation for the architectural project (Berger, 2007).

I have chosen a series of three sites to work with; these were found by dicovery by cycling through Auckland CBD without exact vision/criteria of what I was looking for. Mayoral Drive Underpass, Bledisloe Lane, and Elliott Street Car park all in the Aotea Precinct grabbed my attention the most, and had me thinking about the ‘what if’ ideas as they all showed elements of terrain vague and had a real grittyness about them. I feel the Aotea Precinct could offer a different type of public open space compared to some of the more slick and “gentrified” urban spaces throughout the CBD such as the waterfront and downtown area developments. It could provide spaces that is more focused on “guerrilla” design, cultural and social space where users of these spaces have the opportunity to activate themselves as agents of change in the city fabric. Surprise, contrast, surrealism, and sense of freedom are key elements from which this research has stemmed.

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4.0 Discovering the Terrain Vague

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I set out on a journey to discover Auckland City’s Terrain Vagues instead of driving or walking I decided to ride a bike. It can take you to places that a car cannot and is faster than walking.

Yet you can still take in the landscape, city views and smell the smells of the city, while also getting exercise and fresh air. I came across many interesting characters on my journey who were interested in what I was doing, and shared their thoughts of what the inner city should offer in terms of public open space.

From this journey I discovered three sites all in the Aotea Precinct, Mayoral Drive Underpass, Bledisloe Lane and Elliott Street Carpark. The three sites each hold their own qualities yet exist in a banal way deeming them unseen and somewhat forgotten. They offer a wonderful opportunity for maximum impact in terms of urban design/public realm priorities and are able to tap into/ assist in the delivery of the aims and outcomes of the City Centre Masterplan. All three sites are high profile in terms of their visiblity/position within the city centre approaching the central CBD, and in terms for public aspirations for Auckland. In regards to their sizes all three offer a range of opportunities and design interventions.

Gore Street Car Park

Fort Street Car Park

A network of dense urban fabric weaves together to create the architectural and cultural character of Auckland city

Leftover space from a demolished building, High Street

Cruise Lane

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Elliott Street Car Park

Bledisloe Lane

Elliott Street Car Park

Bledisloe Lane

Mayoral Drive Underpass

Mayoral Drive Underpass

5.0 Methodology

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Methodology Overview

Research Questions?

Site Analysis:

1. How can the evocative potentials of Terrain Vauge contribute to a network of Public Open Space.

The area I investigated included Elliott Street Car park, Bledisloe Lane, Mayoral Drive Underpass and the surrounding Aotea Precinct. Information was recorded from repeated site visits with the use of free hand sketching, digital photography, surveying of site levels, mapping of access points, public and private areas and view shafts. Regular site visits aided in an understanding of the social process active on and around the sites, In response to different times of the day and days of the week.

Data Collection:

While being on the sites I was able to gather information about my sites and their surroundings, this included research about the cultural and historic heritage of the area, ecological connections, circulation of vehicles, pedestrians and skateboarders, any proposed plans for development of the sites, and how the three sites can feed into the city centre master plan. Further information was gained through consultation with the public, Landscape Architects, Watercare, and stormwater engineers.

Literature Review:

Gave me an understanding of the current approaches for dealing/designing with terrain vague spaces. This aided in an understanding of the approaches from a landscape Architectural point of view. Research was based on the approaches and methods for designing with Terrain Vague and Interstitial Spaces, and designs that work with the idea of appropriation of space and unleashing hidden experiential qualities inherent to sites.

Site Analysis:

Digital information was gained through the use of geographic information systems (GIS). From this I was able to understand what the relationships the three sites had with each other, adjacent land-uses/buildings, relevant underground infrastructure,hydraulic information, surrounding green and heritage sites, and negotiating potential design interventions for these ‘terrain vague’ spaces.

Design:

Through a layering process using conceptual butter paper drawings, photos, CAD modelling, Photoshop and InDesign. I was able to generate concepts, produce plans, sections, perspectives and detailed design drawings. These have been constantly revised by moving between the above graphical devices regularly.

2. How can the notion of the unexpected and sense of freedom unleash the hidden evocative potentials of three small scale Terrain Vague sites within Auckland CBD? 3. How can appropriation and reframing infrastructure unleash the hidden potentials of three small scale Terrain Vague sites within Auckland CBD?

6.0 Introduction 6.1 Development Background The Auckland City Council has been driving forward ambitious plans for the regeneration of Auckland and the City Centre through the Auckland, City Centre, Waterfront and Unitary Masterplans. They are the rulebooks that will shape the way Auckland will grow over the next 30 years as Auckland is expecting substantial population growth and is expected to increase by 1 million people in the next 40 years. The challenge for Auckland is to manage this growth and the change it brings, while still preserving the values, character and environment Aucklanders value.

6.2 Purpose of the Auckland plan and City Centre Masterplan Planning for Auckland’s future starts with the Auckland Plan. This plan is a shared vision and strategy to steer Auckland’s development over the next 30 years. It is a comprehensive, long term plan to deal with Auckland’s growth and development. The transformation of the city centre is essential to provide a cultural and economic heart for Auckland, so that it is a great place to live, work and play, and makes an essential contribution to our economic growth.

The City Centre Masterplan, and the Waterfront Plan as a companion document, provide the blueprint for this transformation.

The City Centre Masterplan is a 20-year vision that sets the direction for the future of the city centre as the cultural, civic, retail and economic heart of the city. It shows opportunities for development which will create a stunning city centre and unlock its full potential to be one of the world’s premier business locations, the heart of Auckland and the world’s most liveable city.

The masterplan looks at the transformational moves designed to transform the city and deliver a competitive and exhilarating place. Finally, the plan discusses delivery; how we are going to do the things we’ve said we’ll do. The masterplan is a chance to take a fresh, holistic look at the city centre and its surroundings. It is a high-level visionary document that considers Auckland city centre’s wealth of possibilities.

6.3 The Sites The three sites I have chosen offer a wonderful opportunity for maximum impact in terms of urban design/public realm priorities and are able to tap into/assist in the delivery of the aims and outcomes of the City Centre Masterplan. All three sites are high profile in terms of their visiblity/position within the city centre approaching the central CBD, and in terms for public aspirations for Auckland. In regards to their sizes all three offer a range of opportunities and design interventions.

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6.4 Auckland City Council Requirements The List below outlines some of the key outcomes the council want to achieve for the city centre between now and 2050.

Green the city and protect our heritage • The natural heritage values (including geological features) of the city centre area are respectfully managed, which includes the interpretation and/or enhancement of: • The remnants of the natural shoreline and stream network • Geological features and topography.

• Open spaces in the city centre are safe, secure, accessible and welcoming • The city centre has improved pedestrian routes: • Stronger pedestrian focus in city centre streets with more space and priority given to walking.

• Area-wide stormwater and wastewater infrastructure upgrades to accommodate growth, reduce flood risks and improve water quality.

Develop lively centres • Development within character or heritage areas is managed to ensure the retention of their distinctive sense of place and heritage values.

• Public space, recreational and event facilities is of high importance House our growing population well • The increasing apartment population requires safe, high-quality street environments and more open space to cater for social and health needs • Diverse areas of open space are available within a short walk of all city centre residents, providing a range of recreation opportunities Be economically competitive • Civic and cultural activity is concentrated around Aotea Square and the Town Hall • Event spaces and places are provided throughout the city centre to enable diverse cultural and entertainment activities to occur day and night.

Connect communities • The street environment is pedestrian focused, safe and convenient to support walking as the primary travel mode within the city centre. Walking routes to and from the city centre to the fringe suburbs is improved, making the city centre safer and more accessible.

• Streets incorporate a range of measures (such as ‘shared spaces’) as a way of expanding the amount of open space available to workers, visitors and residents for walking and socialising.

• Linkages from the city centre to the citywide cycle network

7.0 The Region_ CBD

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7.1 Location

7.4 Demographics

The city centre is the central business district for the Auckland Region and the main business district for New Zealand. The ridges, valleys and original coastline are the key natural landscape features and foundation of the city centre. Aucklands city centre is distinct from other New Zealand cities because of its strong topographical relationship to the harbour. The intensity of urban development has partially obscured the original landscape but at street level the hills and valleys are strongly expressed in streets such as Liverpool Street. The natural ecology of the city centre is less evident and most visible in Grafton Gully where remanats of native bush and Waiparuru Stream still exist. There is a wealth of urban ecology in the form of historical gardens, parks and street planting. Emergence of green roofs and private leafy courtyards is greening the city in new ways. The Waitemata Harbour and its shores have been a centre for trade and commerce since pre-European times. The waterfront continues to be an important economic driver for the region with the port, fisheries and marine industries, marinas, cruise ship facilities and ferries. More recently, the waterfront has become popular for commercial, residential, recreational and entertainment activities.

As the nations largest emplyment centre it has around 80,000 people working in 9500 businesses, with a further 60,000 students enrolled in the major tertiary institutions. Since the 1990’s, the number of people living in the city centre has grown from around 2000 more than 24,000 residents, this number is expected to rise to more than 45,000 by 2032. This offers great potential and the need to develop a lively and diverse 24-hour urban realm to support them.

The city centre contains a rich mix of natural, cultural and built heritage features layered over time. The Queen Street valley and Karangahape Road were among the first commercial centres to develop in the region. The historic townscapes and urban landscapes evident in these areas are important features in the city centre. While the business core continues to be centred along the Queen Street valley, major corporate development is expanding along the waterfront to take advantage of the views, access to Britomart transport centre and waterfront facilities.

7.2Cultural Facilities

The city centre will remain the premier business centre for the region, expected to accommodate up to 30- 35 percent of Auckland city’s employment by 2051. Projected growth estimates a doubling of the current number of employees and residents in the city centre by this time.

• 180 different ethnicities, and New Zealands largest Asian Pacific populations live in Auckland • 1.5 Million People live in the Auckland Region - Thats 33.7% of New Zealanders • 70% of all international arrivals to New Zealand arrive at Auckland International Airport, 20km from the city centre.

• 41% of all New Zealand tertiary students study in Auckland • About 60,000 students and more than 9000 staff work at the city centre universities. With many international students living in the city centre invigorating the city lifestyle.

• Every working day about 90,000 people come to work in the city centre. They have the potential to promote a lively and active city centre, especially around lunchtime and after hours.

The city centre is home to major regional cultural facilities including the Aotea Centre and Town Hall, Auckland Art Gallery, Auckland Library, Voyager Maritime Museum, Vector Arena and universities.

7.5 Vegetation

7.3 Traffic and Transport

The increase in people working, living and visiting the city centre is putting pressure on the areas of open space. A range of open spaces including large parks, plazas and wharf promenades are being developed on the waterfront in Wynyard Quarter and on Queens Wharf. Converting streets to shared spaces in the Queen Street valley will provide more open spaces for workers and residents in this high-density urban environment. More investment in quality street environments with planting of fruit-bearing trees, seating and wider footpaths, together with play areas for children, will benefit the increasing number of residents in the city centre.

Creating a strong pedestrian-focused city environment is a challenge with so much competition for road space. The road and rail networks are almost at capacity for access to, from and within the city centre. In future, high-quality, efficient and reliable passenger transport networks will be essential to move approximately 175,000 workers and 70,000 students to, from and around the city centre every day. Managing the investment and network space for the needs of private vehicles against mass passenger transport requirements is an increasing challenge. Electrification and expansion of the rail network provides real opportunity for better connections. Light rail/tram networks, expanding the ferry network and allocating more priority to buses in the road network are also measures that need to be considered.

8.0 Area in Context_ Aotea Precinct The Aotea Quarter is the city’s civic centre and cultural, arts and entertainment hub: a vibrant place to indulge the senses, express creativity, enjoy events and participate in civic life. It is located in the Queen Street Valley and edged by Mayoral Drive, Wellesley Street, Lorne Street and Khartourm Place. The quarter is recognised for its cluster of cultural facilities, which include the Civic Theatre, Basement Theatre, Q theatre, Aotea Square, the Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall, Central City Library and the Auckland Art Gallery to name a few. These are some of the most iconic heritage buildings and spaces in the city centre.

