Queens Wharf - Hasten Slowly

At last. Thanks to a mixture of Ports of Auckland suffering from effects of recessionary trading conditions, and a Government keen to be seen to be doing something positive in Auckland for a change, Queens Wharf has been taken for other purposes. It is now 50/50 owned by Auckland Regional Council and Central Government.

Government has a short term vision of the space being freed up to become "Party Central" during Rugby World Cup. Auckland Regional Council has voted for a mixed use development including public access, ferry services and a "fit for purpose" cruise ship terminal. These two ideas are not incompatible.

The Rugby World Cup event is about 2 years away, and in between Auckland's Local Government will be abolished and re-established. That's a big ask to do anything big on Queens Wharf. So. I think it very sensible that we do enough down there to tie up a couple of Ocean Liners as temporary Hotel accommodation during Rugby World Cup, and provide some amenity on the wharf that will attract the locals and keep them happy during large events. More later on this. I did a lot of work preparing an Urban Design Framework for Queens Wharf with some fellow Masters students at Auckland University. This work included a detailed analysis and critique of Auckland's existing waterfront spaces, and concludes with an Urban Design Framework for Queens Wharf in the medium term.

You can download this from links you will see on this page: Queens Wharf

But in the meantime, here's the big picture we came to: