Architectural Ecology

Cleansing & Regeneration of Polluted Place through Architecture

Camden Pyke
Submitted in partial fulfilment of the Master of Architecture (Professional)

Victoria University of Wellington, School of Architecture.

Abstract

New Zealand was once considered one of the least environmentally damaged countries in the world. Heralded for
its pristine landscape, and its ‘Pure’ moniker, New Zealand was promoted, perhaps unintentionally, as an environ-
mentally conscious country. However, despite this image New Zealand, like other Westernised countries, suffers
from the residual effects of agriculture and industry which have left a legacy of damaged and contaminated sites.

This thesis investigates how increased built development and regeneration of damaged environments can be
achieved through architectural development, incorporating creatively and sensitively designed buildings. It seeks
to adapt and translate technologies and resources to act not only as an environmental cleanser, but also provide
for urban regeneration to go beyond the rhetoric of green and sustainable building principles.

The research finds that a change in focus is required; away from monetary focus and instead to environmental
focus. This needs to occur immediately to avoid further environmental damage and to begin remediation of ex-
isting damage. This can be resolved by incorporating existing remediation techniques further into development.

The change also needs to incorporate the way in which we live. Urban responses and architecture play very im-
portant roles. The creation of mixed use sites with green space allow for localised consumption and recreation.
Inhabitation patterns have been poorly addressed by New Zealand developers and a different rationale and pro-
cess needs to be undertaken. It is time for New Zealand to stop appearing green and start taking significant steps
to reducing environmental impact.

The project successfully investigates and addresses the issues of regeneration, both of site and urban conditions.
It sits between the two streams of thought, technological and theoretical and extracts the positives of these two
elements to create an informed solution that recognises past, present and future use.
III
IV
Acknowledgements

There are a number of people I wish to acknowledge and thank for their help throughout this year, both profes-
sionally and personally.

Firstly, I would like to acknowledge my supervisor, Shenuka de Sylva Kulugamman​a. Her guidance, support and
patience was integral in the completion of this research.

I would also like to thank the academic staff and professionals who offered me advice and gave up their time. In
no particular order they are: Peter Parkes, Dushko Bogunovich, Matthew Bradbury, Brenda Vale, Robert Vale,
Ken Crosson, Martin Bryant, Simon Matthews, Mark Newdick, Peter Johnstone and Alana Thorn.

Further thanks go to those who offered me personal support and helped me out in times of stress. In no particular
order: James Gray, William Vink, Elspeth Simms, Rob Bruns, Hannah France, Georgia Leckie, Sophie Kemp and
my parents, Shirley Van Waveren and Nick Pyke for all their support.

V
VI
Contents

1 Introduction
2 Chapter Outline

2 Section 1:

3 Section 2

5 Chapter One - The environment and New Zealand’s declining credibility

6 Declining credibility

8 Impacts on soil / land

8 Polluted sites

11 Agriculture

12 Impacts on water

12 Fresh water

13 Salt water

VII
 15 Impacts on air quality

16 New Zealand’s consumption patterns

18 Climate change

18 Discussion

21 Chapter Two – Architectural Implications

22 Sustainability

25 Regenerative

26 Site regeneration

26 Soil remediation

31 Water remediation

35 Air remediation

39 Urban regeneration

47 Discussion

49 Chapter Three - Site Analysis

50 History of the Western Reclamation

52 Sea + City – Wynyard Precinct

57 Discussion

VIII
59 Chapter Four - Design
61 Design outcome

63 Site description

65 Precedents

73 Design detail

75 Stage one: Site regeneration

81 Stage two - Urban regeneration

95 Stage three - Extended lifespan

99 Chapter Five - Discussion and Conclusions

99 Discussion

100
Site remediation

101
Urban regeneration

102
Other issues

103 Conclusions

105 Bibliography

115 Appendixes

IX
X
List of Figures

Introduction
1
Fig.1 Advertisment from Tourism New Zealand’s ongoing campaign.

Chapter One
7 Fig. 2 Image presented in Ministry for the Environment’s inbound tourist survey.
Fig. 3 Image presented in Ministry for the Environment’s inbound tourist survey.