Aotea Square serves as a connecting hub of the Upper Queen Street pedestrian system and is well linked to the surrounding ridges by streets, parks, and footpaths. Most processions and celebrations in Queen Street culminate in Aotea Square, making it the City’s main focal point for public occassions.

The precinct’s vibrancy is further enhanced by its role as one of the city’s principal destinations for entertainment, but the gravitational pull of the Engine Room and Waterfront for commerce and recreation will require the quarter to energise itself around its cultural, entertainment and arts offering and grow a closer relationship with the university campuses.

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9.0 Landscape Analysis_ Aotea Precinct 9.1 hydrology

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Waihorotiu Stream The Waihorutiu Stream, also called the ‘Queen Street River’, is a former stream in the downtown region of Auckland City, New Zealand, which has long since been covered over and made to disappear by the increasing urbanisation of the area.Originally, it was an open stream starting out in a gully (now Myers Park) before flowing through a swampy area (now Aotea Square) and then down the centre of what was to become Queen Street. Children used the tidal creek to fish for eels, and it provided drinking water for both Maori villages and the first European colonists of Auckland.

In Maori mythology, the stream is the home of Horotiu, a local Taniwha. But with increasing settlement in Auckland, its became little more than an open sewer before being first canalised and then bricked over around the middle of the 19th century by a city engineer finally disappearing from view altogether with the water and the taniwha now moving under the streets of the CBD. Water percolating through the soil under Myers Park still runs into the old sewers under Queen Street to the sea, discharging under the Ferry Building. In 2011, a local artist proposed that, as part of the Council’s city centre masterplan, the stream be uncovered and become a centrepiece of a more people-friendly inner city.

Upper Waihorotiu Myers park sits at the head of the valley between ridgelines of Karangahape Road, Symonds Street and Hobson Street. This was historically the location at which the spring that fed the Waihorotiu Stream came to the surface in the vicinity of the Baptist Tabernacle in Myers Park. Myers is a linear park with a central pathway connecting Karangahape road’s historic St Kevins Arcade to the Aotea Centre.

Stormwater and overland flow are localised to the park, since there is stormwater reticulation on Queen Street and Greys Avenue. 100 year flood areas occur at the bottom of the park in and above ground dry detention area below the Mayoral Drive overbridge. It is unknown whether there are still perennial flows from groundwater sources in the area since there has been considerable fill within Myers Park. The volcanic aquifer that historically fed the Waihorotiu Stream sping would have been largely capped with impermeable surfaces in upper catchments. However, in the event of a daylighted stream, there is a large stormwater catchment available that could be pre-treated at the Queen Street entrance to the eastern slopes and through bioretention facilities within Greys Avenue, entering the park at a number of entry points.

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Sites 100 year flood plain Ancient Waihorotiu Stream Gravity feed Stormwater drainage Catchments Manholes

There is an opportunity to tap into the idea of stream daylighting for the Waihorotiu Stream which is currently piped underground and discharges by the Ferry buildings.

There is also an opportunity to use the gravity fed stormwater as part of a SUDS system in the Elliott Street Car Park.

Mid Waihorotiu Aotea Square has the potential to be the hub of cultural activity within Queen Street. Despite the range of public amenities there are relatively few connection between Aotea, the large open spaces of Myers Park, and the commercial district of Mid and Lower Queen Street. The square occupies a different level to the street and although people gather in small groups for lunch on grassed areas, the area is not overly populated during the day.

According to the Auckland Central Area Access Stratergy, downslope of Aotea and Wellesley Street, Queen Street changes from an arterial road to a proposed “greenway distributor”. Aotea and Myers Park therefore could act as a gateway to the pedestrainised areas of Lower Queen Street. To strenghten this connection and to work within the hardscape areas of Aotea Square and Bledisloe Lane, it may be appropriate to daylight the Waihorotiu in an architectural, or hard engineered fashion.

9.2 topography

9.3 landscape connections

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Sites 1m contours Starting from Mayoral Drive Underpass there is currently a fall of approximatly 1.5m to the Greys Avenue car park.

Then an approximate 5m rise to Greys Avenue. There is a gentle 5m fall to Aotea Sqaure and Bledsiloe lane, which then falls another 5m to the Elliott Street Car Park.

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Sites East - West Art Link Green-way distributor City “netwalks�

Strategic bus route Major arterial roads Secondary arterail

Major pedestrain cross connections Neighbourhood connections Points of interest 1 - Sky city bus terminal 2 - Civic Theatre 3 - Auckland Art Gallery 4 - Aotea Centre 5 - Auckland Public Library 6 - Auckland Town Hall Nodes of activity

9.4 pedestrian circulation

9.5 heritage areas

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Sites

Sites

Circulation and Access

Key protected heritage sites

Key Entry Points This map is showing condensed pedestrain movements and main access points higlighting how people are moving and interacting with the sites and Aotea Precinct

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There are many heritage building that surround the three sites. Elliott Street Car Park used to be the site of the Royal International Hotel that would be considered a heritage building today.

Any design or intervention should be sympathetic to this heritage.

9.6 public space

9.7 skateboarding areas

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Sites

Sites

Notable Public Space

Notable skateboard congregation areas

Green Space

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parkour

This map highlights the main skate zones in the Aotea precinct that skateboarders are currently congregating at (Aotea Square and Auckland Library). Aotea Square is also a notable space for Parkour.

9.8 laneway circuit

18 Beyond the network of main streets in the city is the secondary streets and lanes. Streets like High Street and Vulcan lane are well known and appreciated, but others are not particularly well used.

Collectively as a laneway circuit they have the potential to create a more intimate pedestrian experience through the city centre. Currently the circuit will take in Federal Street, and east-west axis through Britomart West, Britomart and Quay Park, and Fort Strret/High Street/Lorne Street.

Interspersed with public squares and expierences along the route, it has a great Street Layout with the potential to be as good as any comparable circuit in Melbourne or Bacelona. Many of the city’s most loved public spaces, such as Vulcan Lane, Freyberg Place, Khartoum Place’s Auckland Women’s Suffrage Memorial and St Patricks Square, are already on this circuit. Bledisloe Lane adjacent to Aotea Square has the opportunity to tap into this circuit, while providing a key connection between Aotea Square and Elliott Street car park.

Auckland City Council Proposal Maker Buildings Laneway Circuit

Proposed Extension Sites Proposed Laneway Circuit

10.0 Site Analysis

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10.1 Elliott Street Car Park Site Characterisation

Site Overview

Elliott Street Car park is located in the centre of the CBD just north of the Aotea Precinct and is approximately 1.3ha in size. The site is primarily bound by Victoria Street, Elliott Street, Albert Street, and Is only one block away from the centre of Queen Street. It is surrounded by many high rise buildings overlook the site. The site is currently in use as a surface car park split into two levels, and has a vertical Bungee adjacent to the site on Victora Street as well as a couple of small takeaway eateries located on the Eliiott Street end. The site is made up of two levels, which are relatively flat, but are connected by a fairly steep driveway. There are many distinguish features remnant on the site from its past uses. In terms of vegetation there is no planting scheme, over the years ruderal plant species have established between the cracks and on the top level of the site. Where there is an opportunity they will grow.

Elliott Street Car Park, is a poorly kept central ruin with potential. It is one block up from Queen street, flanked on its low side by the recently completed transformation of Elliot street into a shared lane. As an attractive pedestrian environment it connects the civic hub around the town hall to the restaurants and bars of Elliot street. This car park has the potential to anchor the end of this shared lane.

History of the Site The site was formerly occupied by the old Royal Hotel that was torn down in the late 80’s. It has since been a car park. Recently ambitious plans have been put forward to build Elliot Tower, a proposed residential skyscraper. Elliot Tower was granted planning permission in October 2007.

Construction was originally scheduled to start in 2009, with an estimated completion date of 2013. The project is currently dormant due to the 2008 financial crisis.

Circulation and Access The site is currently accessible by vehicle from the car park entrances located on Elliott Street and Albert Street lane. Pedestrian access can be found at the vertical bungy or the north west corner of the site. Public footpaths are adjacent to the site on Victoria Street, Albert street and Elliott Street which has become a shared space zone. There are no public footpaths on the site. The existing routes made by people and vehicles into and throughout the site must be considered and preserved where possible to ensure existing links though the site are maintained.

The site is predominately a flat brownfield site made up of two levels, currently used as car parks, There is a slight level change on both the bottom and top levels from west to east, and south east with the lowest point being the north east corner. The general condition of the site is poor, with a variety of surface treatments and patchy repairs visible. There is boundary fencing in place along Albert Street Lane and Victoria Street, and fencing running along top level terrace. There are a variety of ruderal plant species that have established throughout the site which must be considered.

The site is overlooked from many buildings and good visual permeability within the CBD, the open nature of the site essentially being a void in the landscape should be retained. Its southern boundary meets with the Elliott Street mall where the side of this building can be seen as an opportunity for some sort of interventions. The wall is currently used for advertising.

The Site and its surroundings I consider this site to be organic for a number of reasons: The weedy greenery that grows in the cracks of surfaces and along untouched spaces. Exterior vertical building surface and infrastructure that have been leftover form the demolishment of the site former occupation.

The amount of rubbish, broken bottles and patches of graffiti. Homeless residing in its corners.

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View from the north east corner of the site

Looking south down the upgraded Elliott Street

Looking towards the Crown Plaza Hotel that overlooks the site

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Looking east towards crumbling infrastructure from the bottom level.

leftover infrastructure from the previous buidling that once occupied the site

leftover infrastructure potential for new building to be built into the landscape

Vechicle access to the top level from Albert Street Lane

Overlooking the site from the Crown Plaza Hotel. Facing North.

RESISTANCE! Ruderal plant colonises establishing amongst leftover infrastructure

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A

Site Boundary Circulation

A

Boundaries Views into site 0.5m contours Access Points

A-A

N 1:50

Vegetation

Approximate existing site levels

23 66.3

Wall 1.4m high

Wall 2.5m high

29.1

Wall 0.8m high

58.1 +12.90 +13.90 + 10.00 +13.30

10.5

22.0

25.4

21.0

13.0

1.4m high

65.9

65.9

+9.40

36.8

19.2

+13.90

12.9

+8.86

+9.74

+9.40

68.8

10.2 Bledisloe Lane Site Characterisation

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The Site and its Surroundings

Bledisloe Lane is located in the heart of the Aotea Precinct, adjacent to Aotea Square, opposite Elliott Street, behind the Metro Centre, and in front of the Bledisloe House. The site is a small laneway 102m in length and 4 - 6m wide. The site is currently used as a pedestrian lane connecting to Aotea Square, is a back entrance to the Metro Centre and front entrance to Bledisloe building. The site is completely flat with a small rise 1m rise from Wellesley Street. There is a small amount of vegetation currently in some planters that are in two parts and stretch almost the length of the Bledisloe Building. There are a few distinguishing features surrounding the lane such as the Civic Theatre, the lanes roof, natural stone walls on the bledisloe Building, and the art boxes located on the Aotea end of the lane.

Circulation and Access The site is accessible only by foot from a variety of entrances. The main entrances are from Wellesley Street and the approaches in from Aotea Square. A secondary entrance is the Metro Centre which is situated halfway through the lane. Bledisloe Lane is located directly opposite Elliott Street. Bledisloe lane can create an opportunity to stitch the three sites together through the urban fabric essentially creating an alternative route.

Approach from Wellesley Street

Site Overview Bledisloe Lane, is a poorly kept lane that seems to have lost its value over the years. Bledisloe Lane is in the heart of the Aotea Precinct with heritage buildings such as the Civic Theatre opposite it and places of activity such as Aotea Square/Centre, and the Metro Centre adjacent to it. Bledisloe Lane is one block up from Queen Street. The lane makes for an ideal approach to the city centre from uptown CBD. The site is predominately a flat lane with a small rise up from the approach in from Wellesley Street with two pockets parks either side. The lane is surrounded by the front facade of Blediloe House a council building, and the back of the Metro Centre. A low lying roof for shelter adds to the dingy feel you get from being in the lane as it only allows in small amounts of light. Planter boxes that are curved in shape and run the length of Bledisloe House should be retained as they help break up the linearity of the site. Views into the lane are only available from Aotea Square, Wellesley Street and the edge of Elliott Street.

