OUR SEA OF
Book 2
ISLANDS & ATOLLS
RECLAIMING AN ARCHIPELAGO
PRINCIPLE RESOLUTIONS ‘recomposition’ : giving the land back to the ocean and recomposing softscapes and edge conditions to rethink not about building onto water, but rather water into building. ‘regeneration’ : revitalizing urban areas to create a unified urban landscape / destination that will activate our understanding of the harbour, and it’s connection to the city. ‘recovery’ : the reconstruction and restoration of the harbour as a medium for the public to develop a dialogue with the city, thus its focus is on the interaction between place-making and city building processes, resulting in urban environments which support long term social and economic sustainability.
DESIGN DECISIONS 1. ‘A New Shoreline’
Our proposal includes restoring Auckland’s shoreline along Quay street to reinvigorate the potential for Quay street to become a public boulevard. The aim here was to always share an affinity with the ocean and more importantly the harbour. As seen in Mission Bay our beaches are a focal point for residents and visitors for swimming, surfing, fishing, walking, cycling, sport, recreation and lifestyle. Thus it would be beneficial to continue this dynamic language along Quay street.
2. ‘Island Framework’
It is one of the twenty-first century’s great ironies that the more we come to understand the irreplaceable capabilities of the natural world, the less of it we have left. This is particularly salient in the extensions of ports of auckland, where sprawling development continues to extend the urban footprint ever further. The response was to re-design the site, and its land as a series of islands or an archipelago that extends throughout harbour, in an attempt to visualize a oasis that once revealed itself to early explorers. This sense of arrival is amplified with a biodiverse ecology that will offer people multiple ways to engage directly with nature without ever leaving the city.
3. ‘A Living Metropolis’
Waitemata Harbour is the point of arrival for thousands of tourists arriving by sea each year. It has potential to become a metropolis catering to this. With the creation of a berth to cater for more cruise ships, and the initiative to create a tourist friendly environment with a close connection to the CBD, an increase in revenue would be possible.
CONCEPT PLAN
Breaking up the site
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When breaking up the site, the existing shape of the ports, flood zones, and the idea of bringing the sea closer to the city was taken into consideration. The new shoreline is created on Quay Street in
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order to bring the sea closer to the city. Remediation areas are situated in the flood zones, and masses of land are eroded, declaimed and built up to create a new topography.
THE EDGE CONDITION
The edge condition is explored in the masterplan in terms of the creation of a new shoreline, and the declamation of land masses into archipelagos. Quay Street becomes the new shoreline, transforming into a beach to invite people into the water, but also to bring the city closer to the sea. Land masses are eroded and broken up into archipelagos, putting greater emphasis on the water. More edges are created through this, providing more opportunities for people to actively interact with the sea. Selected edges are assigned a program or activity to do with the water, such as being transformed into pools or baths, allowing swimming access, kayak sheds, boat ramps, berths, and viewpoints. The purpose of exploring the edge is to find ways to bring the sea closer to people.
Existing shoreline
New shoreline along Quay St.
Existing land mass
Creation of archipelagos and erosion of edges
PLAN
Waitemata Harbour provides the first image of Auckland for thousands of tourists arriving by sea each year. It has a long history of being an arrival point, going back to its discovery by the Maori. Tamaki Makaurau is the Maori name for Auckland, Tamaki meaning desired by many. It was seen as a place abundant with land, hills, volcanic activity, and its proximity to water. These aspects attracted waka from other tribes to trade with the people of the Auckland region. At times there would be hundreds of waka in the harbour, leading to Auckland’s other name being Tamaki Herenga Waka.