9 Fig. 4 Fruitgrowers Chemical Company site, Mapua, New Zealand.

10 Fig. 5 Tui mine tailings, Te Aroha

11 Fig. 6 MacKenzie country dairy farming impact

12 Fig. 7 Water pollution sources

13 Fig. 8 Algal bloom in low-level lake

14 Fig. 9 A bird killed by marine pollution

15 Fig. 10 Winter smog, Christchurch

16 Fig. 11 Peak hour traffic, Auckland

17 Fig. 12 New Zealand’s ecological footprint

19 Fig. 13 What will it take before we respect the Planet?

XI
 Chapter Two 39 Fig. 35 Docklands, early 1900’s
Fig. 36 Docklands, present day
23 Fig. 14 Greenways self-park, Chicago Fig. 37 Docklands, future masterplan
Fig. 15 Sustainability model
40 Fig. 38 City in the Sky
27 Fig. 16 Soil remediation techniques
41 Fig. 39 Potsdamer Platz
28 Fig. 17 Baffled roller schematic
42 Fig. 40 The Highline, New York
29 Fig. 18 Soil column schematic
43 Fig. 41 Continuous Monument
30 Fig. 19 Gas Works Park, Seattle Fig. 42 Linked Hybrid
Fig. 43 Horizontal Skyscraper
32 Fig. 20 Rice paddies in central asia
Fig. 44 New Babylon
33 Fig. 21 Swales, Centreport, Wellington
45 Fig. 45 Organic growth model vs. a staged plan
Fig. 22 Wetland, Waitangi Park, Wellington
Fig. 23 Retention Pond, unknown location 46 Fig. 46 Nagakin Tower, unit replacement
Fig. 24 Swales, Victoria Park, Sydney Fig. 47 Nagakin Tower, completed building
Fig. 25 Wetland, Waitangi Park, Wellington Fig. 48 Nagakin Tower, during construction
Fig. 26 Retention pond schematic

34 Fig. 27 Bilpin Visitor Centre Chapter Three

35 Fig. 28 Aqua Alta 1.0 50 Fig. 49 Freemans Bay, late 1800’s
Fig. 50 Existing Tank Farm structures
37 Fig. 29 Prosolve 370e, technology
Fig. 30 Prosolve 370e, applications 51 Fig. 51 Trueview of Wynyard Quarter proposal
Fig. 31 Prosolve 370e, panel connections
53 Fig. 52 Kahurangi masterplan key features
38 Fig. 32 unplug proposal, Paris
55 Fig. 53 Wynyard Quarter proposal
Fig. 33 dusty relief, static model
Fig. 34 dusty relief, elevation 56 Fig. 54 Wynyard Wetland Park, plan
Fig. 55 Wynyard Wetland Park, birds eye

XII
Chapter Four 78 Fig. 80 Section Z - Z, remediation

62 Fig. 56 Wynyard Quarter site plan 79 Fig. 81 Hexagonal Framework, remediation

64 Fig. 57 Ricardo Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura, pre-renovation 80 Fig. 82 Stage two - inhabitation
Fig. 58 Ricardo Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura, post-renovation
82 Fig. 83 Section Z - Z, inhabitation
Fig. 59 Ricardo Bofill, Taller de Arquitectura, interior
83 Fig. 84 Hexagonal Framework, inhabitation
66 Fig. 60 The Silos, exterior
Fig. 61 The Silos, courtyard 84 Fig. 85 Perspective view, looking south
Fig. 62 Oil Tank, construction
Fig. 63 Oil Tank, completed 86 Fig. 86 Masterplan
Fig. 64 Oil Tank, interior 87 Fig. 87 Multi-purpose structure, 1
68 Fig. 65 Landscape Park Duisberg Nord, Blast Furnace Fig. 88 Multi-purpose structure, 1
Fig. 66 Landscape Park Duisberg Nord, Open Gallery 88 Fig. 89 Nodal plan
Fig. 67 Landscape Park Duisberg Nord, Playground
Fig. 68 Ballast Point Park, aerial view 89 Fig. 90 Gallery, interior 3D
Fig. 69 Ballast Point Park, re-use of old tank Fig. 91 Gym, interior 3D
Fig. 70 Ballast Point Park, excavation traces
90 Fig. 92 Access path, 3D
70 Fig. 71 Fun Palace Fig. 93 Church, interior 3D
Fig. 72 Cloud Hanger
91 Fig. 94 Section Y - Y, inhabitaiton
71 Fig. 73 Floating City 2030
92 Fig. 95 2 Bedroom apartment plan
Fig. 74 Plug-in city
93 Fig. 96 Apartment interior, day
72 Fig. 75 Wynyard proposal, time based elevation
Fig. 97 Apartmetn interior, night
74 Fig. 76 Stage one - remediation
94 Fig. 98 Bamboo cladding schematic
75 Fig. 77 Bamboo root diagram
96 Fig. 99 Perspective view, looking north
Fig. 78 Separation of excavation waste, on site

76 Fig. 79 Hexagonal Frame, form generation

XIII
 Introduction

New Zealand was once considered one of the least environmentally damaged countries in the world. Heralded
for its pristine landscape, and its “100% Pure” (Tourism New Zealand, 2010) image New Zealand was promoted,
perhaps unintentionally, as an environmentally conscious country. However in an increasingly environmentally
conscious global climate, where man made climate change and pollution are loaded topics, New Zealand has
been criticised as an underachiever.

Figure 1: Advertisment from Tourism New New Zealand’s clean green image is falsified due to the agricultural sector, industrial heritage and the social, eco-
Zealand’s ongoing campaign.
nomic and consumption patterns of the population. Recent reports in popular overseas newspapers, such as The
From: Tourism New Zealand. (2010). 100% Economist, state New Zealand’s international image is a fantasy (The Economist, 2010), whilst the Guardian’s
Pure New Zealand. Retrieved 25/05/2010 environmental columnist Fred Pearce goes a step further, slamming New Zealand’s response to climate change
http://www.newzealand.com/International/
and reducing emissions as a “shameless two fingers to the global community” (Pearce, 2009). Added to this are
reports of unclean rivers and harbours, farming intensification and an increasing number of polluted and damaged
sites from industrial activity.

As a largely undeveloped country with a small population, New Zealand is likely, in the approaching decades,
to experience an increase in migration and population growth. This, in turn, will create increased economic and
urban growth. While this economic growth is required for the country’s population to continue to prosper, it is vi-
tally important for the health of the closed loop systems of the planet to follow through the ‘Pure’ image with new
construction that strives for creative, forward thinking, long term, environmentally regenerative solutions for new
development. Therefore any future urban growth must be carefully orchestrated to reduce environmental impact
and attempt to create more sustainable ways of living.

1
 This thesis investigates how increased built development and regeneration of damaged environments can be
achieved through architectural development, incorporating creatively and sensitively designed buildings. It seeks
to adapt and translate technologies and resources to act not only as an environmental cleanser, but also provide
for urban regeneration to go beyond the rhetoric of green and sustainable building principles. The thesis aims
will be tested with a design project which can be utilised as an opportunity not just to improve and repair New
Zealand’s image, but create a more mutually beneficial relationship between the built form and environment and
influence future urban inhabitation.

Chapter Outline

The thesis draws from a number of existing literary sources, communication with specific authorities and profes-
sionals and personal findings. It will be divided into two sections, consisting of two chapters each. The first section
will develop a background of environmental and social issues and then elaborate on solutions - architectural and
otherwise - to these issues. The second section will combine these solutions and issues through a case study of
the Western reclamation in Auckland city as an exemplary site.

Section 1:

Chapter one will focus on New Zealand’s declining credibility as an environmentally conscious country. The focus
of this chapter will be on agricultural and industrial impact on New Zealand, in particular on a number of envi-
ronmental issues. These include soil contamination; water quality and air quality - issues of particular concern in
Auckland and Christchurch. These issues stem from the residue of previous and current industrial and agricultural
development in New Zealand. Further, the lifestyle of New Zealanders continues to apply increasing environmen-
tal pressure. Their Western consumption and settlement patterns that exist in New Zealand will also be discussed
in this chapter and explored against the larger idea of global - and local - climate change.

Chapter Two of the report investigates the potential of sustainable and regenerative architecture with regards to
site remediation and redevelopment. Although sustainable methods will be investigated, the focus will be on a
regenerative approach, as sustainability focuses heavily on technological fixes and current social patterns and
trends that are insufficient to facilitate the recovery of natural habitats and ecosystems. In particular the environ-
2
mental aspects affecting New Zealand addressed in the previous chapter will be questioned through case stud-
ies, architectural, technological and social interventions. Additional to an architectural focus, landscape methods,
ideas and processes will be investigated through case studies.

Section 2

Chapter Three provides a background to the chosen site, the Western Reclamation, as well as the larger scope of
central Auckland. Auckland is a city built around a harbour. This was due to the positives a harbour offered to the
fledgling colonial economy reliant on the import and export of resources and people. This seafaring culture has
had a large impact on the harbour and surrounding land-mass, as has the western style of consumption that oc-
curs in New Zealand. The research will discuss history of the site, highlighting previous development and impacts.
Further to this, future plans for the reclamation, renamed The Wynyard Quarter, will be used as a case study. This
will allow investigation and critique of planned future development with regards to regeneration of the urban area
as well as the environmental conditions of the site.

The final chapter proposes a design solution for the site incorporating the aforementioned research. This case
study will be expanded to the point of a developed design solution of a master plan, expressing findings within
the report through an architectural outcome. This will be presented both through writing and through pictorial evi-
dence of an architectural design. In addition to a master plan scenario, more detailed zones within the project will
be developed to depict architectural solutions incorporating research into cleansing and regenerative principles.

Finally the research report will be concluded with a discussion of outcomes and the design undertaken. The
outcomes of the case study will be analysed and future design and research paths and lines of development
examined.

3
4
 Chapter One - The environment and
New Zealand’s declining credibility

New Zealand is in a highly enviable global position. It is a lowly populated, separated geography, which has had
few man-made impacts. It has copious essential resources and a coastal climate which means it will be far less
affected by the effects of climate change than its neighbours, such as Australia and the Pacific Islands. However
this does not mean as a country New Zealand can become complacent in efforts to reduce emissions, environ-
mental impacts and pollution.

As the state of the planet we inhabit has become a pressing issue New Zealand has been an active participant in
key sustainability and environmental conferences, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (FCCC) 1992 - which resulted in the Kyoto Protocol - as well as the follow up conference in 2009 in Co-
penhagen. In addition to this pivotal forum, New Zealand has also attended smaller conferences like the World
Summit on Sustainable Development Johannesburg 2002. Further to this, Tourism New Zealand actively markets
1. The name 100% Pure instils visions of ‘100% Pure New Zealand’1 suggesting a pristine environmental paradise, a country concerned with preserving its
a pristine country free from environmen-
environment. Despite pristine appearances New Zealand’s environmental record is anything but ‘clean’ or ‘green’.
tal issues. This is not the active image
the marketing campaign aims for, rather There are many ways in which New Zealand portrays itself as a country, intentional or not, that are not factual,
a ‘100% Pure’ experience. Despite this and in some cases the complete opposite is true.
fact the website shows images of beautiful
landscapes, such as Milford Sound and Mt This chapter initially discusses New Zealand’s declining international credibility as an environmentally conscious
Cook. (Tourism New Zealand, 2010)
nation. Following this the study focuses on the impact of built development and consumption upon New Zealand’s
natural resources, broadly broken up into six sections.

5
 The first determines why New Zealand’s credibility is declining at an international and local level. The second sec-
tion focuses on soil and land use, investigating the impact industrialisation and production has upon the resource
of ground. The third section, water, investigates both salt and fresh water stocks in New Zealand. The fourth
section is focused on air quality, particularly with regard to increasing urbanisation in New Zealand. Examples of
polluted sites will be shown through examination of the former Fruitgrowers Chemical Company site, in Mapua
and the Tui Mine in the Coromandel. As well as environmental effects, the fifth section examines the impacts of
lifestyle and settlement patterns of the inhabitants of New Zealand. These are discussed, at a local scale as is the
impact on the larger closed planetary cycle that these sociological patterns have, through resource depletion and
climate change in the sixth section.

Declining credibility

There have been a number of recent reports, articles and incidents that have had significant impact on New Zea-
land’s positive reputation overseas. The most damning of these appeared in the British newspaper The Guardian.
The columnist, Fred Pearce, declares New Zealand’s attitude towards solving environmental issues is a “shame-
less two fingers to the global community” (Pearce, 2009). This article and similar sentiments in The Economist
newspaper have put focus on New Zealand’s environmental performance.2 2. The Economists response is much less
emotive, highlighting both sides to the ar-
When ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, New Zealand agreed to not increase Greenhouse Gas emissions from 1990 gument. However it still concedes that New
Zealand could be making far more effort to
levels to 2008-2012 (United Nations, 1998). However, over this period there has in fact been an increase of 22.5% reduce emissions and environmental im-
(Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand), 2005, pg. 63). Of the 187 states that signed the protocol, only Ire- pacts.
land and Spain increased their emissions by larger amounts than New Zealand. Unfortunately, the failure to meet
Kyoto Protocol targets is only the tip of the environmental iceberg.

In the past few years there have been an increasing number of reports which highlight significant decline in New
Zealand’s natural resources. One of the most recent examples of this is the 2010 report prepared by NIWA for
the Ministry of the Environment (New Zealand). The report highlights a decline of water quality in almost a third
of New Zealand’s lakes in the past four years. This is largely caused by increased pastoral areas, a resultant of
the dairying boom. This boom and the agricultural industry as a whole has also had serious impact on the quality
and makeup of soils through the country (Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 2004). In a broader
6
 sense significant increases in transport, tourism and energy production and consumption all contribute further to
the declining state of the local environment (OECD, 2007). All of the above impacts are heavily linked to continued
economic prosperity and growth.