Backdoor to the Metro Centre, Bledisloe House entry to the right

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Entrance to the Metro Centre

View of the civic theatre from the Wellesley Street end

Photo boxes creates added interest in the site

Approach from Aotea square

Entrance to Bledisloe House

Approach from Aotea square showing how little lights floods the lane

Bledisloe Lane

26 Site Boundary Circulation

Boundaries Views into site 0.5m contours Access Points Vegetation

N 1:50

B-B

10.3 Mayoral Drive Underpass Site Characterisation Mayoral Drive is located to the south of the Aotea Precinct and the bottom of Myers park which sits at the head of the Queen Street Valley. It is a relatively large underpass approximately 486m2 in size. The site is bound by Myers Park to the south and Greys Avenue Car Park to the north. The site is split into two areas one is currently used as a car-park and the other a pedestrian pathway to Myers Park. The site has approximately a 2.5m rise up to Myers Park from the Greys Ave car park for pedestrians. The car park is virtually flat and is bound by a 2.5m high flood barrier at the edge of Myers Park. There is little in terms of vegetation in the underpass but the surrounding site of Myers park is a green oasis. Climbers and ruderal plants have established in the crib walls around the site which is slowly creeping in. The flood barrier is boarded by a hedge on the Myers Park side.

Circulation and Access The site is currently accessible by vehicle through the Greys Avenue Car park but vehicles cannot gain access through to Myers Park. Pedestrian access can be gain through car park and the pathway that runs through the site to Myers Park. Further access points are the steps in from Queen Street and Mayoral drive into Myers Park that are adjacent to the underpass.

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The upgrade of Myers Park could promote a possible extension into the Greys Avenue carpark through the Mayoral Drive Underpass. For 30 years it has just been used as a carpark. It is an ideal size for a public square that could reflect the heritage of the area. This carpark has the possibility to become a buzzing arts precinct and part of a wider arts hub. The basement theatre, Q theatre and the classic comedy club are just a handful of arts venues that sit at the foot of the carpark on the corner of Mayoral Drive and Lower Greys Avenue. “The council carpark is rarely full, its a wasted space and a big opportunity.... Joining the area to Aotea square makes sense”. People that walk out of Myers Park and wonder: ‘Should I be here?

Where do I go now?’. The area is full of sun in the afternoon - it could become a creative hub, a less formal alternative public space.

The heritage buildings create an appealing backdrop which would make this an intimate and human space suitable for formal and informal gatherings, performances and events.

Connecting Myers Park to Aotea Square would create a link between Auckland’s civic space and the “late night, edgy, creative” K Rd. This would support the development of the area as Auckland’s entertainment precinct. It would also open Myers Park to more people and create a valuable pedestrian connection between the K Rd Precinct and the Aotea Precinct.

The Site and its surroundings.

Views Views into and out of the site are limited. The surrounding foliage in Myers Park restrict views into the underpass as well as the bowl shaped Greys Ave car park especially when the car park is full, make it difficult to see in from Greys Ave. The underpass sits at the bottom of this bowl and has very limited lighting which also adds to its limited views. By having very limited views into and out of the site there is a perceived heightened risk of security.

Site Overview The Mayoral Drive Underpass is a key entrance to Myers Park and link to/from Aotea square.

There is currently a masterplan for the re-development of Myers Park but this development Plan does not include the Mayoral Drive underpass due to ownership issues. It is currently owned and operated by Auckland Transport.

The connection between Myers Park and Aotea Square is seen as very important as it currently does not make “sense”. When people walk from Aotea Square past Q Theatre they go straight up Greys Avenue, without realising that you can get to Myers Park through the Greys Avenue carpark and underpass that runs under Mayoral Drive adjacent to the carpark. Workers and residents are currently perceived to be avoiding the area and council would like to encourage people to walk through Myers Park on their way to/from work.

View of underpass within the Greys Ave Car park

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Looking down towards the underpass from Greys Avenue

Established plants on exterior crib walls A man was murdered at the bottom of the Queen Street entrance adjacent to the site

Ruderal plants colonising crib walls

Pedestrain access from Greys Avenue The roof of the underpass . Opportunity to use these crevices for lighting

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NCE

RESISTA

The exisitng underpass car park

Existing pedestrian pathway

Street art establishing in the roof

View within Myers park.

(Drug addict in the fore ground was shooting up)

Queen Street Pedestrian access

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C Site Boundary Circulation

Boundaries

C

Views into site 0.5m contours Access Points Vegetation

N 1:50

C-C

Approximate existing site levels

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18.5 Roof +7.05 TL +2.59 BL +0.67

+0.00

27.7

TL +2.59 BL +0.87

26.5

27.2

+2.59

+0.09

+1.11

Roof +5.54

4.0

14.5

11.0 Site Analysis_ Opportunities + Constraints Aotea Precinct

Elliott Street Car Park

Opportunities:

Opportunities

• • • • • • • • • •

To create greater nodes of activity Enhance pedestrian linkages from surrounding streets, parks, and footpaths Enhance the open spaces in the Precinct Revitalise the Precincts role as the city’s prime location for arts and entertainment Improve ‘light’ access to minimise the dominance of surrounding buildings.

Ensure the spaces are safe and attractive.

Contribute to the character of the area Stitch the three sites together through the urban fabric Bring together different modes of transport such as skateboarding.

Bring street art to Auckland. Aotea will be the desired place artists to text out their talents.

Constraints: The city centres main constraints affecting the three sites: • A large scale street layout accommodating a high number of cars dominates the city centre for pedestrians, this means poor-quality walking environments, inconvenient routes and inefficient travel times.

• A connected and dedicated cycle network is lacking in the CBD. • Open spaces and green rooms are scattered throughout the city centre, yet lack the attractive pedestrian links between them that would help define an open space network.

• The overall pedestrian environment is of poor quality and does not encourage people to walk across the city centre.

• Visitor destinations are scattered across the city centre and poor quality streets and buildings discourage people walking between them.

• As a destination, the city centre lacks depth and coherence, and as a result fails to hold visitors for extended periods.

• Some parts of the city centres built environment fail to excite and do not create an experience sought by visitors and residents alike.

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• Highlight ruderal plants already established on the site • To tap into the existing storm-water system a draw water through the site as part of a SUDS scheme.

• Highlight the site as being a void in the urban fabric • To bring more footfall throughout the site by removing some of the site boundaries • Better integrate the site with Elliott streets shared space zone • Using existing infrastructure found on the site • Possibility for underground shops to be built into the landscape • Use the walls as part of an intervention • Integrate the vertical bungy into the site • Opportunity to use light as an opportunity for appropriation • A new public square in Auckland • Bring street art to the city centre

Constraints • • • •

Driveway from the bottom to top level is too steep for easy access between the two levels.

Issue of public vs private. Can I use the adjacent walls as part of my site design.

Issue with security as people tend to be loitering in the corners at night.

Designing in an appropriate/sympathetic manner so terrain vague is not lost

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Bledisloe lane Opportunities • • • • • • • • •

The civic theatre creates an amazing backdrop to the Wellesley Street end of the lane Planter boxes to be better integrated and updated Can pull together the other two sites in an urban stitch strengthening the Aotea Precinct To upgrade or remove the roof to allow more light into the site Upgrade existing paving Bring more plants into the lane. An unexpected confrontation with nature Reference to the Waihorotiu Stream that once flowed through the site.

Bring street art to the city centre Maximise its link to the Metro Centre, a spill out zone.

Constraints • • • •

Issue of public vs private. Can I use selected walls as part of a street art intervention Existing roof acts as a tunnel Poor perception of safety and security especially at night. Poor lighting does not help.

Many homeless seem to loiter in this area unfortunately gives the space a poor perception

Mayoral Drive Underpass Opportunities • Maximise existing infrastructure such as the crib walls. Possibility to create green screens • Integration of the Mayoral Dive underpass into Myers Park and an upgrade to the access points either side are seen as an integral part of any successful improvement of the park.

• Linkages to Aotea Square and Queen Street should be reinforced.

• More activity will help prevent anti-social behaviour.

• Improvements to the Myers Park and the Underpass will lead to a better perception, which will increase activity and thereby public safety.

• Bring the essence of Southbank, London to Auckland • A place for those people embrace the cracks and gaps of the city and find their identity among them.

• Provisions for lighting. The Rugby World Cup Fan Trail brought more activity and temporary lighting into Myers Park which led to the perception of the park being safer.

• Water is seen as an important element in the, due to the historical presence of the Waihorotiu Stream.

• Options to acknowledge the former Waihorotiu Stream and treat storm-water on site through rain gardens or other low impact design measures should be investigated.

• Improved signage and sight-lines into the underpass will substantially contribute not only to a safer feeling in the park, but promote its use to more people.

• Allow easy access for those with impaired mobility and to deliver quality, clear and unimpeded thoroughfare to other parts of the city.

Constraints • Anti-social behaviour tends to gravitate from Karangahape Road down into the park.

• 75% of all offences in Myers Park are committed at night time.

• The presence of dilapidated heritage buildings significantly detracts from a sense of safety and care.

• Homeless sleep in the areas above the crib walls, some measures have been taken stop this.

12.0 Background Research

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12.1 Interstitial landscapes as Resources

Luc Levesque (2002)

According to Architect and theoreotian Luc Levesque, Interstitial spaces are essentially ephemeral in their fucntion, form and meaning, characteristics of these spaces include: temporality, ambiguity, marginalisation and lack of resolution (Levesque, 2002).

I believe that the idea of change over time could be amplified in the design of these spaces. The idea that these spaces are in a state of being in-between their past, present and future states holds potential for design that draws the three togehter.

There are currently two opposing views that ususally dominate the discussion of these leftover urban spaces.

The first view condems the disorder they represent in the city, and design aims to erase the past and start afresh - creating order and permanence.

The second view highlights their “potential interest as spaces of freedom in an urban environment that is increasingly standardised. These spaces “offer a counterpoint to the way order and consumption hold sway over the city”. According to Levesque (2002) - the “Terrain Vague” offers potential to create alternative ways of experiencing the city (Levesque, 2002). Levesque proposes that an approach be taken to design that favours neither the “temporary” or the “permanent and the planned”. He proposes instead that the intervention should seek a dynamic mix of elements that “broaden the terms of experience”. This approach is still underused in landscaping, where the tendency too often is to create decor that is complete itself (Levesque, 2002).

Because of this, perhaps a mixture of contrasting elements are key to the design of leftover space and could be used to enhance the individuals experience and the collisions between what is percieved as “urban” and what elements assumed to be “natural”.

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12.2 Healthy nature healty people: ‘contact with nature’

C . M a l l e r, M . T o w n s e n d , A . P r y o r, P. B r o w n a n d L . S t L e g e r ( 2 0 0 5 )

In the last few hundred years, there has been an extraordinary disengagement of humans from the natural environment (Axelrod and Suedfeld, 1995; Beck and Katcher, 1996; Katcher and Beck, 1987). “Humans have spent thousands of years adapting to natural environments, yet have only inhabited urban ones for relatively few generations” (as cited by Maller, Townsend, Pryor, Brown, St Leger (2005) in Gendinning 1995; Roszak et al., 1995; Suzuki 1997; Gullone 200).

With populations around the world largly inhabiting a very urban and built environment there has been a lost touch with nature and the importance of nature within public spaces has become very important. Whilst modern ‘westernisation’ has doubled our life expectancy since our ways of the rural lifestyle non-communicable diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabeties and cancer have become dominate (2005, as cited in McMichael 2001). Mental health burdens constitute 10% of disease and are estimated by 2020 this will be at 15%. Never in history have humans spent so little time in physical contact with animals and plants and the consequences are unknown (Katcher and Beck, 1987).

