Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
+ s h e l t e r
marina
The old port - Auckland’s new Sunday walk. Harbour baths, oyster banks, new bridges, cultural institutes, and native parks. Now that the industry has moved away, the harbour is returned to the city. Bridges and walkways will create a completely new link around Auckland’s inner harbour.
With the aim to transform polluted waters and under-utilised wharves into urban fish farms, where seafood can be bred, harvested and served on site in the seafood eateries. The dining experience becomes more than just eating the seafood, diners will experience the early stages of aquaculture in the hatcheries all the way through to the seafood being served. 2
Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
WATER
OYSTER BAY
CITY
aquaculture farms
The joining of water and urban activities as the main function, bringing water into the city, and the city onto the water.
Oyster Bay - Remediation
Oyster Bay is a science, food and architecture collaboration which seeks to educate Auckland about the harbour, its history and its pollutants.
A single oyster can filter around 5 litres of water per hour, collecting heavy metals that are present in the harbour. The oyster pontoons are essentially a small oyster farm which acts to filter the water in Oyster Bay. The Bay has multiple tiers, with barriers allowing the control of water quality and levels of filtration.
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Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
Unidentified Maori woman gathering seafood (probably oysters) off the rocks, in Paihia, 1895-1900
From ancient Maori times, Tamaki Makaurau was known for the fertile nature of the land and sea. Kumara from the land, and Shark, Snapper, Mussels and other species from the sea.
The district focuses on the philosophy of “tamaki kainga nga ika me nga wheua katoa” – Auckland, where the fish are so succulent you can eat them bones and all.
The shellfish would be grown in hatcheries and moved to pools once they were large enough, and the larger bay would become a watery regional park that emerges in the harbour to prefigure the city’s return to the waterfront. 4 http://historyinphotos.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/frank-denton.html
Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
Oyster-tecture Section
Oyster-tecture is a proposal to help remediate the health of the New York Harbour by nurturing an active oyster culture that engages with the issues of water quality and rising tides. A soft infrastructure made out of fuzzy rope allows the seeding of oysters at key points in the harbour. The fuzzy rope supports the oyster and mussel growth, and builds a rich three-dimensional landscape mosaic. The combination between remediation through oyster growth and education and the ‘rock-pool’ nature of the site are what drew me to this project.
5 http://www.scapestudio.com/projects/oyster-tecture/
Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
Visitors to the site exploring the pools, alongside workers collecting seafood
A network of pathways would transport the visitor through and over the water. The paths would allow visitors to walk over the aquaculture beds and nurseries, the experience being akin to a trip to the beach to explore the vibrant rock pools.
Green space would weave alongside the water and become part of the exploration experience. Canals would run through these spaces, meaning bridges be frequent through the site to enable visitors to explore freely.
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Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
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Site Plan
The site has been designed to be experienced by foot, tram or water transport. The canal and trams run along the main axis of the site and are both used to take visitors near each restaurant facility. The canal also acts as an attraction during summer, where visitors can go punting through the site.
The function of the smaller canals on the site would be to promote a steady flow of water to and from the aquaculture pools, and also carry water through the pavilions where it can be used in the hatcheries, harvesting and processing areas. The water needs to be circulated to maintain healthy. The canals would refresh the saltwater pools, and flush the older water back out to sea. This whole cycle will slowly aid 7
the harbours return to health.
Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
H a tc h e ry P o o l
A dmin
Nu rs e ry
B ack of house
E n tra n c e
BACK OF HOUSE
Processing
Shucking
Oy s te r S m o k e r
Shuck school
W/C
Bar
Outdoor Bar
K i t c h e n P re p O p e n K i t c h e n
P ROCE S S ING
Dining
Outdoor Dining
DINING + CONSUMPTION
Program within pavilions
The program for the dining attraction would be based on ‘tasting the sea’. The organisation within the pavilions focuses on the function of the food, with the layout serving the practicality of the shellfish production line. The program consists of 4 stages.
1 - Young growth area - hatchery, upweller systems, grading area. 2 - Adult growth zone - nursery pools, planting bay, harvesting bay. 3 – Processing area - sorting, washing, counting, and distribution area. 4 - Serving area - Restaurant district.
These new areas drove the development of the design, with the layout following the function and flow of these different programs.
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Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
The undulating interior form of the Oyster pavilion
The anatomy of a shellfish was used as a design driver. Key imagery derived from the structure of a shellfish, layers of muscle, gills and organs, encased in a rigid protective shell. The interior lined with a lustrous finish.
The interior contrasts with the rigid exterior, an undulating set of fins softens the interior form, mirroring the contrast between the rough exterior of an oyster shell and its lustrous smooth inner shell.
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Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
Construction of Queens Wharf began in 1907 and was completed by 1913.
The shellfish processing begins in a simple structure, and progresses into a more sophisticated environment as the progression shifts from production to consumption. The simple shed form which houses the nursery and back of house for the restaurants is derived from the industrial port history of the site.
10 http://www.queens-wharf.co.nz/queens-wharf/history/
Oyster Bay Sophia Boberg Chris Barton and Lindsay Mackie
Open oyster shell, exterior showing delicate layers of calcium
The transition happens in three stages, broken up by program into three components – hatchery, processing, dining. This transition is visible in the plan and in the exterior form, which progresses from simple shed to organic oyster-like structure, expressing delicate layering of form and texture.
The dining area opens up towards the sea through transparency and form, evoking the notion of an oyster shell opening to filter water through the body. This is where the dining area opens onto the water, letting the views and seaside filter through the space unobstructed.
11 http://www.wired.com/2012/07/army-oyster-shells/