However, following current trends, this growth may be at the expense of New Zealand’s image which would have
significantly larger impact. In 2001, the Ministry for the Environment published a report estimating the value of the
environment for three key New Zealand industries; dairy farming, tourism and organic foods.

The study has looked at whether we are as clean and green as we think we are, and surveyed key
export customers to gauge how much our environmental image influences their purchasing
decisions (Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand), 2001, pg. 3).

The impacts of perceived environmental degradation are huge. In the dairying sector perceived annual losses
range between $241-$569 million dollars, with consumers indicating they would purchase 54% less New Zea-
land produce. The impact on tourism is even larger. The report estimates that a direct loss of $530 million would
occur annually, with a further $408 million in indirect losses (tax and income) annually, resulting from 50-90%
shorter stays from inbound tourists (Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand), 2001, pg. 5). This constitutes a
massive concern for New Zealand with regards to both the tourism and agricultural sectors. For these industries,
the two largest earners and employers for New Zealand, future built growth and development must be carefully
considered to limit and reverse the impacts of previous development to have a positive impact on the country’s
environment.

Figure 2, 3 : Two images presented in Min-

istry for the Environment’s inbound tourist
survey.

From: Ministry for the Environment (New

Zealand). (2001). Valuing New Zealand’s
Clean Green Image. Wellington: Minis-
try for the Environment (New Zealand),
pg. D1.3
7
 Impacts on soil / land

There are two main environmentally degrading activities that currently occur in New Zealand. The first - and easi-
est to remediate - of these is pollution through leaching and contamination of land previously used for industrial
purposes. The second is through increased intensification of agriculture, in particular dairy farming and the im-
pacts it has upon land, water and atmosphere. These two factors are discussed below.

Polluted sites

Economic growth has already had a negative impact on the environment. Although a young country, New Zealand
has had countless industrialised processes undertaken within its boundaries since colonisation in the 19th century.
The impact that these industrial processes - including, among others, chemical and hazardous material produc-
tion and storage, mining, landfill and waste facilities and petrochemical processes - is very hard to gauge until
the original process has ceased on the site and further development is to be undertaken. This can be seen from
a continually increasing number of polluted sites in New Zealand. OECD Environmental Performance Reviews:
New Zealand (2007) notes that:

In the 1990s, it was estimated that there were 7 000 to 8 000 contaminated sites in New Zealand; about
1500 of them were deemed to pose high risks to human health or the environment... More recent studies
by regional councils suggest that these estimates are quite conservative. Most contaminated sites were
previously used for pesticide manufacture, coal gas production, waste disposal, timber treatment or
sheep dipping (pg. 59).

The two most documented of these sites, the Fruitgrowers Chemical Company, in Tasman and the Tui Mine near
Te Aroha have been earmarked for remediation; these are briefly highlighted below to give an example of the soil
impacts associated with pollution from industrial activities. These two sites are widely accepted as the largest and
most polluted sites in New Zealand.

8
 Fruitgrowers Chemical Company (FCC)

The former Fruitgrowers Chemical Company site, in Mapua, near Nelson, was widely considered the most con-
taminated site in New Zealand (Tasman District Council, 2010).

It is the site of a pesticide factory that operated from the 1930s to 1988. Due to spills and some waste
being buried on site, persistent pesticides made at this factory [sic] have remained at high concentrations
in parts of the site. 

The site is about 3.4 hectares and contained 20,000m3 (or 1,700 truck and trailer loads) (Tasman District Council,
2010) of contaminated soil that exceeds permitted levels for residential and commercial use.  Of this soil:

• Half [the] soil is about 10 times too contaminated when compared to risk-based levels, and the other half is up
to 1,000 times too contaminated. 

• There are also 800m3 of marine sediments adjacent to the site which exceeds internationally accepted criteria
for marine life by up to 50 times. 

