Matthew Elcoat

Introduction

Cox’s bay park

The site, located on Grey lynn’s Richmond road, is in a prime position to influence the future context of its surroundings in a positive manner. Situated near an earmarked ‘local center’ a few blocks to the southwest, and surrounded by largely residential areas (mainly single 1/8 acre sections) it has the potential to become a vibrant local center for the area.

The site is situated on what used to be the bed of cox’s creek. A series of pathways now follow the former creek’s trail, leading from cox’s bay to Grey lynn park almost uninterrupted by the urbanity that surrounds them.

This pathway is the key to engaging with the future context of new Lynn. By engaging with the existing condition (i.e the river, its pathway and surrounding areas) and extending its use and contextual meaning, the site can catalyse further development of this idea in the future, thus altering the future context of Grey Lynn.

Hukanui reserve

Grey Lynn park

Grey Lynn

1:10,000 former creek bed pedestrian path

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Glimpses of a river

Hukanui reserve board walk

Various boarder zones at the river’s edge

Cox’s bay park, looking towards Cox’s creek

Stratified zones signifying the river’s edge

Cox’s creek is currently used as a storm water drain for the area around the site. It is a tidal creek that flows up to Richmond road, before stopping at the storm water culvert. The creek used to run to the south edge of Grey Lynn park, and its dried river bed is still visible in Hakanoa reserve.

The first major vein of contextual analysis involves analyzing conditions evident in the creek and its surroundings.

The creek itself is relatively narrow, particularly at low tide. However, there is a substantial area of mangroves and wetlands that line its edges.

These accentuate its fleeting presence and create a wide boarder along the river corridor.

The creek itself can often only be seen through dense foliage. This condition creates a microscopic figure-ground image, wherein the creek’s pathway is hinted and described by fragmented pieces of its whole.

The disappearance of the creek is evident in the dried up bed observed in Hakanoa reserve, it hints at the creeks existence without showing it outright; it renders the solid article as a void.

Cox’s bay park, view of river

‘Figure-ground’ of river

Hakanoa reserve, dry river bed

While the river itself is largely gone, its importance to the sites context is paramount; its presence in Grey lynn park meant the land was unsuitable for subdividing, hence it was retained as an open public space. The same goes for Hukanui reserve and Cox’s bay park. This creates a long stretch of ‘void space’ along the former course of the river; what is now a well know pedestrian route.

The valley trail Even at the macro scale, the former creek bed and the path it has created are evident.

The streets leading towards Grey Lynn park, Hakanoa reserve and the site (all of which run perpendicular to the pathway) have a clear slope, leading down to the former creek bed before rising again at the other side. This roots the pathway in a geological context, suggesting importance at a scale much larger then the site.

The fact that most of the existing roads run perpendicular to this slope and to the pathway helps to accentuate its existence, solidifying it as a departure from urbanity.

Both these factors mean that architectural relationships to the site’s slope should be carefully considered.

Richmond road, pathway through valley

Sackville street, view towards pathway

Grey Lynn 1:10,000

Firth road, view towards park

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Oasis The reserves along the length of the pathway help to create a sense of separation from urbanity, despite the fact it is often nearby. This is not the same as total immersion in nature however; one is still aware of urbanity, making it an interesting condition.

Faint traffic noise can be heard, muffled by large distance, or dense foliage and topographical features. Occasionally, a building peaks through the canopy, or watches from the edge of an open field, reminding the inhabitant of their context.

Overall, this creates the sense of a narrow ‘oasis strip’ through a piece of urban landscape.

A dense area of vegetation in Hukanui reserve

Countdown peaking through the trees

Respect for the void

Grey Lynn park

The ‘void corridor’ created by the various public spaces along the pathway, can be seen as a catalyst from the past; a contextual feature that differs from its surrounding context. It is features like these that allow for contribution to future context, by extending and redefining existing conditions, rather than adhering to widely adopted strategies. The way in which architecture responds to catalysts like this defines what the sites future context will be.

Along this corridor, the built environment is set back in the distance. The site is part of a short stretch, which cuts through urbanity more closely. Hence, the redevelopment of the site must react to this condition.

Cox’s bay park

Hukanui reserve

History and rhythm

Rhythm evident in the gables of houses on Dryden street

Many historic buildings exist in Grey Lynn, particularly bay villas built before the Second World War. Under the unitary plan, all buildings built before 1944 receive a degree of protection, so as to preserve potential historic sites in years to come. With this in mind it is important to consider the site as a backdrop for older buildings, which may be around for a long time. This is particularly true considering almost all the surrounding buildings fall into this category.

In showing sensitivity to individual historic buildings, one must also consider the way they work together within the urban fabric. A sense of rhythm is inherent in the street frontage of many Grey Lynn streets, and this needs to be considered in the architecture to be designed.

:pre 1944 :Historic heratige

Center point The sites close proximity to an earmarked ‘local center’ in the unitary plan that runs along Richmond road justifies the sites development as a central point on this urban pathway. An extension of retail and community amenities along Richmond road and into the future will help to catalyze more of the pathway, and provide a vibrant center for the Northern part of Grey Lynn. This would also be an asset to the suburbs further North and North East, as according to the unitary plan, they lack a nearby ‘local center.’

Grey Lynn

1:10,000 former creek bed pedestrian path

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Initial concept The pathway through the site is accentuated by a widening near the Sackville road edge. This creates a ‘point’ in the pathway; a plaza where artistic or recreational activities can take place.

The curves of the pathway help to shield it from Richmond road, while still inviting people to enter. This creates an oasis effect similar to Hukanui reserve.

Smaller tributary pathways feed into more private spaces and the residential areas. These are primarily for the use of the residents but areas near the pathway may also be colonized by the public, creating a gradient from public to private, in the same way the rivers edges are blurred by wetland spaces and park voids.

Site plan

1:5,000 former creek bed pedestrian path

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The pathway through the site can be viewed as a solid core of recreational activity running through the less active ‘void’ retail and residential space. It can also be viewed in the reverse (as with the dry river bed metaphor mentioned earlier); a void which serves the solid boarder zones.

These boarder zones give emphasis to the pathway, much as the boarder zones of Cox’s creek do. The bulk of these spaces will taper down as it reaches the edges of the site, to blend into the surrounding neighbourhood.

note: The heights in the diargams represent overall trends, not actual heights