Peoples health, thier social environment and their physical environment have become interdependent and I belive it is with a combination of these factors that public space, taken from new approaches, has the capacity to create a bigger impact. Designing within an everyday setting is the most practical and efficient way of creating this contact. These spaces do not necessarily need to be as obvious as an expansive park in the centre of the city (although this is not disregarded without its merits). Everyday settings can be where the average businessman would walk to get his lunch or a short cut to a parking building. ‘People with access to nearby natural settings have been found to be healthier overall than other individuals. The longer-term, indirect impacts (of ‘nearby nature’) also include increased levels of satisfaction with one’s home, one’s job and with life in general’ (Kaplan and Kaplan, 1989 p. 173).

Contact with nature in an urban park environment may be experienced via various means, including: viewing natural scenes, being in natural environments and encountering plants and animals etc. Seeing nature is important to people and is an effective means of relieving stress and improving means of reliving stress and improving well-being (as cited by Maller et al.; 2005 in Kaplan, 1992a; Lewis, 1996; Leather et al., 1998).

Not only do natural spaces and public parks protect the essential systems of life and biodiversity, but they also provide a fundamental setting for health promotion and the creation of well-being for urban populations that to date has lacked due recognition. In this light, natural areas can be seen as one of our most vital health resources.

A socio-economic approach to public health recognises that not only is health itself holistic or multidisiplinary, but that a holistic or multidisplinary approach is needed to promote and manage health successfully (Maller et al., 2005). With the use of natural elements within our urban environment more thoroughly this offers a potential gold mine for population health promotion (Maller et al., 2005).

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1 2 . 3 Va c a n c y a n d t h e L a n d s c a p e : c u l t u r a l c o n t e x t a n d Design Response Carla Corbain (2003)

“There’s nothing there” is a common phrase to describe an open landscape that lacks scenic appeal or distinguishing features. The declaration of vacancy or emptiness erases important dimensions of a site: natural processes and characteristics above or below the scale of conventional perception, cultural history or meanings that may not have physical presence, and systems that are not recognized as having immediate functional purpose. This article examines the cultural ideas of vacancy and landscape, and what these mean in terms of how sites are described, perceived and valued. Theories of vacant places; Comparison of strategies of awareness, revealing, openness and occupation; Reasons that people should be interested in the vacant landscape.

Spaces I have looked at in the landscape as being ‘terrain vague’, ‘blank’, ‘forgotten’ and ‘leftover’ are words that Corbin (2003) fits under the umbrella of the vacant landscape. She explains that “vacant places, whether or not occupied by empty buildings or by vegetation thought worthless, are part of the common, ordinary landscape. Many of the places of our day-to-day lives become invisible through familiarity”. Corbin then later explains that “Vacancy is complex, existing both as a cultural idea and in myrid physical versions, from urban to rural”.

Corbin then goes on to say that design lies within the power of the ‘invisibility’, using space that usually isnt considered a site of great potential and turns the unseen into the potential and thus the concept. People often stumble upon the problem of the “vacant, cleared, or open site, where the design effort must overcome the ‘nothing-there’ syndrome, the aparent lack of staring points typically relied on as logical and visual shapers of design”. The issue of growing cities and the priviledge of open space to create public cultural happenings are becoming more evident around the world. Corbin raises the issue at hand outlining that “more focussed attention is needed to increase our range of responses to vacancy and to mitigate social impacts such as erosion of community identity and loss of safety”.

Corbin suggests a series of approaches which includes the following; explorations of small scale interventions that have potential for larger scale impact; an understanding that fragments of land within a geographical area can together to become increments of a whole through a unifying aim of transformation; short-term or time-limited interventions which are temporary or have the intent of being transitional which could help in determining what land occupation, form or state is appropriate for the longer term. “What Landscape Architects can contribute are social ideas that combine art and function in spatial realizations” (Corbin, 2003).

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12.4 Skateboarding, Space and the City Iain Borden (2001)

Skateboarders are an increasingly common feature of the urban environment - recent estimates total 40 million worldwide. We are all aware of their often-extraordinary talent and manoeuvres on the city streets. This book is the first detailed study of the urban phenomenon of skateboarding. It looks at skateboarding history from the surf-beaches of California in the 1950s, through the purpose-built skate parks of the 1970s, to the street skating of the present day and shows how skateboarders experience and understand the city through their sport. Dismissive of authority and convention, skateboarders suggest that the city is not just a place for working and shopping but a true pleasure ground, a place where the human body, emotions and energy can be expressed to the full.

Borden’s Skateboarding, Space and the City: Architecture and the Body. The title encapsulates Borden’s aim to show how the practice of skateboarding enacts, both politically and dynamically, a relationship between space, time, and the social body. There is a passion informing this book, fuelled by Borden’s belief that an alternative understanding and engagement with urban architecture is possible in order to counter those constructed by dominant capitalist ideology. Borden proposes skateboarding as a means of championing those theories, not only in resisting and refusing capitalism, but also by “restlessly searching for new possibilities of representing, imagining and living our lives” (Borden, 10).

Borden is an avid questioner of city space culturally, as well as a historically, produced entity. This book is grounded on a definition of architecture as a space for productions and reproductions; which is neither stable nor fixed, but instead constituted by the discourses and practices of social life (Borden, 9). Borden firmly places himself amongst the new wave of body-space focused architects by claiming that the conventional architectural historian has concentrated on the production of buildings as opposed to the production of spaces.

The bodies of Borden’s city seem to wade through an ambiguous notion of ‘space’, and it takes some time to understand how he has defined this contested term. As opposed to a fixed form, space is built not only on theories, “but also practices, objects, ideas, imagination and experience” (Borden, 23). What differentiates Borden’s work is his politically charged attack on the material consequences of making monuments, as opposed to celebrating events. Unlike the silent city of buildings, the living city is a matrix of experiential opportunities.

This recognition is a crucial one for a profession seeking to understand new relationships between the built environment and changing spaces.

Borden puts skateboarders above the average, “scopically focused” pedestrian because they engage with space using their entire bodies. Skateboarders experience a visual and phenomenological connection to speed, which is shared only with cycle couriers. The board becomes an extension to the body, a prosthesis, which constructs a specific mode of movement and engagement. The city is transformed into a series of ramps, of slides and runs - a city of surfaces and textures. Borden points out that this sense of complete physical immersion in one’s environment has always been lacking in the imagination of architects and urban planners.

It must be acknowledged that of all the various urban visitants throughout the western world skateboarders are some of the least welcomed. The city has always felt like the domain of the busily suited. The city is easy to see as a place controlled and constructed for those dedicated to the business of gross national product, foreign currency exchange, and stock bonds. Legislated against and banned, skateboarding becomes a deviant activity working against the prescribed scripting for the performance of city pedestrians, leading to a situation where “the city becomes the interrogator rather than the determinant of the self” (Borden, 263).

Skateboarding “challenges the notion that space is there to be obeyed,” refusing to accept the city in its conventional arrangement of thoroughfares, walls, and stairs (Borden, 231).

13.0 Case Studies

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13.1 Dancing in the streets of Beijing_ China “Underneath a freeway overpass, on a vacant concrete traffic island in the middle of bustling Beijing, forty Chinese women in their sixties and seventies, dressed in silk brocaded jackets and padded silk pants, slowly waved lime green handkerchiefs and fluttered hot pink, white, and green striped fans above their heads. They followed an undulating and circulating pattern, dividing into two rows, then reuniting to form one big group. They danced alongside one another, without partners, moving to the rhythm of five male musicians playing drums, cymbals, and horns at the end of the makeshift city stage…. It was 7am in deep December in northern china. Mingguang Qiao, a concrete pad underneath a freeway overpass, belonged to yangge dancers for the moment despite the passing rumbling buses, honking taxies, and sweeping street cleaners. At 9am the dancers abruptly stopped dancing and moved off in a flash, disappearing into the city in different directions… Except for a few watermelon seeds from the intersession break, the dancers left no trace behind of their gathering on the concrete pad.

The traffic sounds increased as rush hour approached, enfolding the stage back into its default setting, a silent and unexceptional space, within the formal city. These kinds of temporary performances happen every morning and night” (Chen, 2010, p. 21).

Beijings urban landscape does not stand still. With an official population of 15 million inhabitants and a burgeoning community of foreigners, Beijing is witness to a vision reminiscent of New York or London, erupting overnight from the body of a historic Chinese city. Narrow courtyard alleys are vanishing and large green parks are appearing. Active Beijing residents are finding new spaces for their activates as the city densifies, limiting public open space. People are still practicing taichi, dancing yangge, and playing chess along with incorporating new activities such as rollerblading, jogging and old person disco dancing. Only now they are taking part in these activities in residual spaces: concrete areas between highway flyovers, parking lots, sidewalks, grounds just outside the gates of parks, stadiums and schools. Many long time Beijing residents have seen their everyday landscapes transformed in a blink of an eye. People are defending what spaces are left available to them after witnessing how former dancing places have become roads, large green parks that require admission fees, new subway stops, new business districts or apartment buildings (Chen, 2010). These leftover residual spaces also described as terrain vague provide the Beijing residents with the space and opportunity to carry out their activities. The sheer number of residents who use these unofficial spaces within the urban fabric: spaces under freeways, unused sections of parking lots after stores close, construction zones in the evening, and widened sidewalks gives one reason for pause (Chen, 2010). Is the variety of activities articulated in the city a tribute to the flexibility and creativity of the residents or an unspoken critique of the existing city design? Not only do these terrain vague spaces provide a setting for residents to articulate their special needs, “they also allow others have little access to the planning process to appropriate the open-endedness of these spaces for their own needs” (Chen, 2010, p. 23).

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With the deharborization of Helsinki’s Kalasatama in Finland, an industrial area that was previously occupied and closed off by harbor activities opened to the city. Between its time as a harbor and its future as a residential and commercial area, Kalasatama has existed as a terrain vague, and a platform for public action. Hosting activities such as urban gardening, graffiti mural making, and a temporary café, the area served as an open, flexible space for its users to not just take a moment in but to take up full engagement with it (Ruskeepaa, 2010).

“Because of its temporary unproductivity and transitional nature, Kalasatama’s regulatory environment was more relaxed than the traditional open public spaces, and although actions were facilitated by the Helsinki-based practice, users were largely given freedom to intervene” (Ruskeepaa, 2010, p. 9). Through undefined quality of its space, Kalasatama offered itself as a catalyst for the imagination of new ways of occupation and engagement. It’s many temporary uses and interventions by city residents prove to the need for such places of potential and freedom to exist in the city in a more permanent form.

13.2 Kalasatama_ Finland

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1 3 . 3 A g r i - t e c t u r e : T h e H i g h l i n e _ N e w Yo r k

Since 2004, Landscape architects James Corner (Field Operations) with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro and planting designer Piet Oudolf have been involved in the redesign of the high line, described a derelict viaduct in Manhattan up to 9m above street level, and 2.4Km long and also up to 18m wide, as a sequential public open space. The project is based on the principle of what they call agri-tecture: nature becomes architecture, as it is inserted between the buildings at an architectural scale, at once wild and cultivated. The choice of planting is influenced by the existing vegetation that colonized the rail tracks during the many years of dereliction; similarly, the design aims at blurring the edge between soft and hard landscape: so called planking meshed planted areas and paved routes like planks, thus creating fluid transitions... The choice of plants is orientated on succession vegetation with indigenous grasses, meadows and trees. As a piece of derelict infrastructure, the High Line hovers between being a historic building to be conserved and a public amenity, a functional space to be used by people and the city. To resolve this tension, the areas characteristic distance from familiar public spaces. The designers slogan “Keep it simple. Keep it wild. Keep it quiet. Keep it slow� (Kamvasinou, 2006, p. 258), sums up the existing terrain vague characteristics of the High Line (Kamvasinou, 2006)

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13.4 SOL Square_ Christchurch

SOL is an acronym for “South of Lichfield� and the combination of heritage buildings and lanes provide for the most interesting urban environment you can imagine. Combine this with artwork, kilometres of fairy lights, the largest outdoor television screen in the southern hemisphere and much, much more and you will understand why SOL is the hottest district in Christchurch.

SOL square is the hottest inner city district in New Zealand. Located in the heart of Christchurch. SOL contains the best bars, restaurants, shops and living options the city has to offer and has developed a reputation as being the coolest place to play, stay, live and shop. By day, boutique retailers ply their wares to leisurly shoppers - everything from fashion to music, cafes and restaurants offer dozens of varities of food and by night the party scene takes over.

