Port-City Interface: Auckland versus Port of Auckland

The debate around this site is part of a wider global phenomenon, that of waterfront redevelopment, where city authorities are taking back waterfront sites and developing them as public spaces. As port technologies develop, cities are cut off from their ports and the waterfront space they occupy. This is causing territorial conflict and igniting action in many port-cities around the world. Although there are central principles regarding waterfront redevelopment, each case is highly specific to the environment of the locations of the port-cities. For this thesis therefore, the Port of Auckland site, close to the University of Auckland and currently engaged in a stalemate between its operations, public opposition and the local planning rules, has been chosen as the focus.

This design proposes a Waitemata Rise, linear public park along the southern edge of the port’s land. Thus it is elevated above the land and existing buildings so the port can continue operations unobstructed. 

Connecting from Queens Wharf to Judges Bay, the park provides expansive views of the port and the Waitemata Harbour.

Larger parks situated above some of the existing buildings respond to the views through landscaping in the form of the contours of surrounding volcanic cones, the most prominent being Rangitoto. The three largest parks also provide buildings, in the style of modern versions of the port’s sheds, for office, retail and dining spaces.