Bayswater Marina Site Design Report 1.08.2014
Anjali Pondicherry 1518100
Pervious surface Impervious surface Buildings
The site is a thin long strip of reclaimed land exposed to the east and west with a strong axis running north south. It catches the winds especially the southwesterly hence is a cold and windy. The plan shows just how the site is surrounded with water and how much of the land is paved, seen in pink. There is small one stored shed like structures scattered around the site seen in yellow. Design implications include providing wind protection, making use of the surrounding waters, increasing green spaces and creating a strategy in the built form that tells a story and orients people towards something in particular.
This image is taken next to the Takapuna boat club. I spent a long time around the boat club as it gave me a sense of inhabitance. It drew me in as I felt like I could find more of a story of how the site is/was used. The view of the city is reduced to a thin strip of land that acts like a rim around the water. Unlike looking out into the ocean that looks endless our experience here is quiet different, the rim of land protects our view. Design implications are to enhance the visual connection with the water and incorporate a strategy to tell the story of the Takapuna boat club and other histories of the site.
This image shows a bright red flag hoisted on the deck of the Takapuna boat club. This is a really strong place maker; we know from it that people have used this space. Our vision is focused on the place maker by the small aperture imbedded in the wall; also the contrast of the red plays a role in drawing our attention towards the flag. The sudden splash of color evokes an emotion and a surge of attentiveness in me. Design implications are to create focused place makers that are meaningful and engaging to the users of the site and also using a splash of color and contrast to create personal responses
A rope secures this vertically propped up boat making a light impact on the storage shed. I was searching for traces of inhabitance, anything that would hint at some human activity. I found it with the personality seen in securing this boat other than this and the boat sheds the site did not seem to have much personality. The contrast of the red against the brown of the wood and the blue of the water and sky captivated me. Design implications for this image are giving more expression to how people may use the site, playing with contrasts in terms of color and the orientation of elements.
This image shows the edge quality of the site. There are no access points into the water so we can make a physical connection with it, except for a few concrete ramps that go down to touch the water– however these are not welcoming. My sight is drawn to the beautiful blue, calm water whereas I feel under me the dark, rough rocks. The water has a transparent reflective quality whereas the rocks in direct contact with me are quiet the opposite. The sound of the waves helps us feel closer to the water but design implications are getting physically past this restrictive edge to feel the quality of the water.
This image shows a bare tree with a flying bird. On the site the noises I heard was the loud chirping of the birds from the site against the quiet even hum of the traffic from the city. The site is home to many species of birds and I spent quiet a while watching them fly. It was important for me to get a picture of the birds up in the sky as I feel the sky is as important as the water. The relationship between the sky and the water is interdependent; and the relationship between the land and the sky is strong as the site is elevated from the water. Design implications are to incorporate the sky to be part of the project.
This image tells us the story of the tides. The tide is low at the time the photo was taken. The push and pull of the water is fascinating, it creates a jagged edge that is never the same through the way in which the land reacts to the lack or abundance of water. Here the water overlaps the land whereas the rest of the site being reclaimed land has overlapped the water. Design implications would be to investigate how to give back the land to the water so it returns to its natural state while still being able to inhabit the site
This sketch is looking out to the Northwest of the site. It was raining and since there was no shelter I went to take shelter under the trees. The flax, the shining karamu and the turutu plants along with the larger trees protected me from the rain. The site has a large range of plants that is not seen enough further south in the site. This spot was the only one I came across that allowed me to take in the view and at the same time gave me the privacy needed to contemplate. Design implications is to bring in shelter incorporating native plants to provide more spaces where a person can appreciate the view and be able to contemplate
This image is taken in the same spot as the previous one. There were so many layers on plant life in this, species of plants were coming from every possible direction. This image has a sense of varying depths and complexity of the hollow spaces and the contrast of the green against the brown is a recurring view around the area. However this layering of plant species doesn’t occur enough towards the south of the site. Design implications are investigating how to get this richness of layers and depths in the project.
Finally the view of the CBD from the south of the site. There is a strip of land that extends into the water; this is one of the only places on the site where a bold move like this occurs. It is provocative to be able to get closer to the view and be in between the body of water. There is connection that happens in this point as we are passing a threshold on the site. This doesn’t happen often enough on the site hence design implications are allowing people to moves between spaces that changes the way you feel through the way one experiences the views.