Urban Forest: reminiscence, renewal & reconciliation at Wynyard Wharf

Abstract

This thesis examines the many facets of history, environmental issues and social aspects of Wynyard Wharf upon the waterfront of Auckland. These investigations and explorations are conducted through the lenses of Reminiscence, Renewal, and Reconciliation as the overarching themes within this thesis. A primary concern surrounding the site is the petrol-chemical contamination that is embedded in its subsoil, and remediation is needed to drive developments on site. Aspects of the site’s history, the remnants of its past industrial occupations and the current desolate conditions are also studied and explored in relation to the current context associated with the area. A resolution with the Waitemata Harbour, the city and its people is desired. However, there are opportunities to be recognised within these issues. The petrol-chemical contaminants in the subsoils of the site provide a foundational opportunity in exploring and experimenting the process of Phytoremediation, which describes the efficient use of plants to remove, detoxify or immobilise environmental contaminants in soil, water or sediments. Another opportunity lies within the waters of Waitemata Harbour, to recollect the history of the harbour prior to its reclamation that happened about a century ago. And how we can reconcile Waitemata Harbour with the city’s waterfront and its inhabitants. This thesis extracts from architectural precedents pertaining to the complexities of history, the environment and the public realm and reside in the themes of Reminiscence, Renewal and Reconciliation. Reminiscence is the remembrance of the past. It explores and uncovers historical and cultural characteristics that were once present upon the foreshore. Renewal is about restoration and revitalisation of Wynyard Wharf. It is concerned with the current environmental and social issues of the site. The aspects of environmental remediation and the revitalisation of the public realm are examined. Reconciliation is the resolution and culmination of Reminiscence and Renewal through a series of architectural intervention upon Wynyard Wharf. It seeks to reconcile the many elements and layers extracted from the previous studies and aims to re-integrate and harmonise the broken relationships between the waters of Waitemata Harbour, the land, the history and the people of Auckland.