ACCESS
The whakapapa of Auckland can be reflected on this site, in reference to the regular migrations and voyages that occurred from the Polynesian and Melanesian Islands, evolving to today’s ships, ferries, and canoes. A long piece of land extends out from the city onto the water, mimicking the notion of piers, and leading people further out to the sea. At the tip of this land, wakas will be tethered alongside or within a cultural centre aimed at exposing and educating tourists and the public about Maori culture and crafts. The cultural aspect of arrival is demonstrated through this, while a more functional aspect is demonstrated by the creation of a berth edge to accommodate for two cruise ships. Declaiming land to accommodate for more cruise ships will increase revenue, and tourists would be lead to explore the other parts of this waterfront development.
PROGRAMS
The programs on site are concerned with culture, recreation, and community. When Tamaki Makaurau was discovered, it was said to be abundant, so the idea of abundance should be carried through on this long strip of land. It should create a journey through different activities that can exist between the land and sea, and reflect our coexistence to it. The architecture within this will become an extension of the landscape, something the natural environment can exist around. Programs along this strip will include an urban garden, a place where community and a sense of place can be created, weaving people together through a common interest in growing food. Heated pools will exist as a transitionary space between the land and sea, resembling geothermal pools and referencing volcanic activity. A strip of land connects the site to the seafood nurseries, consisting of a variety of fresh food restaurants. The berth will accommodate for cruise ships only at certain times of the year, so dedicated cycle and walking lanes will exist along the berth, alongside sports courts which require a flat surface that the berth provides, and other recreational spaces for various activities.
Mixed use Public space with water access. Urban garden/park Restaurants/Bars Cultural centre Berth/Recreation Thermal pools
2 BRITOMART PLACE
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PROGRAMS
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1. Existing Building 2. Recreation 3. Lagoons 4. Wetlands 5. Pedestrian pathways 6. Fishing Nursery
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MAHUHUKITERANGI RESIDENCE
BEACH ROAD
APPROACH
The proposed site is a threshold condition which engages all five senses through shape, materiality, topography, direction, and gradients of the wild, to draw on visible and invisible processes in the tidal landscape. Connected to the trail, the walk is a ritualized journey from the edge of the city to the canals of water, and the path is an individual expression of discovery. The network encourages everyday interactions and a renewed relationship to water, from recreation and experience to cultivation and ownership.
Park Access Boardwalk Fishing ponds Community Gardens Retention ponds Wetland filtration
URBAN ECOPOESIS As our parks evolve with out changing human ideas of “nature�, this proposal signals a major shift in what we believe our public green spaces can be. By unapolagetically mixing the wild with the constructed, the archipelago highlights nature as an awesome spectacle and a provider of infrastructural services. it also reveals a change in our conception of the city itself- demonstrating that our harbour can transition from a link in an industrial system to a link in an ecological one, forecasting an urban future where nature amd the city blur for mutual and maximum benefit.
FILTRATION PONDS
VISUALIZATION
100 NEW ISLANDS PORT VOLLUME IF EXCAVATED 6M: 1,472,990M続 IF EXCAVATED 10M: 2,454,984.45M続 THIS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO 100 NEW PRIVATE ISLANDS FOR 100 WEALTHY PATRONS FOR THEIR PRIVATE COLLECTIONS. THEY ARE PRIVATE ENOUGH YET CAN BE PUT ON DISPLAY AS A SPECTICAL OF WEALTH CREATING A NEW TOURISM FOR AUCKLANDS CBD
ADVENTURE ISLAND
GENERATING ENERGY ON SITE
The vast area of the site allows the opportunity for it to be partially sustained by renewable energy generated on site. Solar energy is the most appropriate option. Other options that could be considered are tidal and wind. However, tidal currents would not be strong enough to generate enough power, and the distinct structures of wind turbines would be obstructions when viewing the site. An offshore solar park exists in Kagoshima, Japan, where photovoltaic cells cover approximately 1.27million square metres of reclaimed land, providing power to approximately 22,000 households. There are also floating PV cell technologies, but there is sufficient land area on site to accommodate for something similar to the Kagoshima solar park. There is also the possibility to allow installations of sculptural solar lights on the island. This will not only create a visual presence at night, adding to the cityscape, but also raise general awareness about solar power and sustainable energy sources.