Government House Conservation Project

Built in 1910 on the site previously occupied by the Mount View lunatic asylum Wellington’s Government House is set amongst 12 hectares of land that stretch from the hills of Mount Victoria to the Newtown flats. Over the last few years a significant conservation project has transformed the house and grounds to meet the needs of a contemporary Governor-General, while respecting and protecting its heritage values.

the house shortly after completion in 1910.

Ref: 1/1-019882-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.

Isthmus were engaged to develop a Masterplan and a long-term strategic framework for restoration, maintenance and management of the grounds. This framework set the guiding context for the detailed design and implementation of the South Lawn, and other works directly around the house itself, that were delivered as part of  $44m Conservation Project.

The Master Plan mapped and analysed the local context, significant views, buildings and cultural heritage elements, physical features and microclimates, existing vegetation patterns, maintenance priority areas, public access, security and circulation, events and ceremonial access, vegetation framework and features of the House and its immediate surrounds.

The broader design moves addressed the visitor’s introduction to Government House including improved circulation and processional spaces throughout the landscape and clearer hierarchy of ceremonial service and working movements between the grounds and the house. Also included were the proposed directions for improvements to landscapes adjacent to the house and for rationalised service, parking and support areas.

before and after aerial photos

A series of subsequent design moves addressed a range of operational and spatial relationship aspects within the house. These moves were shaped by careful consideration of the existing historical context, intention and fabric – and analysis of the current and likely future use of the various spaces. They also took into account and integrated the high degree of structural and infrastructural upgrade required in many spaces.

The design ensures clear cues for vehicle and pedestrian movement with different spaces detailed to an appropriate aesthetic for both ceremonial and utility functions. The Hospital Road entrance has been reconfigured to screen non-dignitary vehicles from the main ceremonial space and direct them to the new administration office. Pedestrian movement has been prioritised on a separate processional path clearly aligned with the entrance to the ball room; the main venue for public indoor events. areas of paving, lawn and planting have been reconfigured on the south lawn and north terrace to emphasise sight lines and ensure clear cues for visitors that support both security requirements and enjoyment of events.

South Lawn illustration by Stantiall Studio

Enduring materials were used throughout and specified carefully to enhance both experience and functional requirements whilst keeping the budget in check. On the south lawn, in line with the areas formal function, Granite kerbs and paving enclose the sweeping gravel drive, an elegant reflective pool and formal planting with bold groups of nikau and a rich and varied underplanting of indigenous and exotic species. In the carpark, a clear and crisp aesthetic is achieved with asphalt, stone walls, grass, specimen trees and a simple palette of flax and renga renga lily.

As a further benefit drawn from the Masterplanning process, controlled access to the house and grounds is possible with a new Visitor Centre located in the realigned squash court, historic stables and Conservation Project administration building opened by the Prince of Wales in 2012. The quality and additional benefits of the project have been well tested over the past two years through a series of important events including the welcoming ceremony for the new Governor General and popular public open days. Ongoing development of the preliminary Masterplan and the future benefits of the detailed design Conservation Project, supported by new DPMC management and maintenance plans, will ensure that the heritage of this important cultural landscape continues.

The new vistor centre in the coach house.

Restored port cochere and entry into the ballroom.

The south lawn is a significant space for ceremonial events and acts as a marae atea.

The Convict’s Wall, part of the asylum landscape connected with the airing court for the ‘lunatics’.

View across the South Lawn.

“Planting design has created a passive New Zealand flavour throughout – subtle and beautiful in its execution” – NZILA citiation

The new kitchen garden includes many herbs and edible plants within a framework of native species.

Photos: Nathan Young

Awards: 2013 NZILA Award of Excellence – Residential Landscape Architecture

Isthmus Project Team: Ralph Johns, Dan Males, Lisa Rimmer, Helen Kerr

Client: Department of Prime Minister & Cabinet

Collaborators: Athfield Architects, Beca, Bark 

Photo competition winner/s

To feed our creative needs (and fill up a blank wall in the studio) we’ve run a couple of staff photo competitions so far this year.

A theme is set, people submit anonymously, images are pinned-up and staff vote for their top 5 in order of preference.

There are few rules, apart from having to adhere to the theme (however obliquely), but photos must not be digitally manipulated.

The winner, both times, with a keen eye for detail and an ability to capture the moment, has been Sean Burke of our Auckland Studio. Well done Sean!

