Picton Harbour NZ Competition
Winner in association with dKO Architects.
Picton is in the north of the south island of New Zealand and the point of departure / arrival for the Interislander ferry between the north and south islands. It is located on the picturesque Queen Charlotte sound.
There is an extensive waterfront at the north and west of the town which is partly under utilised with the western precinct semi industrial. The western precinct also contained land that could not be used for construction.
The masterplan identified a range of characters along the waterfront and linked the land based activity to the water based activity. There were a couple of existing pier structures that had long linear forms that informed some of the elements of the masterplan. By clearly mapping the character areas and overlaying the areas where no construction could occur, a picture began to emerge of land uses. The masterplan also sought to create linkages back into the town which had largely turned its back on the assets of waterfront. The town link terminates in a large open space made possible because it formed a large component of the land that could not be used for construction.
It was decided to keep the waterfront completely accessible for all - a democratic waterfront, which was de-marked by a broad boardwalk. Buildings were either located partly in the water or cantilevered over the water so that the pubic spaces and waterfront could be used uninterrupted.
The architecture of the community building is deliberately modern and simple in form with timber elements to create scale and sunshading. The undercroft space becomes a flexible exhibition or event space and is able to be partially closed down for particular events through operable glass screens. The building has the same linear qualities in three dimensions as the existing piers.
A series of apartments was located to the south as a commercial venture and also to contain the southern precinct.