Figure 4: Fruitgrowers Chemical Com- • The risk-based criteria for soil are 5 parts per million of DDT and 3 parts per million of dieldrin. The marine
pany, Mapua. Pre-remediation works. sediment criteria are about 500 times more sensitive (Tasman District Council, 2010).
From:

Ministry for the Environment (New Zea- The successful soil remediation of the FCC site was undertaken through an ex-situ baffled roller remediation pro-
land). (2010). Clean-up of the Mapua cess, which will be explored in Chapter Two of this thesis.
contaminated site. Retrieved 09/12/2010,
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/hazardous/
contaminated/mapua/index.html

Tui Mine

The Tui Mine, near Te Aroha, operated from 1967 until 1973. Metal ores, including copper, lead and zinc were
extracted. The mine prospered and the company found several thousand ounces of gold and silver among the
ore. Then unacceptable levels of mercury were found in the ore and the company buying it pulled out in 1973
(Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand), 2008). Two years later the mine owner, Norpac, went into liquida-
tion and the Tui Mine was abandoned. Despite the short period of its existence, when Tui Mine was abandoned
it left behind a large pile of ore and sand-sized crushed ore (tailings), dammed to prevent it slipping down the
mountainside. Over the years, this tailings dam fell into disrepair and became unstable(Ministry for the Environ-
9
 ment (New Zealand), 2008).

This has lead to water and soil contamination through leaching and, in the event of a moderate seismic or extreme
weather event it is predicted the tailings dam will collapse (Department of Conservation, 2008). Such an event
could result in over 90,000m3 of mine waste liquefying and flowing down the Tui Stream past the edge of Te Aroha
(Department of Conservation, 2008). To prevent disaster remediation work has been undertaken to cap and re-
pair the tailings dam to stop leaching. Further to this, the old mine shafts will be flooded and sealed (Ministry for
the Environment (New Zealand), 2008).

The sites described above highlight two types of industrial activity that has lead to environmental damage: stor-
age and processing of dangerous and damaging chemicals and the by-products of industrial activity that leach
and impact on the environment.

There are many other polluted industrial sites within New Zealand. To help standardise and improve the cleanup
process, the Ministry for the Environment has published a set of guidelines for managing contaminated sites and
a fund to help with cleanup. Of this fund over half was spent cleansing the FCC site in Mapua. This small amount
of funding shows that clean-up of contaminated sites is still not a major priority for national government. Part of
the reluctance in funding is the debate as to how much remediation must be undertaken, and whether it is the
responsibility of the former inhabitant. This is largely due to the fact that clean-up of the sites is a slow, costly
process where liability is a large legal issue.

Figure 5: Tui Mine tailings - industrial waste

is still prominent on the site.

From: envirohistoryNZ. (2010). A tale of

mining in New Zealand – and the tragic tail-
ings of Tui Mine. Retrieved 08/12/2010,
http://envirohistorynz.wordpress.
com/2010/05/02/a-tale-of-mining-in-new-
zealand-and-the-tragic-tailings-of-tui-mine/

10
 Agriculture

Industrial sites are of a nature where cleanup, although expensive and time-consuming, can be achieved. New
Zealand’s remaining environmental problems are largely due to the increase in, and predominance of agriculture
which is harder to cleanup and control. The other problem with agriculture is that it is also the country’s largest
exporter and employer. For example the estimated spend of all inbound tourists for 2009 represented a mere 45%
of Fonterra’s revenue for that year (Fonterra, 2010) and when all agriculture industries are included they account
for 64% of New Zealand’s exports.

In the past decade New Zealand’s agricultural sector has undergone massive changes. With the high payouts
from dairy farms and the increase in irrigation capabilities there has been a change from lower impact sheep and
mixed sheep and beef, to purely dairy farms. One of the most marked changes has been in the MacKenzie Coun-
try, in the South Island. Here vast areas of previous tussock land and high country farms have been scarred with
massive centre-pivot irrigators, extracting abundant water from nearby hydro-schemes.

The MacKenzie Country is the most obvious example of how dairying is changing the perception and physical
nature of New Zealand’s environments. Further development on surrounding land has lead Conservation Min-
ister Nick Smith to compare ‘the number of cows being proposed... is the equivalent of putting a city of 250,000
[people] in a pretty fragile environment’ (Wilkinson-Baker, 2010). This intensive farming leads to the prospect of
over 1.7million litres of effluent being produced in the area every day. Effluent, erosion, leaching and irrigation
run-off are the largest impacts on the physical environment of New Zealand and the Ministry for the Environment
notes that:

By far and away, the main source of pressure on water quality is pastoral agriculture. Agriculture is a
contributing factor to the degradation of many surface waters and some groundwater. Pollutants
include sediment, animal waste and nutrients. Pastoral agriculture also contributes to increased
Figure 6: Mackenzie Country Dairy Farm-
flooding and erosion in many areas by removing deep-rooted vegetation from hillsides and riverbanks
ing.
(Ministry for the Environment (New Zealand), 2001, pg. 3).
From: Forest & Bird. (2010). Save our
Mackenzie Country. Retrieved 09/12/2010,
http://www.forestandbird.org.nz/what-we-
do/campaigns/save-the-mackenzie - pho-
tographer Peter Scott.
11
 Despite this, very few concrete measures exist for the protection of waterways and surrounding areas. The most
prominent measure, the 2003 Clean Streams Accord was introduced to ensure that dairying limited or reduced
pollution to ‘have water that is suitable, where appropriate, for:

• Fish;

• Drinking by stock;

• Swimming (in areas defined by regional councils)(New Zealand Government, 2003, pg. 3)

However, since the introduction of this largely voluntary measure, the dairy sector failed to improve its impact on
waterways and has, in fact made very little progress; particularly with regard to effluent consents, wetland protec-
tion and clean waterways. This is largely due to the fact that the accord was not “focused on measurable improve-
ments in water quality” (Deans & Hackwell, 2008, pg. 4). These actions, or lack thereof, show the complacency
New Zealand has with regards to its water sources and, unless serious changes are implemented these impacts
will increase in severity.

Impacts on water

New Zealand has two specific areas of concern with regards to its water supplies and sources. These are divided
into two sections, Fresh Water and Salt Water; and the issues and impacts of each are explained below.

Fresh water

The environmental damage from agriculture has had severe impact on New Zealand’s lakes, streams, rivers and
waterways. The Ministry for the Environment in the report Valuing New Zealand’s Clean Green Image notes that
“the more remote parts of New Zealand have some of the finest water quality in the world” (Ministry for the Envi-
ronment (New Zealand), 2001, pg. 3.5) However, the report also alarmingly states that: Figure 7: Water pollution sources

From: Ministry for the Environment (New

Zealand). (2007). Environment New Zea-
water quality declines measurably in lowland streams and rivers, particularly in pasture-dominated land 2007. Wellington: Ministry for the En-
vironment (New Zealand), pg. 265.
12
 catchments; some lowland rivers are unsuitable for swimming because of faecal contamination from
farm animals, poor water clarity, and nuisance algae growths. Furthermore, the stream water in some
intensive dairy farming areas is in such poor condition that it may be unsafe for livestock to drink. The
lower reaches of some rivers are also polluted by discharges of industrial wastes, urban sewage and
stormwater run-off.

In addition between 10% and 40% of New Zealand’s 700 smaller shallow lakes are nutrient enriched
(eutrophic). Most of these are located in the North Island and in pasture-dominated catchments. A
number are subject to fish kills or are no longer capable of supporting fish life. (Ministry for the Environ-
ment (New Zealand), 2001, pg. 3.5).

This contamination, largely in pasture catchments, has lead the Cawthorn Institute to note that some of our rivers
are “very unhealthy,”(Cawthorn Institute, 2008, pg. 2) with unsafe levels of faecal content, nutrient concentration
and poor water clarity. Five of the six most polluted rivers in New Zealand have catchments and outflows along
the West Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. Some of these rivers provide drinking water to residents and
animals alike. This has led to a number of sites to be considered unsafe. So much so that the aforementioned
Ministry for the Environment report states that at least 18% of the population have an ‘unsatisfactorily high risk of
contamination’ to their water supply.
Figure 8: Algal bloom in a low-land lake
Salt water
From: Ministry for the Environment (New
Zealand). (2007). Environment New Zea-
Oceans, harbours and coastlines of New Zealand are also affected by pollution in a range of forms. In 1988 Fish-
land 2007. Wellington: Ministry for the En-
vironment (New Zealand), pg. 275. ing News International reported that there was now three times as much rubbish dumped into the world’s oceans
as the amount of fish removed (Department of Conservation, 1989). Originally most of this rubbish was thought
to originate from “shipping, commercial fishing fleets, offshore energy explorations and recreational ‘boaties’,”
(Island Care New Zealand Trust (ICNZT), 1996) however, over the past two decades research has shown that up
to 80% of the pollution dumped into oceans is from land-based sources. The sources of this pollution are from oil
and diesel spills, sediment and nutrient run-off from agriculture and from chemical leaching from industrial sites
into the oceans. These pollutants can promote algal blooms, clog fish gills and cause diseases (Island Care New
Zealand Trust (ICNZT), 1996, pg. 8). However, the largest land-based source is from rubbish caused by storm-
water drain overflows.

