Abstract:
This thesis questions if it is possible to design buildings on a controversial site on New Zealand’s rugged coastline which harmonise with the environment of the Coromandel Peninsula. My chosen site New Chum Beach (also known as Wainuiototo Bay) in the Coromandel Peninsula has a highly regarded reputation as one of the Peninsula’s few remaining beaches with exceptional natural character, unspoiled by coastal housing developments. The rapid intensification of housing at neighbouring beaches Whangapoua and Matarangi has led many to think that a similar fate for New Chum Beach is very likely, if not inevitable. This thesis investigates recent proposals to develop housing at the back of New Chum Beach on the Wainuiototo farmland, questioning why these offers have been unsuccessful. Responding to reports, this thesis discusses why this site should be developed and if it is possible for architecture to complement the landscape. Focussing on New Chum Beach, particularly land on the Wainuiototo Farm catchment, a proposal explores coastal architecture and subterranean architecture principles as possible design resolutions that allow the integrity and facination associated with the popular beach to remain. Furthermore, investigating solutions regarding the development of an environmentally secluded site. Celebrating an indepth understanding of the land, the proposal considers and understands the development density and type of building that is appropriate for the New Zealand coastline. It argues for an artist community program in the Coromandel Peninsula, specifically at my site as it commemorates an individual’s emotional connection to the isolated and quiet nature of the coast. The resultant model is an artist residency for four artists and an art gallery with a series of galleries presenting the artists In residence work as well as ongoing exhibitions of New Zealand landscape art. The intent behind the proposal is to produce architecture that discreetly blends in to the site and its surroundings, showing clues on the surface of what exists beneath the ground level. Using natural materials, rock and timber the architecture becomes a contrast between stereotomic and tectonic. This thesis aims to encourage interaction with the local Coromandel community and visitors to the area, to celebrate the harmonisation of architecture and the New Zealand coast.