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13.5 Laneway_ Melbourne

It wasnt until the 1980s that the city began to appreciate what laneways could offer and efforts to revitalize them began. As you can see from exploring the network, the efforts worked, because now the laneways are certainly one of the most delightful things about Melbourne.

Compared to the main throughfares in the CBD they’re more subtle, charming, unepected, intimate and artistic. Many have their own aesthetic and personality. In the days you can wander around and appreciate the street art (much of it is commissioned or condoned by the city) and shop in boutique shops, and at night you can duck into an inconspicuous restaurant or bar.

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13.6 Street Art _ Rio de Janeiro

“Brazilian graffiti art is considered among the most significant strand[s] of a global urban art movement, and its diversity defies the increasing homogeneity of world graffiti.”

Recently the Brazilian government passed law making street art and graffiti legal if done with the consent of building owners. The legislation is actually a reflection of the evolving landscape in Brazilian street art, an emerging and divergent movement in the global street art landscape.

In Brazil, there is a distinction made between tagging, known as pichação, and grafite, a street art style distinctive to Brazil. This distinction also has a sociological bent, as Rio street artist Smael Vagner describes, “the tagger wants to put his name on the wall, to be famous, and is a vandalist, but the [street] artist is interested in aesthetics and community.”

In Rio de Janeiro, street art is ubiquitous. It exists in all corners of the city, from the favelas to upper class neighborhoods, from residential to institutional. It is bold in scale and aesthetics and is anything but graffiti. The urban fabric of Rio de Janeiro also figures prominently in the evolving street art scene. The high walls, whether for security or to contain the topography, provide ample surfaces for painting. But rather than location dictating art, the relationship between owner and artist has a direct impact on where street art occurs.

Owners of buildings, both residential and commercial, sometimes invite artists for commissions, which is done to protect from tagging, as an aesthetic choice or as an economic choice , painting a façade with art may be cheaper than another mode of beautification. In another case, street artists ask permission from the owner.

While the majority of street art continues to be created illicitly or at locations with no clear ownership, the existence of these new partnerships marks a striking shift in the production of street art and its relationship with the community. Painted walls turn basic infrastructure into active spots of engagement, creating new informal public spaces that dialogue between residents and their city. The idea of creating a community is one of the strongest undercurrents I observed in Rio’s street art scene, whether through city-run initiatives, individual projects or local community groups.

More often however, street art occurs as patches of small-scale interventions and permanent organizations have cropped up to promote the movement and to create opportunities for employment. Graffiti has created a new horizon for young people that have gone on to become artists and teachers. There are cases in which drug traffickers are now graffiti artists. It’s a gateway to a new perspective on life for the poor in favelas who don’t have other opportunities. While it is too soon to tell if these statements are utopian hopes, it is clear that the momentum for street art at the community level is strong and the city and state are on board to help create an environment in which it can flourish.

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13.7 Southbank Undercroft_ London

Southbank Undercroft isn’t a designated skate or graffiti park, but one that has grown organically since it was discovered by skateboarders in the 1970s. Skateboarders see it as their spiritual home.

Graffiti artists love the sheltered space. The park also attracts BMXers, bladers, buskers, and street performers. Tourists and locals frequently crowd around the perimeter to enjoy the spectacle of extreme art and extreme sports.

This type of unplanned, anarchic urban free for all is actually pretty common in the UK. But not everybody likes it. But these free for all zones are about something else. Many skaters and graffiti artists want to do their thing somewhere that isn’t officially endorsed, somewhere they chose and built themselves. “Skateboarding is about exploring, conquering and documenting new terrain, it’s about pushing the boundaries about what you can physically do on a board, and the best sites are often a beautiful accident”.

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13.8 Parque da Juventude, SĂŁo Paulo Rosa Grena Klaiss (2003)

In the north of São Paulo, Brazil, an abandoned prison and its surrounding grounds have gone through a major transformation from deserted and torn down structure to a thriving green space. Parque da Jeventude (Youth’s Park) was completed in 2007. A particular feature of this park is a never completed prison building which resembles an open pergola covered in climbers. It is here that the relationship between human built structure and natures influence meets creating a juxtaposition of effortless beauty. This is somewhat disorganised approach has great potential to translate directlt into smaller urban spaces giving the opportunity for a jungle atmosphere in an otherwise concrete jungle (Moll, 2008).

13.9 Blue Stick Garden, Quebec Claude Cormier (2009)

An installation of sticks, one side painted blue and the other red, creates an element of surprise simply by turning around. Cormier seeks to stir emotions abd give meaning in order to invigorate public space by blurriing the boundaries between design and art, natural and artificial, and real and surreal.

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13.10 Caixa Forum, Madrid Patrick Blanc (2007)

Caixa Forum is a vertical garden in Madrid. It stands as a vast 600m2 masterpiece of interlacing colours and textures. The building, and garden are in the cultural quarter of Madrid where the other famous museums are located. Caixa Forum has become an urban oasis in contrast to the more formal, and much older, buildings and spaces in the vicinity.

The wall creates an “unexpected confrontation with nature”. The idea was to “create a very unusual encounter between the rough and the natural, ...to incorporate nature so there can be the smell of a garden where you would not expect it”. A “space saving green oasis”.

13.11 Barclays Bank Headquarters, London Martha Schwartz (2004)

The headquarters holds five six story tall atriums each with a different 3D installation with a combination of hanging objects. These spaces create unique environments giving the people an identity for where they spend thier business days. Two installations in particular grabbed my attention that of the twelfth floor and the twenty-fourth floor. On the twelfth floor oversized artificial Monstera deliciosa leaves hang from the ceiling a jungle like canopy creates a poetic juxtaposition between architectural form and natural form. Similarily on the twenty-fourth floor constrats the jungle with large, colourful, hanging transparencies of deciduous trees.

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1 3 . 1 2 Wa t e r p l e i n e n _ R o t t e r d a m In most cities, the storm water overflow infrastructure is costly and complicated. It usually involves a series of pipes and basins that hold water after sudden or prolonged rainfall until the standard rainwater runoff avenues are again freed up. But what if the flood-prevention measures of a city actually worked to beautify it while keeping it safe? That’s what the creators of Waterpleinen – or Water Squares – hope to do for Rotterdam.

The proposal is a radical change from the standard. Rather than hiding the storm runoff system beneath the streets and homes of the city, creators Florian Boer and Marco Vermeulen want to create basins to hold filtered storm water when Rotterdam experiences heavy rainfall. The basins won’t simply give the water a place to go so that it doesn’t flood the city, though; they’ll become part of the urban landscape.

For the majority of the year, when the basins are empty, they will be dynamic public spaces rich in opportunities for recreation. And even when the rains fill up the basins and they become impromptu canals and reservoirs, the Water Squares would be ideal places to gather and enjoy the seasonal delights of a fluid wonderland. And although a storm water runoff basin may not seem like the ideal place to take the family for a relaxing afternoon, the water is all filtered before reaching the Waterpleinen.

In theory, above-ground storm water runoff would save cities a great deal of money in infrastructure maintenance costs. And, of course, the aesthetic and recreational value of the Water Squares would be priceless. The Waterpleinen concept has been in the works since 2005, and it will still require a fair bit of research before it can be implemented. But Rotterdam officials are excited about the idea, and if any city is going to lead the way in the change of storm water runoff handling,

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13.13 Shared Space Street_ Kent, UK Integral to the expansion of the Ashford town centre has been breaking the barrier created by the former Ring Road. Since its completion in the mid 1970’s, most of the development has turned its back creating an unpleasant, car dominated environment that does not encourage walking or active street frontages. A mutli-million pound investment was able to transform it back into a two-way system, incorporating the UK’s first fully functioning ‘shared space’ scheme, which has dramatically improved both traffic flow and the entire character of Ashford.

The shared space area at the bottom of the lower High Street allows motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists to occupy the same space and create safer environments, with reduced speeds. Visitors will notice the improved paving and street furniture, and a 20mph zone to increase safety, and the stunning road design makes the area an attractive place for residents, businesses and visitors, stimulating growth and opening up the town centre. Since its launch, the area has been accident free and several UK cities and towns, including Edinburgh, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Oxford, Blackpool and Staines, are considering redesigning their urban streets using the principles of shared space - using Ashford as a model for success.

An example of street furniture and road detailing used within the shared space scheme

Appropriate distances between street trees and change in material aids in delineating the vehicular and pedestrian highways. The linear formation of materiality and vegetation is attractive providing a strong sense of direction.

14.0 How to approach the Terrain Vague From the theory and case studies that I have studied the main techniques used for dealing with Terrain Vague in the field of Landscape Architecture are: • Exploration of small scale interventions that have the potential to have a larger impact • Short term time limited interventions which are temporary or transitional • Interventions that seek a dynamic mix that broaden the terms of the experience • Use of natural elements and contrast with nature • Retain existing structures and give a new purpose the stratergy of weaving past uses with present

Other Approaches: • Application of “green band-aid” to leftover urban space - this involves a complete focus on remediation of site which does not take into account social interactions.

• Erase current state and reuse “cultural amnesia” (describes disorder) introduces a new use for the site, but does not reflect site history or existing conditions.

• Sites as spaces of freedom that are favourable to temporary installations (favour disorder) these reflect idea of change over time and enliven the spaces with creative uses - but they do not improve ecological conditions and usually do not reflect site histories.

• Quick fixes e.g. carpark/development.

• Contemporary grass roots movement involves utilising space for food production/tending animals. These uses invlove people in place making and showcase concepts of urban sustainability.

• Leave the site as it is found. this does not provide much bebefit socially, economically or ecologically, but can investigate a series of events on site.

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T he V ision I propose that Mayoral Drive Underpass, Bledisloe Lane, and Elliott Street Car-park be developed as an extension of the Aotea Precinct. This will provide new public spaces and an intimate high-quality pedestrian, free-running, cycling and skateboarding focused route connecting Myers Park, Aotea Square and Elliott Street Car-park .This will create an alternative uptown-downtown link as part of the city centre laneway circuit proposed by Auckland City Council.

The aim of this design project is to investigate, through engagement with the sites and through design experimentation strategies for intervention with these terrain vague sites, by connecting the potentials of each site and the interconnections of pedestrians, cyclists, and skateboarders. The notion of the unexpected which would interrupt an average persons day, and to confront visitors to these three neglected spaces; to create moments of pause, surprise and excite them.

These terrain vague sites should be designed in an appropriate and sympathetic manner to retain each sites Terrain Vague characterisitcs. I want to create spaces that allow apropriation such as street art, cultural and social spaces where users have the opportunity to activate themselves as agents of change in the city fabric. Spaces which will become a destination used by visitors and locals that bring people together and give the Aotea precinct a new identity.

Key Principles: • Retain Terrain Vague characteristics.

• Provide a high quality and imaginative public realm with regards to urban design, planning, transportation, street scene and maintenance.

• The spaces need to be comfortable for passive and active uses including walking, standing and sitting, skateboarding, cycling, free-running, play and exercise, listening and talking.

• People need to be able to enjoy the spaces, which should be well designed, aesthetically pleasing and allow for activity to spill out from buildings.

• Better design integration is required to ensure they are used as part of the wider public space network.

• To provide a context for the implementation of public art, cultural and heritage projects, and festivals.

• Enhance the precincts reputation as a centre of culture.

• The heritage values of the Aotea Quarter will be protected and celebrated.

• People need to feel safe from traffic and crime.

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16.0 Conceptual Master Plans Mayo ral Dri ve Under pass

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ELLIOTT STREET CAR PARK

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A new public square for Auckland Elliott Street Square “Theatre Square” is an interactive urban space, flexible and adaptive to the users needs. The design for Theatre Square emphasizes the importance of void. The entire concept of the design revolves around the idea of adaptability “emptiness” to over-programmed urban space. Urban dwellers are capable of creating their own meaning in environments. Theatre Square will serve as a new node of urbanity within Auckland city.