Here are the winning photos:

‘SUMMER’

‘HOME’

Learning from Vancouver: Gentle Density

We at Isthmus are searching for types of urban development that suit
Auckland’s setting and character. We suspect the answers might be found by
studying our own urban history more closely, and also amongst our ‘new world’
cousins in places such as Australia and Canada.

Vancouver interests us, partly because of staff connections, but also because it
appears to have successfully accommodated higher density while retaining the
landscape and urban character Vancouverites cherish.

In 2011 we hosted Gordon Price, director of the City Program at Simon
Fraser University and long time Vancouver City Councillor. Gordon ran some
workshops with our clients and engaged with Auckland’s planning issues by
recounting some of the experiences of Vancouver’s innovative urban planning
strategies, in particular for transportation and residential intensification.

The following year we went on a week-long research trip to Vancouver to go
and see for ourselves the effects of these strategies. We took some clients with
us, and carried questions for others. What we found suprised us. Vancouver
had more in common with Auckland than we had imagined. We thank our
many hosts in Vancouver for giving their time generously.

This short report shares with Auckland Council what “density done well” looks
like and briefly illustrates some of the innovative techniques that are being
used to increase residential density across the city.

The report has been launched on Auckland Council’s Unitary Plan blog, or you can download it from the link below.

Isthmus_GentleDensity_sm

Freyberg Place – Site Analysis

Since late last year we have been working with Auckland Council on the upgrade of Freyberg Place, one of the projects within the Central City Masterplan.

Prior to developing concept design options for this busy central Auckland space we undertook desktop and site-based research and spatial analysis. What we uncovered was both interesting and revealing, offering new insights into place and use.

Below are some images from the archives, plus movement and use studies.

‘Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, NZ Map 2049′

Photoshopped detail from ’Auckland Central area study’. 1966.

Shows Ellen Melville Hall addressing Chancery Street, with Freyberg Place at the intersection of Courthouse Lane, High Street and Chancery Street. The realignment of Courthouse Lane with O’Connell Street in the 1990s enlarged Freyberg Place considerably.

‘Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 4-773′

The Courthouse was built on a small volcanic cone, previously the site of a methodist church.  1875. The historic steps still exist in this location.

‘Sir George Grey Special Collections, Auckland Libraries, 580-5694′

The Pioneer Women’s and Ellen Melville Hall under construction at the road widening that was Freyberg Place. Also shown are O’Connell Street, Chancery Lane. 1961.

Original Footage, playback speed: 150x

Study of where people sit, playback speed: 150x

Study of movement through the space , playback speed: 25x

Project Team:

Auckland Council - Keren Neal

Isthmus - Evan Williams, David Irwin, Nada Stanish

Projenz

Traffic Design Group

IFLA50 Congress Reviewed

For the first time in New Zealand the International Federation of Landscape Architecture Congress was held in Auckland City last week. The conference had significant importance to the local and international landscape architecture community with it being the Federations 50th World Congress. It was an intriguing and engaging week, which composed of a range of different discussion points, activities and perspectives around the Congress’s theme of SHARED WISDOM IN AN AGE OF CHANGE. The theme of the conference stems from the body of unique knowledge from our Maori heritage to our whenua and landscapes. The congress provided an opportunity to discuss and share the importance of indigenous knowledge, listening to the people and looking at how nature can create more enriched and deeper landscapes.

To make the most of having the world at our doorstep, Isthmus encouraged all staff to attend one or both of the conference days (on the proviso that they took notes for this blog post – thank you to Travis and Brad (the Grad) for deciphering the handwriting, interpreting the doodles and collating the notes). There was unanimous positive feedback about the event, and some stand out presentations. The emergent themes that became prevalent throughout the presentations were:

• We need to listen
• Expression of narrative
• Meaningful application
• Small change as an organic cumulative design move
• Listening and community engagement
• Meaningful place making
• The importance of indigenous knowledge

Below are a series of summaries and musings from our team on the most inspiring speakers:

Thomas Woltz – Hybrid Vigour: Beauty, Performance and Resilience in the work of Nelson Bryd Woltz

Thomas’ Waltz quickly became the darling of IFLA50, starting with his incredibly worthy winning of the NZILA George Malcolm Supreme Award for his work at Young Nicks Head. Further adoration was relative to his presentation of Nelson Bryd Woltz’s (NBW) works at the conference itself. A breakdown of NBW select works over the past 12 years gave the audience an insight into the power of a narrative, reinforced with the application of ecological practices.

