Highbrook Business Park, Auckland, New Zealand |
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"The Highbrook master plan uses the water cycle and a vast regime of tree planting to structure the future development of a dramatic site on the New Zealand coast. The plan transforms a former horse farm into a multi-use development of office and light manufacturing with supporting commercial, retail, and professional uses, while protecting and capitalizing on the site’s existing natural, cultural, and aesthetic amenities. The existing hedgerows, wooden fences, and poplar windrows of the farm form the basis for the site design of the gently rolling 477-acre peninsula, which contains some 9.5 miles of scenic waterfront as well as half of an extinct volcano crater. The crater is set aside for equestrian and park uses and connected to a continuous shoreline linear park with loops for hiking, riding, and cycling. The building sites—each enjoying a water view—are located on shelves of ancient beachheads rising from the shoreline road to the top of the ridge. Commercial uses are arranged along a ridgeline road with parking behind. Planted boulevards running parallel to the windrows provide additional connections to the linear park. These parallel streets are designed to collect and filter the site runoff before it is collected for irrigation or allowed to drain into the surrounding marshland." - www.pwpla.com
For this immense site, I was involved with transforming the masterplan into a schematic design package that can be parsed into multiple areas for the many future projects to come. From urban design of the main retail street to the waterfront and stormwater treatment ponds, many design consideration had to be resolved and coordinated with the local engineers. The main retail street furnishings design with benches and lights were explored in 3D, while a detail plant palette was developed for optimal wetland pond edge stabilization. To the wisdom of New Zealand's approach to development and stormwater treatment, all runoff water of the development had to be treated before discharging into the sea and thus the waterfront park was one of the first projects executed at Highbrook. The park coming before the development was a rare and significant accomplishment by all parties involved. Owner: Goodman Engineer(s): GHD Engineers Year: 2009 Role: Landscape Designer while at Peter Walker and Partners External Link(s): Highbrook Business Park Highbrook Business Park - PWP Landscape Architecture Highbrook Business Park - Surfacedesign, Inc. Project Location |