1 Linear Rain Garden

7 In-ground lighting

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2 Rain Garden Link

8 Victoria Street Steps

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9 Outdoor Elevator

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Provides relief from the dense urban form of the city, and is the start of the site’s SUDS system. Established with ruderal and wetland plants.

Paved area with gaps filled with pebbled to transport water from rain gardens to the terraced wetland. Also provide an opportunity for ruderal plants to establish.

Solar powered neon in-ground lighting. They light up automatically when it gets dark and their brightness depends on how much sunlight they have received that day.

Interactive wetland with seating overlooking the square, and is part of the sites SUDS system.

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Provides pedestrian access from the corner of Victoria and Albert Street

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Art Walls

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Hydraulic Lights

5 City Stage

Timber decking with in-ground lighting provides a centre point for theatre square.

It divided into four zones by the daylighted stream for multiple uses.

Interactive art walls whether they are used for street art, lighting displays, or a projection screen. “Its up to the user!”

Bespoke Core 10 Steel moveable lights whereby the user can move the lights into their desired position.

6 Splash Zone

In-ground water fountain with concealed jets. Which sends streams of water jumping and dancing straight from the pavement over the ground.

Pedestrian Ramp

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Timber Seating

A diverse range of seating has been designed and are placed in different zones throughout the site that promote differing relationships to their surroundings. (Refer to Timber seating detail) .

Paved area

Mixture of different sized pre-cast concrete paver’s.

An elevator provides better access for disabled users to get from the bottom level to the top level.

4 The Daylighted Stream

Glass covered in-ground stream. Connected to the terraced wetland and splash zone. It is also part of the sites SUDS system.

Shops have been built into the landscape adjacent to the terraced wetland. The paved area in-front provides spill out zones for any cafés/restaurants etc.

Steps in from Victoria Street to create greater footfall into the square.

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Underground Shops

Steel Panels

Roughened with graphical pattern to create a non-slip surface.

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Victoria Street Vertical Bungy

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Theatre squares signature element is a row of bespoke hydraulic lights. They are a kind of interactive kinetic sculpture. By day, these Core 10 Steel structures contort like inquisitive robots, at night they cast pools of light on the city stage below, capable of transforming Theatre Square’s atmosphere every hour of every day of every season. These lights can be used to illuminate an impromptu theatre act, for example, or to add zest to a demonstration of roller skating, parkour or skateboarding.

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Splash Zone an in-ground concealed water fountain which creates a gathering point.

The jets can be manipulated into different heights and configurations, from a low gurgle to Old faithful. Rising up in pulses before crashing to the ground in a percussive, drenching splash.

Great to play in on a hot summers day.

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The Art walls turn Theatre Square into an active spot of engagement, creating a new informal public space. There is opportunity for these walls to be used as interactive lighting displays or a projection screen etc. These enhance public space by creating a gathering event that citizens are invited to experiment. It provides a fun use of public space and will help to create an identity for this entertainment precinct that is becoming kind of ordinary. They also provide opportunities for street artists to express their pieces up close with pedestrians. The Elliott Street Car Park could become the holy grail for street art attracting the best street artists from NZ and the world to make their mark.

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The terraced wetland creates and element of surrealism and contributes to the sites SUDS system. The seating allows for people to overlook the city stage and enjoy the sounds of water as it falls over each ledge providing relief from the surrounding dense urban form. The wetland is built from retained infrastructure.

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The linear rain garden provides an unexpected confrontation with nature that you would not expect in the city, which will provide relief from the surrounding dense urban form. It is the primary SUDS treatment system within the site.

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Outdoor Elevator the elevator will provide better access throughout the site for disabled users.

Stairs that run adjacent to the terraced wetland and underground shops, allow for quick access from the bottom to top level. They are built from retained infrastructure found on the site.

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The terraced wetland is made up of four levels at varying heights and lengths that overflow flow into one another.

The water then discharges into the glass covered in-ground stream below.

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Underground shops, cafe’s and restaurants built into the existing landscape. The sites exisitng pillars are used to determine where the shops will go.

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Victoria Street vertical bungy.

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View of the Terraced Wetland and glass covered daylighted stream looking up towards the top level.

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View of the City Stage with in-ground lighting, Splash Zone, Art wall and Hydraulic lights.

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Upgraded Laneway

Bledisloe Lane has been designed to be an informal space cutting through existing infrastructure to Aotea Square and Theatre Square as part of the alternative uptown downtown route. It will provide an alternative route compared to the main thoroughfares in the CBD such as the chaotic Queen Street. The upgraded Bledisloe Lane is an interactive urban space that is designed to be flexible, adaptive, unexpected, intimate and artistic where the lane itself creates its own aesthetic quality and personality.

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New elevated glass roof with artist commissioned pattern which will cast unique shadows into the laneway below.

2 Core 10 steel Trellising

Bespoke designed trellised living screens mimicking the structure of the opposite civic theatre. Planted with air plants.

3 Street Art Walls

Interactive art walls dedicated primarily for street art.

4 Planter Boxes

Upgraded existing planter boxes with built in seating. (Refer to planter box detail)

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Pre-cast natural stone seating with planter box behind provides an opportunity for pedestrains to take a moment of pause.

They are placed opposite the trellisng and art walls.

6 Night Sky lighting

Part of the glass roof. As night falls the lights become brighter essentially creting a flase night sky.

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Street Art Walls provide opportunities for street artists to express their pieces up close with pedestrians. These walls will most likely be commissioned due to them being part of shop frontages.

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Upgraded planter boxes with inbuilt natural stone seating.

Planted with natives such as King fern, Nikau and lancewood.

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Natural Stone Seating provides an opportunity people to take a moment of pause and enjoy the surrounding art and plants.

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Street Art Walls provide opportunities for street artists to express their pieces up close with pedestrians.

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Core 10 Steel Trellising mimics the structure of the civic theatre opposite.

Gaps in-between each trellis provide view shafts in and out of the lane.

Esquires cafe and Entrance to Metro Centre.

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Street Art Walls provide opportunities for street artists to express their pieces up close with pedestrians.

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Night Sky Lighting stretches the entire length of the lane. As night falls the lights become brighter and the the glass roof becomes a false night sky.

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Bledisloe Lane looking towards Elliott Street, showing upgraded planter boxes, art walls and textured glass roof.

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Bledisloe Lane looking towards Elliott Street, showing Core10 Steel Trellsing planted with air plants and night sky lighting.

Mayoral Drive Underpass

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The Mayoral Drive underpass provides a crucial link from Myers park to Aotea square and beyond, as part of the uptown downtown link. Mayoral Drive Underpass is a reactivation of urban space. It has been designed around bringing the spirit of Southbank, London, to Auckland. A key space for youth. The underpass will become a designated skate park/graffiti park using exisiting site infrastructure and levels. With little design intervention the park has the ability to grow and develop organically over the years to come. Green walls and overhead neon lighting make this space an attractive, and safe place at night.

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Neon lighting will make this space an attractive and safe place at night.

2 Skate/Graffiti Park

Southbank style skate park a place for extreme art and extreme sports.

3 Living Screens

Living screens built into the exisitng crib walling. providing an unexpected surprise, and feeling of being in an alternate territory.

4 Paving

Upgraded linear paving to draw people through the site.

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Due to the sites levels different sized ramps can be built onto existing infrastructure to suit all ages and abilities.

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Living screens built into existing crib walling.

Planted with native species and species all reading established.

Multicoloured Neon lighting will be placed in the overhead. Creating an exciting and dynamic space at night contrasting with the living screens and graffiti.

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Living screens built into existing crib walling. Planted with native species and species all ready established.

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A grind bar can be put in place for skate boarders and will act as a barrier between the skate park and paved pedestrian zone.

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Possibility for a ramp to be built into the existing seating area in Myers Park creating better visual access and flow into the skate park.

The 100 year flood plain barrier makes a great base for building ramps.

Opportunities for street artists to express their work.

Community built skate furniture adds to the use of the skatepark.

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View of the underpass skate park looking towards the Greys Avenue car park.

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View of the underpass skatepark at night showing the overhead neon lighting, looking towards Myers Park.

17.0 Site Details

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Elliott Street Car Park_ General Arrangement Hard Materials Palette Terraced Wetland detail to be provided by speacialist manufactureer. Please refer to project architect and structural engineer for further information. Levels and setting out refer to separate detials (21.10.13/200).

ACO MultiDrain MD150DS system with galvanised steel brickslot as a ‘surface aperture’. Slot drain to have flush transition to surrounding paving units threshold and to incorporate appropriate brickslot access units suitable for taking textured paving slabs as infill material at specified locations. Drainage channels to connect to main public storm water system via ACO sump units.

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Brushed stainless steel balustrade related to external step structures to be installed with a base plate on-top of concrete up-stand wall and/or pre-cast concrete step unit. Balustrade to have a handrail at 1000mm height above finished surface level. Minimum clear spacing between handrail sections to be 1800mm. For further information please refer to separate details.

100mm deep by 175mm wide open conrete channel. The channel is to be filled with angular grey granite chippings, aggregate size 20-40mm to allow water to flow through and ruderal plants to establish. Laid on 150mm deep reinforced haunched concrete foundation over 150mm depth compacted stone layer over well consolidated ground.

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Bespoke Hydraulic Lights manufactured by Tisdall Civil LTD. For further information please refer to project architects and Tisdall Civil LTD.

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Stainless steel metal panels 2500x3000mm with roughened texture for non-slip surface. Laid onto timber joists as per Ekologix decking. Bolted onto timber joists using M12 x 100mm stainless steel bolts.

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Bespoke External Elevator. Please refer to manufacturer Schindler for details.

Ekologix Decking Size: 150x1800x30 150x3000x30 Colour: Dark Brown Laid on 100x100 treated H5 timber joist fixed to concrete reinforced concrete foundation. Joist spacing at 600mm centres fixed with hot dipped galvanised ‘Dnya Bolts’ or approved similar. Size M16 x 175mm. Ekologix Decking laid on timber joists as per the pattern on drawing. Fixed with 10g x 75mm 304 stainless steel screws. Side to side edge clearance gap 6mm (Max) and end to end gap butt jointed 4mm (Max).

Proposed illuminated in-ground lighting within city deck area.

Luminaries supplied by nominated manufacturer. Installation to incorporate concrete foundation above compacted stone layer of 150mm depth GAP 20 over well consolidated ground.

For further information please refer to separate details and External Lighting Package.

Glass covered daylighted stream with neon lighting. Glass panels laid over 300mm deep channel with 150mm deep reinforced haunched concrete foundation over 150mm depth compacted stone layer over well consolidated ground.

Drainage channels to connect to main public storm water system. For further information please refer to separate details (21.10.13/300), setting out drawing (21.10.13/200) for location, lengths and widths and external Lighting Package.

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Textured concrete paving slab.

Size: 600x300x80mm 300x300x80mm Colour: Mid Grey Pattern: Running Bond Laid butt jointed on 30mm sand bed over 150mm compacted stone layer GAP 20 above 200mm compacted stone layer GAP 40 over well consolidated ground. Sharp sand brushed into joints.

Prposed building. To be built into the exisitng landscpae underneath top level. For further information refer to project architect and structural engineer.

Pre-cast paver step unit. To be connected via dowels to reinforced concrete foundation including sufficient space for ducts for recessed lights. For further information please refer to project architects. Number and exact position of recessed luminaries including relevant cut outs incorporated within individual step units to be coordinated by project Electrical Engineer, project architects and specialist manufacturer.

Bespoke pre-cast staircase step unit as manufactured and supplied by Tisdall Civil LTD or similar pre-cast stone units to be connected via dowels to reinforced concrete foundation including sufficient space for ducts for recessed lights. For further information please refer to project architects and Tisdall Civil LTD. Number and exact position of recessed luminaries including relevant cut outs incorporated within individual step units to be coordinated by project Electrical Engineer, project architects and specialist manufacturer.

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ACO MultiDrain MD150DS system with galvanised steel brickslot as a ‘surface aperture’. Slot drain to have flush transition to surrounding paving units threshold and to incorporate appropriate brickslot access units suitable for taking textured paving slabs as infill material at specified locations. Drainage channels to connect to main public storm water system via ACO sump units.

