Oriental Bay Enhancement
The enhancement of Oriental Bay was a collaborative project between Architecture Workshop, Isthmus Group and Tonkin & Taylor, funded by Wellington City Council. A substantial and innovative reworking of the land and seascapes of Oriental Bay, the project involved the creation of three beach areas, with a new pier and peninsula, new changing rooms, a new playground and new seating. Work started on the redevelopment in December 2002, and the beach was officially opened in January 2004.
Christopher Kelly, from Architecture Workshop, was part of the design team for the project. He says that the design team saw its main role ‘as establishing the design constraints, [then] constantly referring the discussion back to these established priorities in order to refine them further.’ In his architect’s statement, Kelly quotes architect Luigi Snozzi, who he says, ‘has reminded us … that “every architectural intervention represents a destruction”; we should, therefore, “destroy intelligently”’. Following Snozzi’s advice, the design team continually asked themselves:
1) How much architectural intervention is necessary in order for the design to suffice?
2) How little do we need to do to make this project successful?
Kelly claims that ‘often not enough analysis goes into understanding the quality of what already exists’. The redevelopment of Oriental Bay recognises the existing built environment. The new amenities block, for example, in no way fights with the existing Freyberg Pool building for attention and its timber-panelled shelter provides privacy, acknowledging that the area is overseen by neighbouring residential properties.
The enhancement also recognises the existing natural environment. While maximising the new beach area, the design team believed that it was important that the Rotunda did not become land-locked and came up with a design where the high tide continues to lap against the base of the Rotunda.
Oriental Bay is a place where people promenade up and down the waterfront. It is a site for exercise, for sunbathing and swimming, for meeting friends and for enjoying ice creams regardless of the season. The new chairs that have been placed along Oriental Terrace take into account the fact that sometimes you want to sit with your feet up on the edge of the beach wall and enjoy the view, and at other times you want to sit face to face with friends and family and share some fish ‘n’ chips.
The redevelopment of Oriental Bay has won several major architecture and design prizes, including the George Malcolm Supreme Award for Landscape Design (2004), NZIA Resene New Zealand Award for Architecture (2004), NZRA Outstanding Project Award (2004) and the Year of the Built Environment Award (2005). Following is some recent commentary on the enhancement of Oriental Bay:
Isthmus Group’s Oriental Bay project is not only a bold design carried out with elegantly restrained detailing, but it also shows deep insight into the cultural and physical character of the bay…. The beaches, headland, pier and promenade now constitute a superb amenity for central Wellington. – Judges’ comments, George Malcolm Supreme Award for Landscape Design (Rural/Park/Recreational).
The palette of materials reflects Architecture Workshop’s penchant for the simple and rudimentary: concrete, glass, timber. The architects have taken these materials and detailed them in a way that lifts them out of the ordinary to create not just an elegant but an equisite shed. – Tommy Honey, ‘Baywatch: Comment’ in Architecture New Zealand, January/February 2004, p. 61.
DESIGN TEAM: Joint venture by Architecture Workshop (Christopher Kelly), Isthmus Group (David Irwin) and Tonkin & Taylor (Ed Breese)