The shortlist for the 2022 New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects (NZILA) Awards includes twelve projects delivered by the Auckland Council group - Auckland Transport, Eke Panuku, Tūpuna Maunga Authority and Auckland Council.
The list of council projects reads like a new walking tour of the city centre or a showreel for talented landscape architecture and urban design companies LandLAB, Isthmus, Jasmax and Resilio Studio.
Significantly, most of the shortlisted projects are the product of innovative collaborative ways of working alongside mana whenua. Many of the integrated design elements feature the work of Māori artists and hold mana whenua narratives, histories and values at their essence.
In one category - Civic and Urban Design - three of the shortlisted projects come from the celebrated Downtown Programme: Te Wānanga (Isthmus), Quay Street upgrade (LandLAB) and Galway Street mid-portion (Jasmax).
Mayor Phil Goff says it’s fantastic to see so many newly completed projects shortlisted for the awards.
“The shortlisting of so many Auckland Council projects for these prestigious national awards shows the progress we are making to transform our public spaces into beautiful, vibrant and people-friendly places for Aucklanders and visitors to enjoy,” he says.
“Congratulations to everyone involved in delivering these projects, and thank you in particular to our mana whenua partners who continue to help us ensure that te ao Māori narratives, telling the story of Tāmaki Makaurau, are woven into the landscape of our city.”
Highlighting four of the shortlisted entries:
Westhaven Promenade - Stage 2: LandLAB describes Westhaven Promenade as a 2km long ‘shared use’ promenade on the water’s edge unlocking public access to the marina waterfront and providing a walkway and recreational cycleway from Daldy Street in the Wynyard Quarter to the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The design features "on-land pathways and overwater boardwalks, new open spaces on the water’s edge, marina infrastructure and new coastal structures such as piers, observation platforms, lookouts and the ecological enhancement of the coastal margin zone." LandLAB has secured three places on the shortlist of the ‘Parks and Open Spaces’ category and five short-listed Auckland Council projects overall.
Galway Street
Galway Street Mid-Portion: The Jasmax entry for Galway Street describes this design as ‘crafting an intricate shared space embedded with cultural values and expression’, and creating ‘a vibrant, pedestrian-priority environment. The streetscape subtly reveals the unique, compelling stories of the Waitematā coastal edge through curated design and public art elements that transcend night and day.’ Two Jasmax projects for the Auckland Council group have made the shortlist: Galway Street and Te Hā Noa – Victoria Street Linear Park.
Quay Street – photos LandLAB
Quay Street Upgrade – The LandLAB entry for the upgrade of Quay Street speaks about this project representing a complex public realm transformation of a historic downtown waterfront street. The design has turned three blocks of a six-lane, congested through-route into a place for people and the environment. Optimising walking and cycling and servicing public transport, the design encourages people to connect with Te Waitematā.
Te Maharatanga o Ngā Wai - An innovative partnership between Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland Council, this design remembers our urban waters. Scan a QR code on the side of two steel pourama (light columns) placed on the corner of Sale Street and Wellesley Street and hear a poem by celebrated New Zealand manu kōrero/poet Hone Tuwhare recited in both te reo Māori and English by the children of the young landscape architecture and urban design professionals who led this project.
To view what’s next as the City Centre Masterplan continues to provide the roadmap, click here. And for more on the regeneration of midtown click here.
Auckland Council group's shortlisted projects
These are the projects, enabled and funded by Auckland Council, Auckland Transport, Eke Panuku and Tūpuna Maunga Authority, making the shortlist for the Resene New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture Awards in 2022, by category:
Parks, open spaces and recreation
Amey Daldy Park & Daldy Street Linear Park
LandLAB
Eke Panuku, Auckland Transport
Tank Park – Silo Park Extension
LandLAB
Eke Panuku
Westhaven Promenade – Stage 2
LandLAB
Eke Panuku
Maungawhau Tihi Boardwalk
Isthmus Group Limited
Tūpuna Maunga Authority