Pre-cast concrete edge, 150x150x915, colour Mid Grey, laid butt jointed over 150mm concrete foundation over 150mm deep compacted stone layer GAP 20 over well consolidated ground. Concrete edge to have a flush transition to adjacent (PA) paving slabs.

Slotted pre-cast concrete kerb edging for drainage into planters, 150x150x915, colour Mid Grey, laid butt jointed over 150mm concrete foundation over 150mm deep compacted stone layer GAP 20 over well consolidated ground. Concrete edge to have a flush transition to adjacent paving slabs.

ACO MultiDrain MD150DS universal sump unit with plastic silt bucket. 500mm length x 185mm wide x 735mm deep, where indicated sump unit to be appropriately connected to slot drainage channels. Sump unit into 150mm depth haunched concrete foundation over 150mm depth compacted stone layer GAP 20 over well consolidated ground.

Bespoke in-ground water fountain. Refer to manufacturers specification in regards to installation. Refer to setting out drawing (21.10.13/200) for positioning of nozzles in (PA) paver’s.

Refer to mechanical engineers drawings for sub-paver pipe work.

Proposed bespoke timber seating as supplied by Tisdall Civil LTD. Refer to detail drawing (21.10.13/300) for details on types of seating (A,B,C,D) and setting out drawing (21.10.13/200) for placement and lengths.

Recessed uplights to be incorporated into paving facing up onto the Art Wall. For further information refer to external lighting package. Number and exact position of recessed luminaries including relevant cut outs incorporated within individual pavers to be coordinated by project M&E Engineer, project architects and specialist manufacturer.

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Note: This Drawing is not to scale. Please refer to technical drawing 21.10.13/200.

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Recessed wall lights to be incorporated within brick wall terraces. For further details please refer to external lighting package.

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Recessed lights to be incorporated within pavers. For further details please refer to external lighting package.

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SE

GL

SE

GL

Sections - Refer to detail drawings

SE

SE

GS SE

ED

SD

ED

SD

PA

SU

SK

5

SE

SE PA

SD

SU

SU

PS SD SZ

SD

GS

PA

SE

SD

For further information related to staircase step arrangement at Victoria street please refer to information provided by project architects and setting out/levels drawing (21.10.13/200) for placement.

SD

SU MP

MP

SE

1.

HL

Recessed step lights to be incorporated within step rise. For further details please refer to external lighting package.

HL

PA

ED

B

C

B

A

A

TS

PA

A

B

TS SE

C

A

B

ED

B

A

B

TS

TS PA

A

B

ED

TS

Ground Floor

A

B

Indicative sections timber seating type_B

C-C

Indicative sections timber seating type_A/B

D-D

Indicative sections timber seating type_C

E-E

Indicative sections timber seating type_D

F-F

Indicative section of Glass Covered Daylighted Stream adjacent to paving

G-G Indicative

section of Glass Covered Daylighted Stream adjacent to Ekologix Decking.

TS PA

SE

B-B

PS

MP

B

A

HL

Indicative sections timber seating type_A

PA

SD

MP

A-A

SE

1:100

Setting Out + Levels

66,320 4,882 +13.88

+14.95

+14.63

4,732

15

100

500

100 1,000 4,000

2,100

4,000

100

800

2,700

800

2,700

800

2,700

800

3,100

+13.82

4,320

+13.80

5,700 3,000

250

500

4,200

8,550

11,500

+13.38

1,559 +9.81

14,030

+13.38

+9.82

1,010

2,310 3,320

4,385

+13.76

+13.74

3,000

+12.68 +10.78

+13.14 +13.38 +12.68

8,100

+13.14

2,935 65,942

+13.74 8,100

+13.38

+12.68

7,970

+9.82

1,500

21,824

1,000

+13.38 +12.18

25,420

5,000

4,350

8,550

8,000

+9.88

6,700

+9.81

900

500

+13.90 +13.88 +10.00

500

500

500

500 2,700

250

800

1,450

2,800

500

3,000 250

5,400

1,500

1,055

4,000

+9.88

5,000

2,000

4,955

2,000

800

1,000

+9.88

500

500

3,842

8,117

+9.81

500

500 1,500

2,720

8,200

1,000 26,820

+13.84

+13.36

+13.38

3,300

4,955

3,000

4,650

1,000

+13.86 1,500

+13.38

5,000

1,054

+13.39 1,500

16,200

+13.56

8,500

250

4,650

+13.58

+9.87

2,000 +13.38

5,400

500

2,200 100

350 350 350 170 170 170 1,555 1,500

2,500

1,600

1,500

4,000

1,980

350 350 350 170 170 170

+13.41

3,500

1,010

3,500

2,490

8,000 1,500 +13.44

250

2,000

3,000

3,000

+13.90

250

4,650

1,010

1,054

1,010

4,000

+13.60 1,554

2,200 100

6,500

6,500

6,500

4,650

250

26,290

40,790

5,778

+13.94 1,381

+13.48 8,500

250 500

3,250

31 +13.48 6,000

500 4,000

3,5

1,010

+13.56

8,440

25,300

1,554 +13.65

3,592 2,300

+13.98

67째

+13.67 1,030

3,450

17,000 3,592

7,537

+13.78

6,300

1,000

8,500

+13.78

3,250

1,950 +13.74 1,080

3,000

26,135

+13.52

2,100

250

3,450

42,172 +13.60

8,440

2,200

Note: This Drawing is not to scale. Please refer to technical drawing 21.10.13/200.

4,8

3,050

350 350 350 170 170 170

250

8,500

350 350 350 170 170 170

250

6,000

250

1,019

500

6,000

100

1,019

+14.30 2,121

6,300

1,900

6,000

67째 +14.02 774

+13.82

2,100

900

1,000

+13.82 1,519

1,9

+13.56

1,500

05

+13.64 6,000

+13.75 1,519

3,050

500

1,010

1,821

3,450

3,382

+13.75

950

11,300

+14.39

100

900

3,990

3,232

1,000

4,732

1,650

8,500

1,600

4,550

5,000

1,010

1,579

+13.88

1,000

48,378

+14.75

+14.71

5,000

1,500

2,250

4,800

2,250 +14.75

+13.89

1,621

5,560

500

3,000 +13.93

+12.91

+12.68

9,900

+11.28

+12.44 +12.68 +11.98

+12.44 +12.21

1,800

1,559

+9.69

10,912

+11.28 +10.08

14,030

+12.12 6,935

+12.12

4,000

+11.74

+11.51

+10.58

+11.28

+11.28

+11.68

6,535

865

8,100

20,858

9,900

2,935

+10.58 +10.08

+11.51

6,135

865

8,100

+11.98

+11.74 +11.98 +11.28

2,209

+9.54

+11.98

1,559 18,000

10,912 1,800

10,912 18,000

10,617

+12.68

+13.72

+11.04 +11.28 +10.58

+11.04

+11.33 865

5,735

+10.81

+10.58

+11.16

+10.58

865

5,335

+10.98 865

4,935

+10.74

4,535 +9.58 10,912

+9.58

+9.58

1,559

1,075

1,075

1,075

1,075

1,075

+9.64

10,912 1,075

1,075

1,075

1,075

10,448

+10.34 +10.58 +9.88

+10.64

4,135

+10.34

2,179

+10.11

+9.88

Top Height Base Height

8,000

8,000

794

8,000

794

+9.74

Surface Level

794

8,000

8,000

794

794

2,179

14,030

865

+9.57 10,617

1,618

36,800

+9.58

794

+9.57

6,750

6,750

2,200

23,314

+ Approximate existing level retained

2,370 900

1,470 900 3,900

4,350

+9.39 900

+ Approximate proposed level +10.00 +9.40 400 400 400

+9.33

+ Glass Covered Stream base of channel Level

68,820

1.

Terraced Wetland

1,200

6,000

2,250

2.

2,768

12,785

3,630

2,730

3,500 900

900

2,370 900 6,750

2,100

18,122

2,200

2,500

630 2,730 1,630 3,450 1,470 900 4,370

2,730

2,730

3,300

900 1,470 900 3,900

800

4,474

900

3,300

Normal Level

2,142

6,750

3,450

900

2,370 900

900

900

3,900

6,150 +9.51

3,500

1,870 3,450 1,470 900 4,370

3,300

900

3,300

1,470

1,470 900 4,370

2,730 1,630

2,730

2,730

2,730 1,630

2,730 2,370 900

4,350

2,100

+9.58

3,500

1,870

2,500 +9.35 900

16,200

2,142

3,823

3,450

2,100

6,000

2,250

Water Surface Level (max) 400

2,100

+9.31 +9.58

630

+9.47

16,200

1,870

2,100

630

6,150

1,618

3,823

4,135 2,480

Ground Floor

1:100

+10.58 +9.88

72

Terraced Wetland Setting Out. Scale 1:25 8,500 2,100

6,300

2,200 2,100

6,300

500

500

2,200

1,000

2,800

1,000

900

1,000

250

250

100

100

1,000

1,000

900

1,000

100

100

500

500

100

4,000 250

1,000

250 900

2,100

250

2,000

4,000 1,900 900

250

500

1,000

100

500

2,200

100

500

2,800 2,700

100

250

100

5,700

250

1,000

2,700

100

1,600

100

100

4,200

+13.38

1,000

+13.38 +13.38

1,000

2,800 2,200

1,000

100 900

250

250

1,900

2,000

4,000

3,300

+13.38

+12.18 4,200

4,200

+12.68

Terraced Wetland Levels. Scale 1:25 +13.38

+13.38

+13.38 +13.38 +12.18

1,000

73 +13.38

+13.38

+13.38 +12.18 +13.38

+13.38

+13.38 +12.68

+13.14

65,942

+12.68

+12.91

+12.68

+12.68 +10.78

+13.14

+12.68 +10.78

+13.38 +12.68

+13.38 +12.68

+13.14

+11.28 +12.68

+12.68

+12.68 +11.98 +12.91

+13.14 +12.91 +12.68

+12.44 +12.44

+12.44 +12.68 +11.98

+12.68 +11.98

+12.44

+11.28 +10.08 +11.98

+11.98 +11.28 +12.21 +11.98

+11.28 +10.08

+11.74

+11.28 +10.08

+11.98 +11.28 +10.58 +10.08

+10.58

+10.58

+11.98 +11.28

+11.28

+11.74 +11.28 +10.58 +11.51

+11.74

+11.28

+10.58 +10.08

+11.04 +11.28 +10.58

+11.28 +10.58

+10.58

+11.04

+10.58

+10.58 +9.88 +10.81

+11.63 +9.73

+10.34 Top Height Base Height Surface Level

Top Height Top Height Base Height Base Height Surface Level Surface Level

Water Surface Level (max)

Normal Level

Water Surface Level (max) Level (max) Water Surface

+10.58 +9.88

+10.34

+10.34

+10.11

+10.11 +9.88

+11.63 +9.73 +10.23

+11.04 +11.28 +10.81

+10.58

+11.04

+10.23 +10.34

+10.58 +9.88

+10.34

+10 +9.8

+10.23 +10.23 +9.88

+10.58 +10.11

+10.58 +9.88

+11.63

+11.04

+11.04

+10.81 +10.58

+11.63 +9.73

+11.28

+11.74

+10.58 +10.58 +10.08

+11.63

+11.98

+11.74

+11.51 +11.28

+12.33 +11.13

+11.74

+11.28

+12.33 +11.13

+11.63

+12.33 +11.13

+11.51

+10.58

+12.33

+11.98

+12.44

+12.44 +12.21 +11.98

+12.33

+12.68 +12.21

+11.28

+12.33

+12.68

+13.14

+11.98 +11.28

+13.38

+13.14

+12.68 +10.78

+12.68

3,300

+13.38

2,209

23,314

3,300

1,000

+10.34

+9.88

+9.88

+10.58 +9.88 +10.58 +9.88

+10.58 +9.88

+10.23 +9.88

+10.23 +9.88

+10.58 +9.88

Plant Typologies

74

Soft Materials Palette All planting to incorporate minimum depth of 400mm imported topsoil and/or topsoil stripped and stored during site set-up/preparation operations including appropriate treatment. Finished level of topsoil to be topped with 75mm deep layer of mulch, dark brown, nominal particle size 5-75mm.

