Abstract:
“The lure of the water, its sparkle, its reflection, its endless movement and change, that both captures man’s imagination and provides a variety of opportunities from business to recreation, from active to passive activities. The water’s edge is where life is most diverse and unique. It is essential to human existence.”1 This thesis investigates the redevelopment and rejuvenation of the Whangarei Town Basin and surrounding CBD, exploring mixed use, public space, urban and waterfront renewal, and water and architecture, with the aim to redevelop vacant spaces along the Hatea River into a thriving hub of the city, and create a tourist destination. The site is located on the edge of Whangarei’s CBD, a five minute walk from the central shopping district and is adjacent to the Hatea River. The Town Basin is approximately 40km from some of Northland’s pristine and popular beaches, and is a thoroughfare for foreign and domestic tourists heading north to the popular Bay of Islands Cape Reinga and 90 Mile Beach. Several schemes and designs have been proposed for the area over the last few decades, with the most recent being the controversial Hundertwasser Museum proposal. Adjacent to the existing two storey Harbour Board building and an area currently used as a car park, the Hundertwasser is deemed to be the international icon that Whangarei requires, estimated to draw 150,000 tourists a year, and to promote Whangarei as a prime tourist destination. The thesis asks; - can better use be made of the water - the Hatea River, to improve/enhance Whangarei’s amenity value through the implementation of an urban and architectural scheme appropriate for its location and setting, to help develop the Town Basin into a thriving tourist destination? This thesis aims to reconnect the ever depleting CBD with its waterfront, utilising its numerous assets including its close proximity to beaches, numerous bush walks and tracks, water activities and recreation creating an urban and architectural scheme to create a significant tourist destination in the Town Basin, and change Whangarei from being essentially a just a thoroughfare to the north. The thesis and design proposal focuses on examining the phenomena of the waterfront in urban areas, while creating active public spaces to reconnect the CBD with its waterfront. The architectural proposal responds to its waterfront location and makes reference to its historical past through both design rationale and materials. The building becomes an urban public space on multiple levels. This thesis shows that the redevelopment of the Whangarei Town Basin through urban design and architectural schemes can transform the Town Basin into a prominent and active public space by focusing on reconnecting the CBD with its waterfront, and creating active and accessible pedestrian routes to enhance this part of Whangarei. The thesis is research informed design explored through literature and precedent studies.