Wynyard Quarter Commercial Pressure Shows

Up till now the ARC and the public have been enjoying some wonderful design work from the team of urban designers working for Sea + City on the public areas of Wynyard Quarter. Silo Park. North Wharf. Fantastic spaces. But last week ARC councillors got a taste of what could be happening in the commercial spaces. We had a look at some draft drawings of Precinct 1. That's the area outlined in this image.

As you can see, the area of Precinct 1 includes the purplish residential buildings to the right with activated street edges in red (these are as they appear in Plan Change 4 - no surprises here). The dark blue are the fish industry and market Sanfords buildings. While the orange blocks fronting Jellicoe Street are likely to be for the ASB headquarter building.

Artist's depictions of that building have been published before today. I reproduce them here. These are on the footprint of the orange blocks in precinct 1.

Here's a closer picture of the orange blocks. The details to look at include the blue floors (at levels 2 and 3), and the yellow section between the two orange blocks.

Here's those blocks again, looked at from ground level in those draft drawings. We were advised that the yellow blocked out area wasn't a roof - as such - - but could be. Could be an atrium. Could be skywalks between the blocks. And could also be car accessways - maybe even carparks in the levels 2 and 3. Because it turns out rhe blue levels are carparking. Could be sleeved at Jellicoe Street frontage. This was a concern. The residential blocks all have 2 levels of basement parking. Why doesn't this building? Question-mark?

The covered laneway was a big concern for me. This image here was one I made for the submission I presented to Plan Change 4 Commissioners. It shows the building envelopes that were allowed in the Plan Change, and how they make the Sanfords building look insignificant. But they also show the laneway along the street between the taller building blocks.

In my submission I showed this picture illustrating how Auckland City does its laneways just up the road off Nelson Street. Great amenity don't you think? Activated edges. Great pedestrian amenity. Is this the sort of thing we want in Wynyard Quarter? I don't think so. And especially not a laneway that's turned into a tunnel.

Here's a good example of a laneway. It's from the Chancery development out onto a street in Auckland City. High quality and attractive pedestrian accessway, good edges, safe walking. We need this sort of attention to detail in the laneways fronting onto Jellicoe Street on Wynyard Quarter. And it would be appropriate for buildings there to have basement carparks. Its cheap and nasty to have them above ground, fronting to street, and forcing buildings to be higher as a consequence.

Wynyard Quarter - Precinct One - ARC supports Sea+City

June 10th this year was a very good day, in terms of what happened at ARC. We signed off some very good work done by Sea+City in developing detailed designs for precinct 1 of Wynyard Quarter waterfront redevelopment.

I have been worried by this for 3 years now. Mainly the prospect of the development being hi-jacked from the public's benefit to fund public transport. I support PT, but not at the expense of a people's waterfront.

In brief my concerns were that the water edge would be dominated and crowded by high-rise buildings. North Wharf was especially under threat. Well. Look at the first of these pictures. Shows what Sea+City now proposes. The public promenad looking East along North Wharf. You can see a good wide space for the fishing fleet and related servicing industry, and good-sized public promenade, and low-rise buildings (even though the zone allows for 3 stories!). This is a fantastic and appropriate urban design outcome.

Another concern was the so-called stormwater feature. The early drawings of this were part of what drove me to better understand what else could be done down there. So I built a computer model of the whole development, using my newly developing urban design education. This image is a look down on those early plans I prepared for submissions to the plan changes....

Heritage boat people wanted to be part of what was happening to Wynyard Quarter. They encouraged me to explore. I walked around, and saw that there were views of the Harbour Bridge. We began to advocate this space be in part known as "Heritage Landing", or some other name. This image is one I made to show to commissioners for Plan Changes 3 and 4. They changed the designation for the stormwater pond, to public open space.....



And now we have this wonderful image from Sea+City. It is of "Silo Park". An interesting mix of public uses - including heritage moorings.




And here is a plan view of what Sea+City now envisages for the area. As I said at the meeting: "this meets open space and destination needs of a wide demographic - families, young people, retired, and boat enthusiasts. Not just a nother set of drinking holes...." Go - Sea+City. Let's make this happen.

Sea + City and Wynyard Quarter to emphasise maritime heritage

One of the big worries I have had, along with Councillor Coney, and also Auckland's heritage maritime industry - is over the extent to which maritime heritage and history and all that stuff, would be provided for in the planning for Wynyard Quarter / Tankfarm.

There have been lots of glossy pictures and artistic representations, photos of harbour piles and rusty chains and old railway lines. But what did these images really mean on the ground, in the water and in your face - for the redevelopment.

I noticed that the carefully prepared Urban Design Framework for Wynyard Quarter, prepared by Sea + City, and agreed by Auckland Regional Council, actually made no mention of heritage at all. I've advocated for this aspect at meetings, and so has Cllr Coney and others, but somehow this matter has not been properly resolved. This means a risk that Sea + City will not sense any strong direction in that regard.

That has now been fixed. At last week's Transport & Urban Development Ctte, ARC formally considered Sea + City's interesting designs for Precinct One of Wynyard Quarter. I prepared some detailed resolutions about heritage for this meeting, and these were unanimously adopted by ARC. The ARC has resolved, the following, and I draw your attention specifically to (d):

B.1 WYNYARD QUARTER PRECINCT PLAN 1
D160-02-14 & D160-W03
Committee Secretary: 10 June 2009
An addendum to ‘B1’ previously circulated to councillors from Mr Hugh Jarvis, was handed out. (Attachment 1). Mr John Dalzell of Sea + City presented the powerpoint slides on the draft precinct plan for Wynyard Quarter.
RESOLVED
a) That the report be received.
b) That the committee acknowledges that it has been consulted on the draft precinct plan Wynyard Quarter Precinct Plan 1 Version 6 May 2009 for the Jellicoe Precinct by Sea + City Projects Limited on behalf of Auckland Regional Holdings.
c) That, subject to any other matters that the committee decides, it endorses the draft precinct plan Wynyard Quarter Precinct Plan 1 Version 6 May 2009 for
the Jellicoe Precinct :
i) excluding the depiction of a future building extending over the coastal marine area from development site 12
ii) but noting the challenges with the inclusion of a stormwater pond or wetland in the public open space north of Jellicoe Street and west of Brigham Street.
d) That the committee advise ARH and Sea + City of its expectations in regard to planning for the protection and enhancement of maritime heritage and
waterfront character of Wynyard Quarter, including:
i) that maritime heritage and waterfront character is a principle of the Urban Design Framework for Wynyard Quarter.
ii) that maritime heritage and waterfront character need to be protected and enhanced to the maximum extent possible, alongside other principles in the Urban Design Framework.
iii) that the Wynyard Quarter Precinct Plan 1 includes: a variety of provisions and opportunities for the expression of Wynyard Quarter’s history and stories; provision for the heritage fleet.

This is an excellent result.
It provides for clear direction to Sea + City and Auckland Regional Holdings.
And it provides direction that the design must "provide for the heritage fleet".