Woltz spoke of the landscape architect’s role as a steward, something we perhaps let slip with the pressures of project constraints, “There is often a cultural and natural divide, we are the agents for this disconnect.”

As these ‘agents’ Woltz expressed the importance of a ‘creative collaboration’, letting go of the reigns and stepping back to bring in other experts in land management and design. The Young Nicks Head project was used as a fine example of this. Starting early with scientific, ecological and archaeological surveys, learning the places history, listening to the land and its peoples, and from all of this build a kit of parts from the findings and apply these to the landscape.

The application of NBW findings of a site always tells a narrative of an area. Woltz insists that this does not need to be over articulated; a narrative can be personified by the simple use of native plantings and spatial arrangement to tell a story of a place and communicate people’s values. NBW’s work quite simply expresses the narrative of a place by personifying the values of its people using simple design techniques reinforced by scientific findings and ecological principals.

This is not just a revival of the 80’s; Waltz uses narrative as a cue, but not the only cue. And most importantly the designs work and have depth socially and ecologically, a move away from pattern making.

Woltz underscored our commitment as landscape architects to collaboration as part of a healthy design process, reminding us that we are often the facilitators of landscape change. That responsibility means that we need to step back, listen to the land and its people, and actively support other important experts from early stages.

Jim Sinatra – Cultural Design Results from Our Community Consultations over the Years

Sinatra was possibly one of the most engaging speakers of the Thursday session, settling us in for a run through of a life’s work in the field. He began with his mentors and teachers. Names such as Ian McHarg, Ed Bacon and Roberto Burle Marx had the audience hooked.

The theme of shared wisdom was prevalent through the first half of his presentation. Sinatra ran through career achievements and milestones touching on topics as varied as; his contribution to early computer visualization of ecologies and landscape elements in a 3D matrix, early works in Iowa, community housing developments in California, the bio-tecture movement in the 70’s, his professorship at RMIT in Melbourne, his learning’s from Broome in western Australia, finishing with his recent works with Sinatra Murphy LTD.

The presentation of his most recent works with Sinatra Murphy highlighted his main point, and his commitment to working collaboratively with communities. Sinatra’s examples were bullet pointed with key messages reminding us that the inclusion of community and listening to the people of a place will result in a stronger, more well used, and ultimately better space. Sinatra emphasised that our role as designers is as simple as listening. He finished on the notion that ‘the future of our profession is peace.’

Damian Powley – Ki Te Whenua Tuturu – Towards the Maori Landscape

Powley’s presentation surrounded Maori holistic views on the landscape and the consultation shifts required to tailor an engagement process inclusive and more aligned to Maori values and perspectives. His presentation was born from the work being carried out by Te Tau A Nuku, a group of professionals of which he is a part of. This collective highlights Maori world views, landscape principals and the promoting of a shift in consultant thinking whilst working on community projects.

He discussed the maori world view, the notions of Te Ao Maori, Atua and how perhaps traditional methods of engagement aren’t working at all levels to best address Maoritanga and community values. This highlighted the difficult task of striking the balance between project constraints and meaningful outcomes.

Te Tau A Nuku will be one to watch, an active and respected group tasking themselves with the worthy charge of shifting consultant thinking and tailoring an appropriate engagement processes with iwi and community as part of a more inclusive and robust design process.

Michael Pawlyn - A new Paradigm in sustainable design

The final day kicked off with Michael Pawlyn, his presentation captured the delegates with his inspirational talk about bio-mimicry as applied to structures, mechanical systems and networks. Though Michael was unable to attend in person, instead tuning in on Skype, it did not hinder his ability to imprint the driving inspiration behind the talk. To teach us that rather than relying just on new technological innovations to curve our ever growing problem of depleted natural resources, climate change, and how we design in the future, solutions can  already be found in nature. He discussed the way Ecosystems have had a 3.6 billion year R&D period that has resulted in a huge range of organisms evolving solutions to resource-constrained environments.  That nature has a lot to teach us.

Michael’s examples discussed a range of projects such as the Eden and Sahara Forest Project. Each project had an underling concept that looked to create a closed loop system, where projects created more than one value/design to increase its opportunities to be more sustainable, less susceptible to collapse, and create more products than wastes. The designs took advantage of the local ecology, particularly how they dealt with specific problems and how they could be abstracted into architectural imperatives.

He concluded his talk by stating that we need to look to nature particularly local ecologies at the beginning of a design to provide solutions not to a single problem, but how nature currently solves numerous problems that we are facing and how these solutions can be abstracted and placed into our built environment now.

