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GREY LYNN AUCKLAND NEW ZEALAND WING FUNG CHAN 5924819
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A residential suburb west of Auckland CBD, Grey Lynn is named after Sir George Grey, the Governor of South Australia, New Zealand and Cape Colony. Most of the hosues were built prior to the First World War, while very few houses have been completely replaced by new structures. In the 1950s the low rents of Grey Lynn attracted many students and immigrants from the Pacific but has declined since due to gentrification. In 2013 the residents formed Grey Lynn Residents Association in reaction to the council’s plan to rezone and increase population density in the area.
Detached from the CBD Due to its location, Grey Lynn and its surrounding areas appears to be isolated from the Auckland CBD. However, its disadvantage is also its advantage; Grey Lynn has formed a tight knitted community that proves to be self–sustainable. This includes community centres and gardens, supermarkets, churches, and suburban centres etc. The local residents, apart from commuting, do not have a particular urge to go to the CBD. Grey Lynn no longer needs the city.
COMMUNITY GARDEN
Currently, there are three community gardens in Grey Lynn with many people who garden in their own backyard. This active gardening group encourages residents to produce their own food from home with the aim of urban food production and recycling waste using a compost unit. These growers exchange seedlings and eventually produce at a surplus. Currently the garden is maintained every Sunday morning from 9-12, and hopes to be available to everyone once it becomes established.
Grey Lynn Famers’ Market is a 100% community owned and operated market that was created to provide the community with access to fresh, locally produce food. It runs from 09:00 to 12:30 every Sunday at the local community centre and serves as an alternative to large supermarket chains. The market includes local growers as well as those from surrounding regions such as Kaipara, Waikato, and West Auckland. A community trading table is included, where surplus produced by backyard growers can sell their production surplus. With the Market, Grey Lynn is able to establish a renewed relationship between consumers and producers. “It gives the consumers the opportunity to interact with the producers of their own food and build relationships with these producers.” Furthermore, the market acts as a large community space, where growers exchange knowledge, while raising the awareness of food production and future sustainability. The ultimate goal is to work towards becoming a zero waste market.
FARMERS’ MARKET
GREY LYNN PARK FESTIVAL
The Grey Lynn Park festival began in 1984 and is the last independent community event in the city. It started out as a community gathering with working classes and those of Pasifika roots. However, its appeal has broadened through the decades and now attracts thousands of visitors. The event is held yearly on a Saturday in November and includes food stalls, craft-making, musical bands etc, with the main aim of conveying a positive and sustainable life. “Love the Earth, Love You, Smokefree, Be Mindful of Planet Litter, Balance your Drugs and Alcohol, Achieve Your Best, Have Fun, Find Kind, Celebrate Our Community, He Aha Te Mea Nui, Ole a le Mea e Auptio Ona Tuua, The Power of You.�
“THE GREEN RING” The site is located in series with other leisure and green areas, forming a “green ring” that emcompasses a large portion of Grey Lynn. This site provides an opportunity to reactivate these areas through using an architectural gesture that will encourage the use of these leisure areas and expand the existing community garden and food markets. Furthermore, the site is within the learning precinct that includes the Auckland Zoo, MOTAT, and multiple schools. The site can therefore also serve as a learning hub that promotes urban agriculture.
SPORTS
Several schools serve the area of Grey Lynn and there are plenty of sport amenities that are available to the public. Grey Lynn Park has also been the home of The Richmond Rovers Rugby League Club since the early 1900s, and continues to this date. The West Auckland Amateur Athletic and Harriers Association was also very active during the 1950s and 60s, but dissolved in 2001. Sports and leisure is an important part of Grey Lynn’s history and should be reincorporated back into future sustainable living plans.
For my proposal I propose a food production, leisure and residential hub that incorporates the sustainable elements of Grey Lynn. Gardeners and farmers grow and harvest food, providing fresh and local raw supplies to restaurants and residents within the hub. Waste are taken into compost and used as fertilizers for new plants. The hub will serve more than the typical supermarket retail and residential hub with the addition of several programs that can provide for all stages of the supply chain. This whole process will be made transparent to visitors as a series of interactive activites that combine with the Auckland Zoo and MOTAT as a leisure and learning zone.
FOOD PORT FOR WEST LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY OMA “Food defines who we are and where we come from.”
TYPICAL FOOD HUB
FOOD PORT FARMING AGGREGATION
AGGREGATION DISTRIBUTION STORAGE MARKETING
+
FARMING
PROCESSING
PROCESSING
DISTRIBUTION
COMMUNITY KITCHEN
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COMMUNITY KITCHEN
RETAIL
STORAGE
RECYCLING
RETAIL RECYCLING MARKETING
“Historically, the development of cities has been inextricably connected to its production, supply and distribution. But with the migration of rural communities to urban cities, the human population has become increasingly removed from sites of agricultural production and less aware of how their food is made. The direct relationship between producer and consumer is now separated by an everexpanding line of middle-man entities including distributors, processors and retailers. The local food movement demonstrates the individual and commercial consumer demand to change this relationship, but the scale of most local farms and their distribution networks makes it difficult for suppliers to meet growing demands. Food hubs have the potential to alleviate this bottleneck of inefficiency by consolidating supplies into shared facilities for local farmers and locating them strategically within cities.”
FOOD PORT FOR WEST LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY OMA “Food defines who we are and where we come from.”
FOOD PORT
FARMING HARVESTING
HANDLING
PROCESSIN WAREHOUSE
RETAILERS DISTRIBUTORS
CONSUMERS
WASTE
“The Food Port provides a comprehensive survey of the food industry and its processes while relocating many food programs typically separated from the buyer back into the heart of the city. It defines a new model for how the relationship between consumer and producer can be defined and addresses uncaptured market demand and inefficiencies within the local food industry.”