Proposed tree positions.

Bioretention tree pits Excavated tree pit by machine, rootballed tree, back filled with excavated material, incorporating bark mixture at 1m3 per 3m3 of soil. tree pits are 1500x1500x2000mm with 75mm gravel top. 20x25 girth.

1

Rain Gardens Excavated to a depth of 400mm to function as part of the top level SUDS system.

A generic mix of my choosing. This typology is made up of water tolerant based plants that is part of the SUDS strategy for the top level of the site. The key principle of the rain-gardens is to use plants that will, filter and reduce the amount of stormwater and suspend contaminates moving across the top level before entering the terraced wetland. Most garden plants can withstand short periods of inundation and do not need to come from wetland or marshy habitats. Herbaceous plants should be selected for robustness, long flowering, seasonal interest and ease of maintenance.

Possible plant species - It is recommended that rain gardens are planted with a wide range of species in order to create a densely vegetated, stable and thriving bed, which will thrive without frequent maintenance. A typical rain garden is planted with about 10 species.

Area (m2)

Species

Plant height (cm)

Plant in groups of:

at spacing (m)

127.0

Cabbage Tree Cordyline australis Renga Lily Arthropodium cirratum Hen and chicken fern -Asplenium gracillimum Costal astelia Astelia banksii Glen Murray tussock Carex flagellifera Sedge Carex testacea Turutu Dianella nigra Glasswort Disphyma australe Raspfern Doodia media Mountain flax Phormium cookianum

800

As per plan

5.0

50

5

0.9

30-45

7

0.3

60-90

5

0.9

30-45

7

0.6

30-45

7

0.45

30-45

7

0.4

15

10

0.3

30-45

7

0.6

120-180

3

1.2

2 3

4

Terraced Wetland

The Terraced Wetland is the second stage of the sites SUDS stragergy. Terraced Wetlands are used to oxygenate nutrient rich water, remove and retain good nutrients and reduce suspended sediments while creating pleasant water features; Different species of wetland plants were selected and designed to absorb different pollutants from the water.

5

Low shrub Mix Planting to consist of low height species and not to exceed 600mm in height above surface level of relevant locations (i.e. infront of seating overlooking site in order to provide adequate visibility for people).

Area (m2)

Species

Plant height (cm)

Plant in groups of:

at spacing (m)

171.0

Sedge Carex testacea

30 - 45

7

0.45

Area (m2)

Species

Plant height (cm)

Plant in groups of:

at spacing (m)

Type 2

Jointed twig rush Baumea articulata

90-120

3

1.0

Karamu Coprosma Lucida

30 - 45

7

1.0

10.0

Giant umbrella sedge - 90-120 Cyperus ustulatus

2

0.9

Karamu Coprosma robusta

30 - 45

7

1.0

Purei Carex secta

60-90

3

0.45

Rasp fern Doodia media

30 - 45

7

0.9

Giant Rush Juncus pallidus

180 - 240

2

0.4

Parataniwha Elastema rugosum

45 - 60

6

0.1

Lake Club rush Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani

180 - 240

2

0.4

Native iris Libertia grandiflora

45-60

7

0.6

7

0.6

Type 3

Cutty grass Carex geminata

50 - 120

2

0.5

Tea tree- Letospermum 30 - 45 scoparium 15-30

10

0.45

6.30

Spreading swamp sedge Carex lessoniana

60-90

3

0.9

Remuremu Selliera radicans

150 - 180

10

0.2

Spike rush Eleocharis acuta

60-90

3

0.9

Boston Ivy Parthenocissus tricuspidata

Common rush Juncus gregiflorus

60-120

2

0.9

Medium Shrub Mix Planting to consist of medium height species and not to exceed 1500mm in height above surface level of relevant locations.

Area (m2)

Species

Plant height (cm)

Plant in groups of:

at spacing (m)

388.0

Costal astelia Astelia Banksii

60 - 90

5

0.9

Oioi Apodasmia similis

90 -120

7

1.0

Baumea juncea

45 - 60

5

0.45

Swamp Kiokio Blechnum minus

60 - 90

5

0.45

Carex Carex dissita

80

5

1.0

Mikimiki Coprosma propinqua

30 - 45

7

0.9

Karamu Coprosma robusta

30 - 45

7

1.0

Toetoe Cortaderia fluvida

90 - 120

3

1.0

Knobby clubrush Fincia nodosa

60 - 90

5

0.2

Harakere Phorium tenax

180 - 240

3

1.8

75

Details

76

Timber Seating

Seating type_A/B

Materials used througout seating types

77

A-A Indicative section timber seating type_A. Scale 1:20

C-C Indicative section timber seating type_A/B. Scale 1:20

B-B Indicative section timber seating type_B. Scale 1:20

D-D Indicative section timber seating type_C. Scale 1:20 E-E Indicative section timber seating type_D. Scale 1:20

Daylighted Stream

78

F-F Indicative section of Glass Covered Daylighted Stream adjacent to paving. Scale 1:10

79

G-G Indicative section of Glass Covered Daylighted Stream adjacent to Ekologix Decking. Scale 1:10

Bledisloe Lane_ Details

80

Precast Seating

Indicative section of precast seating with planter box. Scale 1:10

Planter Box Plant Species: The following chosen species are hardy plants that can tolerate a variety of conditions. The variety chosen are meant to reflect the wetland that once dominated the area.

Trees: King Fern - Ptisana salicina Nikau - Rhopalostylis sapida Lancewood - Pseudopanax crassifolius Shrubs: Hen and Chicken Fern - Asplenium bulbiferum Sickle Spleenwort - Asplenium polyodon Kowharawhara - Astelia Solandri Crown Fern - Blechnum discolor Glen Murray tussock - Carex flagellifera Turutu - Dianella nigra Rasp Fern - Doodia media

Bench system “r” made of cast natural stone in one piece. The composition of the curved elements when pieced together forms a winding shape. “r” is inspired by freedom, ease of existence. Its organically shaped profile, dimensions, gentle slope and curvature create a playful seat for people to enjoy.

81

Bespoke Trellising

82 Core10 Steel Trellising Plant Species: Tillandsias are regarded as true air plants and are among the Bromeliad family. Tillandsia need no soil because water and nutrients are absorbed through the leaves, and their roots are used as anchors. The plants chosen range from bulbous forms and grass like structures to silver tufted masses. They require high levels of humidity a carefully managed watering and maintenance plan will be required to ensure their success. It is important that the plants are given time to dry out as most plant deaths occur because of over watering.

Indicative section of bespoke Core10 Steel Trellising. Scale 1:20

Installing the Air Plants:

Perch the air plants in the corners of the core10 steel trellising. Secure them with tiny wires around the base of the plant.

Tillandsia aeranthos Tillandsia argentea Tillandsia bergeri Tillandsia butzi Tillandsia caerulea Tillandsia crocata Tillandsia cyanea Tillandsia emile Tillandsia filifolia

TillandsiaiIncarnata Tillandsiai ionantha Tillandsia leonamiana Tillandsia plagiotropica Tillandsia prinosa Tillandsia punctulata Tillandsia seleriana Tillandsia streptophylla Tillandsia usneoides

Mayoral Drive Underpass_ Details Crib Wall Green Screen

Crib Wall Plant Species: The following chosen species require constantly moist soil and are tolerant to partial - full shade.

Climbing Rata Metrosideros fulgens White climbing Rata Metrosideros perforata Alpine hard fern Blechnum pennamarina Kiokio Blechnum novae-zelandiae Three Kings Vine Tecomanthe speciosa Crib walling to be back-filled with loose aggregate and minimum 150mm imported topsoil. Topsoil is faced with Bio Coir coconut matting secured with hot dipped galvanised U shaped staples. Each crib wall cavity is to be planted with 2 (root trainer) plants.

A temporary irrigation system is to be installed until plants have properly established. Irrigation system is to be installed every 2m vertically and run the entire length of crib walls.

Indicative section of Mayoral Drive Underpass crib wall green screen. Scale 1:5

83

18.0 Reflection The idea from which this Negotiated Study has stemmed from, is my own personal interest in Terrain Vague and fascination in seeing beauty in derelict spaces. When I stated this project I knew I did not want to design another public open space. I wanted to explore the concept of terrain vague and use the theory associated with it as a design driver on site/s I was yet to choose. There were several sites to begin with after having explored the city by foot and by bike looking for terrain vague spaces. At first I thought I knew exactly what I was looking for but by allowing the spaces to reveal themselves to me made for an entirely different experience of the city and spaces themselves. These sites were quickly narrowed down to three due to their location within the CBD, their spatial arrangements and connections to one another. I saw an opportunity to revitalise an area that is fast becoming dilapidated compared to other areas/ developments in the rest of the city. Mayoral Drive Underpass and Bledisloe Lane surprised me the most especially as I didn’t even notice their existence until I had walked through them a couple of times. I believe the reason these spaces became ‘forgotten’ is because nobody thinks to take any particular notice. The spaces are there to serve a pure purpose/function and are not of any particular cultural interest. I, however, do not see these spaces I chose in this light. The hidden nature of the spaces become their strongest feature as this can be played into a greater unexpected outcome and can unleash their hidden potential.

The notion of the unexpected and sense of freedom were initial design drivers which lead me into a study of appropriation, and how people appropriate spaces. Appropriation acts as a catalyst for the imagination of new ways of occupation and engagement. It allows for temporary uses and interventions and proves the need for such places of potential and freedom to exist in the city in a more permanent form. At times my exploration has seemed disordered, several times going on tangents that were useful in bringing together information about terrain vague.

But unfortunately it was not possible to cover the full breadth of these ideas within this project.

Through this design investigation I discovered that design does not need to be hugely complex and intricate where everything fun, sacred, and beautiful about the world is turned into a dialogue that only few can understand in order to convey a desired effect. I would contend that design of terrain vague space is a cultural construct and that an intervention can be made that captures qualities inherent to each site and its surrounds, and should be intimately linked with elements that pass, and have passed through the site. Design of terrain vague is based on the site itself, its opportunities and constraints inform an appropriate design intervention.

Overall I feel I have set out what I aimed to achieve with the design of the three sites. I wanted to create spaces that were designed to maintain the richness and special atmosphere of the terrain vague, places colonized nature and people in a more uncontrolled manner. A series of interventions stitching together the larger context. The appearance of artwork turns basic infrastructure into active spots of engagement, creating new informal public spaces and the use of different materials creates multiple zones that are ultimately up to the user to activate them. Some of the issues I have come across was addressing the heightened security associated with these spaces and the issue of ownership such as Mayoral Drive Underpass, a reactivation of urban space where the user ultimately creates the space, and the art walls within Bledisloe Lane and Elliott Street Car Park being placed on existing buildings adjacent each site. All three sites create their own sense of place through appropriation. I believe I have bought these terrain vague sites into the light for people to use them as an alternative space in the city.

84

To summarise: After having looked at the theory of terrain vague I have come to the conclusion that terrain vague is a theory of perception. These spaces are an inevitable part of the city, because terrain vague does not have a particular set of criteria or principles that define what it is people have come up with different ways to approach and deal with terrain vague. Some in a negative and some in a positive way. Terrain Vague is part of an urban organism constantly evolving, often born with a very precise function, but ready to adapt to new uses, following and participating in new mechanisms of transformation of the city. Terrain Vague is a difficult concept, being essentially non-design, but it is powerful in its ability to theorize on the boundaries of the ordered world in which we reside.

19.0 References

85

Berger, A. (2007). Drosscape: Wasting Land Urban America . New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

University of Liverpool Environmental Advisory unit. (1986). Transforming our waste land: The way forward. London: HMSO Publications Centre.

Byles, J. (2003). Terrain Vague. Cabinet , 2.

Ursprung, P. (2012, 05 20). Terrain Vague. Retrieved 10 08, 2013, from Prochelvetia: http://www. prohelvetia.ch/fileadmin/ftp/www/expo/landschaftsarchitektur/en/text-terrainvague.html

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