Paula Villagra – Landscapes for emergency and restoration in earthquake prone cities

Paula’s talk was around shared landscapes in recovery situations and how can we engage as landscape architects with these spaces. She posed the question when earthquakes happen, what about people? Where do they go? What information are they looking for? And can we design spaces for temporal uses in a natural disaster? Paula’s talk was engaging and in-depth with detailed analysis of Chilean cities that have historically been threatened by earthquakes. Paula provided imagery on were people gathered, what they were looking for and how these spaces affected their recovery.

The presentation was an intriguing glimpse at the possibilities and insight for earthquake recovery planning, and landscape planning in earthquake prone cities and how we as landscape architects could aid in a cities successful recovery both physically and mentally.

The 50th IFLA Congress was a well organised event boasting some very high calibre speakers.  The international speakers were at times truly inspirational, encouraging us to push ourselves and our design peers forward in our work. Thank you to the IFLA50 organisers for putting together such a high calibre event, truly a well-oiled machine. Isthmus was proud to be a contributing sponsor.

small houses on small lots

In 2012 we were commissioned by Hobsonville Land Company to develop designs for a range of small houses on small lots to increase the choice, diversity and affordability of housing on offer at Hobsonville Point.

The small house/lot designs have been developed in collaboration with Architecture Workshop and Hobsonville Land Company – we hope to see them built later this year.

Here is the background thinking and rationale for the project.

Book Review: Density Is Home

(first published in Landscape Architecture NZ)

Density Is Home

a+t Research Group (2011), 400 pages, paperback.

With an estimated half-a-million extra people predicted to be living in the city of Auckland by 2030, and with Christchurch on the brink of the design and construction of an entire mixed-use city centre, the next phase of New Zealand urbanism needs to fully embrace density, and in particular residential density. As the design entries submitted to the Breathe New Urban Village competition have shown, we desperately need to develop New Zealand-specific urban design responses for medium density housing, and find ways of delivering those models affordability without sacrificing design quality.

Density is Home, the latest in a+t’s series of research-based density case studies that focus on collective housing, is a valuable sourcebook to assist in developing our own models. Where previous titles in the Density Series ordered projects based on quantitative factors such as density and housing cost, here the authors ask us to consider where in the city we live at present, and where we can imagine ourselves in the future dense city. In this way density ceases to be a concept and “suddenly becomes an uncomfortable subject which deeply affects our decisions”.

The book’s 37 case studies are structured in five thematic chapters; the Dispersed City, the Expansive City, the Modern City, Core of the City and Recycled City. Urban context is used as the central organising element of the book, from which the case-studies move down to the scale of the building and then the individual unit.

Each case study is clearly presented with a consistent layout of text and drawings and illustrated with photographs of the urban context, building exterior and unit interior. While most of the housing in this book is new-build, there are examples of adaptive reuse of industrial buildings and of refurbishment of aging council housing blocks from the 1960s and 1970s. The majority of projects are in the main cities of Spain, France, The Netherlands, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

Density is Home shows that compact, stacked residential living can work in just about any context. Given that almost all the examples are of social housing, the high quality design outcomes illustrate what can be achieved by combining the talents of the designer with clear design controls and a developers enlightened approach.

Breath of Light

About this time last year I wrote that we would publish some of our more recent competition entries, some of which have never seen the light of day like this one.

This collaboration was one of three finalists in a Wellington Sculpture Trust competition back in 2009. The Trust called for proposals for large sculpture to be sited at the gateway to the city (the design competition was essentially a re-run of a 2004 process as the previous competition winning proposal had stalled because of laser beam issues as well as the projected cost).

The three shortlisted proposals were from Kristin O’Sullivan Peren of Central Otago, Phil Price of Christchurch, and Paul Rolfe and Arini Poutu of Wellington. We were invited by Kristin O’Sullivan Peren to help develop her concept proposal; learning from the previous competition the Trust required a cost estimate, engineers report and a maintenance plan to support the artistic concept.

An excellent academic critique by Cassandra Fusco of the proposed artwork  has recently been published in Junctures: The Journal for Thematic Dialogue (“a forum for trans-disciplinary discussion, analysis, and critique”).  ‘Responsibilities, Reclamation and Recuperation – the Critical Constructions of Kristin O’Sullivan Peren’ positions the project within the context of O’Sullivan Peren’s body of work.

