Book 3 l munro native wildlife gateway

BOOK 3

Lachlan Munro

Auckland’s Natural Wildlife Gateway

1

A

PURPOSE

BUILT

CRUISE

SHIP

TERMINAL My proposal involves the construction of a new purpose built cruise ship terminal on Bledisloe Wharf’s B3 terminal, meaning the terminal will remain right at Auckland’s front door, making it easy for passengers to quickly and easily walk into the city or to nearby transport hubs. I am also aiming to showcase some of New Zealand’s unique wildlife. New Zealand prides itself on its ‘clean green’ image so I want passengers who arrive in Auckland by sea to be instantly introduced to this. I also want as much of the site as possible to be open to the public wheather cruise ships are present of not, also due to the nature of terminal buildings (large open plan spaces) I think it would be important that the building can be used for other functions.

2

AUCKLAND’S SHIP

EXISTING

CRUISE

FACILITIES

During the 2012/13 season approximately 100 cruise ships visited Auckland with 178,000 passengers and 78,000 crew (The equivalent to 615 Boeing 747s). Shed 10 is Auckland’s primary cruise ship terminal and also acts as a function centre. It can berth ships up to 294 metres long (the average cruise ship that visits Auckland is between 250m-290m long). The first floor of Shed 10 is a processing lounge for passengers, an embarking space and a customs controlled area for border processing, the ground floor consists of another passenger lounge and a security area.

Each cruise ship visit is estimated to deliver about $1 million to the local economy in passenger accommodation, dining, transport, shopping and entertainment, as well as crew expenditure, supplies and port charges.

Auckland Port has had to turn away the Ovation of the Seas for its four planned visits in 2016 due to the port extension stoush. The 348m long by 40m wide mega-liner carries 5000 passengers and 1300 crew. Large cruise ships like this can dock at the general cargo Jellico Wharf, but the port cannot afford to keep the area clear of cargo for 5 days.

Bledisole’s B3 terminal is dredged to 12m but is only 260m long.

3

OSANBASHI CRUISE

SHIP

YOKOHAMA,

INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL. JAPAN

Yokohama’s Osanbashi International cruise ship terminal is a 400m long structure (approx. 70m in height and 15m wide with a total floor space of 48,000m2). The grass and timber rooftop walkways and open spaces are open 24 hours to the public, the pier is considered one of the city’s best places for walking with views out to the harbour and of the Yokohama skyline. Its design mimics the rolling waves of the harbour. Below the walking areas there are boarding facilities, shops, restaurants and a hall for small exhibitions and events. The terminal is a five minute walk from the nearest train station and the bus loops in front of the terminal.

Yokohama has about three million residents and is 30 minutes south of Tokyo by train. The terminal can accommodate up to two 300-metre vessels at the same time. Its largest berths are 450m long, 12m deep and 20m wide.

4

SYDNEY’S

CRUISE

SHIP

TERMINAL Sydney’s recent cruise ship terminal was completed in 2013 at a cost of approximately A$2000 a square metre. The 4600m2 terminal is built on a site previously used for container shipping. The terminal is made up of a new roof hung from the structure of the existing steel gantry crane which was retained. This structure was repaired where necessary but otherwise left as is to show its scars from its previous use. The client was keen to reuse the ports existing assests where possible in order to keep the cost down and to align with their sustainability and heritage objectives.

5

A

UNIQUE

WELCOME

New Zealand prides itself on its clean green image. We have an amazing range of unique native flora and fauna. Could the cruise ship terminal building also be a showcase of New Zealand’s rich native wildlife? This could provide an attraction to the waterfront and it would be a unique way for cruise ship passengers to be greeted into New Zealand. Could the structure of the building provide a place for birds to nest? Could the building also act as a walkway and viewing platform?

6

REUSE Bledisole Wharf already has several key features that could be reused. The large boulders at the waters edge and the piers supporting the wharf. The boulders could be reused to create shelter for wildlife and as a landscape feature to frame the walkway. The wooden piers are already arranged in a grid like set-out, just like the proposed waterpath grid that will run through the entire site, these could be reused to compliment this grid system to support the reintroduction of wildlife and a walkway over the water.

7

A TO

NATIVE THE

NEW

ZEALAND

WALK

CITY

From sea/winds/rocks – trees/greenery/grass/timber – the city.

The entrance to and from the building could be a small journey through a series of small transitions featuring some of New Zealand’s natural landscapes.

The large rocks of the foreshore and the greenery could be the main feature of this. The foot entrance could also be used as a public walkway while also act as a place to observe some of the wildlife like sea birds etc.

8

KAWAU (THE

TOKITIKI

SPOTTED

SHAG)

The Kawau tokitiki or the Spotted Shag is an entirely marine bird confined to the New Zealand region. They bread on cliffs or ledges facing the sea. They are common in the Haukari Gulf, Auckland’s west coast and in Wellington, Marlborough and the east coast of the South Island. The travel up to 16km out to sea where they dive into the ocean to feed on small fish and marine invertebrates. They form roosting flocks of up to 2000 birds. Their eyes are surrounded by a distinctive emerald green and blue ring, their throat is royal blue and they have two forward curing mohawks on their head. They fly in a triangle like formation and are a term of respect afforded to visitors by the people of Tamaki.

9

REINTRODUCE

THE

NATURAL

HABITAT Bledisloe Wharf covers a large area, approximately 150ha, this is far more than I need for the proposed cruise ship passenger terminal. Some of the area around the top east of Bledisole Wharf could be broken up into smaller areas, with the pier piles remaining, these could be modified to be used as nesting places for birds while the exisitng large boulders could be clustered into small ‘islands’ to also provide nesting places for birds. The proposed walkway that goes around the perimeter of the entire site could be constructed to continue over the water and to weave in-between the bird nesting poles and rock islands.

10

THE

FALLEN

KAURI

TREE

The leaves of the kauri tree are traditionally used for welcoming, waving the leaves is a welcome to the living, the dead and the influence they have on that person, the leaves also retain their green colour after being removed from the tree.

When a tree falls in the forest it takes on a new function; it is inhabited by all sorts of insects and animal, moss and grasses grow over it and it continues to play a vital role in the forest’s ecosystem. Could this analogy apply to the existing cranes on the wharf where the planned terminal is to be located?

The three existing 73m tall ship-to-shore cranes are an impressive sight. Could these remain as they are and be repurposed in the new terminal building? Or could they be dismantled and be used for the structure of the new terminal?

Or could the cranes just be left as they are to provide nesting for birds?