The defined site was a slither of land at the base of the escarpment cut off from public access by the main trunk line and state highway 1, but highly visible by land, air and sea approaches to the city. The artwork took the form of three islands to be constructed incrementally from building blocks of compressed plastic waste. The islands would grow at the same rate that plastic waste was produced:

The acknowledgement of this is highlighted by the collection of unsorted waste plastic – venturing into peoples lives to make them aware of this practice and process. On average every Wellingtonian generates 45kg of waste plastic each year, enough material to create 6 Byfusion blocks. Breath of Light will be constructed from up to 100,000 blocks formed with plastic artifacts that have been purchased, consumed and discarded by the residents the city of Wellington.

Breath of Light offers an opportunity to create a dynamic, above ground visualisation of the sheer volume of waste material that we bury in our landfill each year. The three islands are created from Byfusion blocks that condense and contain a waste product that fills land fills our land and clogs our waterways. Block by block Breath of Light is both an individual and collective response to current issues of consumption, waste and the environment. It will be constructed over the period of one year, capturing just 10% of Wellington’s plastic waste and communicating this to all who come in and out of the city

Breath of Light will use reclaimed plastic waste, lighting and an evolving ecology to enable a contemporary conversation and create a beacon for the greater Wellington community, creating three new islands visible to arriving travelers by car, train, boat and aeroplane. The artwork acknowledges the uplift of the seabed, twentieth century reclamation and the presence of the fault line, and recognises the tension between history and the drive for future change. The family of islands will be shaped from a combination of recyclable materials, maintenance-free lights and sustainable native plants.

At night, the sculpture will be transformed by a slow dancing display of light washing over the islands between the hills and the sea. Ground level LED lights, will create an ever-changing wash of colour on the islands, reinforcing the connection with the land, sky, earth and the community that live amongst and pass them.Sadly, shortly after the final proposals were submitted the project was put on indefinite hold. No winner was announced and the final proposals were never published.

Sadly, shortly after the final proposals were submitted the project was put on indefinite hold. No winner was announced and the final proposals were never published.

NZILA Awards 2013

              

Normally the Institute awards are held every two years, but it has been a long time between drinks; the last awards were held back in 2010. Postponed so that they would fit in with the IFLA 50 conference hosted in Auckland this week, the intervening three years has seen a lot of projects conceived, planned, designed and built. There was therefore a record number of entries and stiff competition for the top awards.

Gone this year was the Bronze/Silver/Gold awards scheme, simplified with Distinction Awards for the good ones and Awards of Excellence for the great ones. We were happy to receive 2 Distinctions and 4 Excellents. Congratulations to Penny Allan and Martin Bryant for winning the Charlie Challenger Supreme Award and to Nelson Byrd Woltz for their George Malcolm Supreme Award.

Thanks to all our clients, collaborators and building partners for the opportunity to work on these rewarding projects.

Here’s a quick tally of the winners (updated to include the student award winners).

 

 

 

Tauhara II - NZILA Award of Excellence (Landscape Planning)

Newmarket Streetscapes - NZILA Award of Excellence (Urban Design)

Government House, Wellington - NZILA Award of Excellence (Landscape Design: Residential)

Wynyard Playspace - NZILA Award of Excellence (Landscape Design: Rural/Park/Recreational)

Victoria Skatepark - NZILA Distinction Award (Landscape Design: Rural/Park/Recreational)

Hobsonville Point Park - NZILA Distinction Award (Landscape Design: Rural/Park/Recreational)

Visual Communication for Landscape Architecture

Hot off the press in the UK, this little book – the third in the Basics Landscape Architecture series – has just arrived in the studio.

Aimed at students and practitioners it demonstrates how, and importantly why, a range of visual communication techniques are used to inform the design process. The book is structured in six chapters which loosely progress in line with the process of design: Understanding Landscape; Design Exploration; Visualising in 2D; Visualising in 3D; Implementation and Presentation. Each chapter illustrates a range of appropriate representational techniques with text that explains the concept, context and purpose of communication with details about the selected images.

There has been a gap in the literature for a book like this, somewhere between the old-school 1980s classic “Landscape Graphics” and the latest whizz-bang “Digital Landscape Architecture Now“. This thoughtful book fills that gap and will I’m sure be particularly welcome in schools of Landscape Architecture around the world as well as design studios.

   +    =  

We are pleased to have some of our work selected for the book:

Our New Zealand Memorial Park competition entry was selected as a case study along with….

…one of the illustrative sections from the Transmission Gully project and….

…a marked-up design model of Taradale town centre.