13
 In the 1990’s, the Island Care New Zealand Trust (ICNZT) undertook a series of trapping studies for debris in
the Auckland region. In two one-month long trapping periods on the Manukau Harbour over 90,000 waste items
were collected from only 3 drains (Island Care New Zealand Trust (ICNZT), 1996). More recent findings from the
Waitemata Harbour Clean-Up Trust estimates it has collected 1,806,614 litres of litter in its eight year history from
2002 (Auckland Council, 2010). From other research by the ICNZT, an estimate of 10 million items a year are
washed out to sea from stormwater drains into the Waitemata harbour alone. Further to this:

Data from the stormwater report were compared to the information collected from island clean-ups to identify any
possible correlation. The data reveals a striking similarity between the types of debris discharged from Auckland’s
stormwater system and that collected from the islands in our harbour (Island Care New Zealand Trust (ICNZT),
1994, pg. 15).

This provides a close correlation to the 2001 report Valuing New Zealand’s Clean Green Image from the Ministry
for the Environment. It states that:

The areas most under threat tend to be the harbours and estuaries close to major population centres.
The State of New Zealand’s Environment report notes the results of a qualitative survey carried out in
Figure 9: Resultant of marine pollution and
the mid-70s in which the perceived quality of estuaries was assessed. Of the 162 estuaries for which contamination. If clean-up crews don’t get
responses were required, 38% were considered to be “clean”, 41% rated as “slightly polluted”, 16% the rubbish it ends up here and is fatal.
“moderately polluted” and 4% “grossly polluted”.
From: Sustainable Coastlines (2010).
Media. Retrieved 07/12/2010,
The problem estuaries included Waitemata Harbour, Manukau Harbour, Kaipara Harbour, Tauranga http://www.sustainablecoastlines.org/
Harbour, Porirua Harbour, Wanganui River mouth, Ahuriri Estuary, Pauatahanui Inlet, Wellington Kia_Ora/Sustainable_Coastlines___Me-
Harbour, Waimea Inlet (Nelson), Brooklands Lagoon and the Waimakiriri River mouth, Avon-Heathcote dia.html

estuary, Lyttelton Harbour and the New River Estuary (Invercargill) (pg. 3.7).

As well as the mounting problems of physical and chemical pollution from land, the world’s oceans have the
added impact of increased Carbon Dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere. CO2 is entering the oceans “at a rate
of nearly 1 million tons (sic) per hour - 10 times the natural rate” (Gerdes, 2008, pg. 23). This increased level of
CO2 is making them more acidic. The increased acidity reduces the ability of coral to grow. This, in turn, reduces
the environments and breeding grounds for other species and could lead to a collapse of the current forms of
marine life (Gerdes, 2008, pg. 65).

Along with many other environments, New Zealand’s coastal interaction between fresh water, coastline pollu-
14
 tion and elemental leaching are all of serious concern to the nation’s status as a ‘Pure’ tourist destination and a
healthy living environment.

In the past the most important aspect in the capitalist system was wealth and economic gain, often at the expense
of the environment. It is ironic that Adam Smith, the ‘father of modern economics,’ notes in his essay An Inquiry
into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations:

The things which have the greatest value in use have frequently little or no value in exchange; and on
the contrary, those which have the greatest value in exchange have frequently little or no value in use.
Nothing is more useful than water, but it will purchase scarce anything; scarce anything can be
exchanged for it. A diamond, on the contrary, has scarce any value in use, but a very great quantity of
other goods may frequently be had in exchange for it (pg.13).

New Zealand on the whole, has been guilty of valuing the diamond instead of water. However, with the increas-
ingly dire state of national waterways and harbours, coupled with increased global attention the attitude towards
this vital resource is slowly beginning to change.

Impacts on air quality

Large tracts of New Zealand remain undeveloped. This is due to over 85% of the population residing in urban
settlements (Ministry of Economic Development, 2010) , mainly concentrated in six major cities: Auckland, Christ-
church, Wellington, Hamilton, Tauranga and Dunedin. Of these six, Auckland and Christchurch suffer from poor
air quality, caused largely from vehicular emissions and from domestic fires (Auckland Regional Council (ARC),
2006, pg. 2).
Figure 10: Christchurch air pollution
The most common air pollutants are carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), as
From: University of Otago. (2010). Dirty well as a number of others. The majority of this pollution is caused by vehicles (83% of carbon monoxide and
air - inside and out. Retrieved 09/12/2010, nitrogen dioxide emitted from vehicles). In Auckland the combined emissions from all polluters produces 35,000
http://www.otago.ac.nz/research/hekiten-
ga2008/dirtyair.html
tonnes of nitrogen dioxides, 64,000 tonnes of hydrocarbons and 171,000 tonnes of carbon monoxide annually

15
 (Auckland Regional Council (ARC), 2006, pg. 2). These pollutants have significant health implications and are
directly linked to the premature deaths of 400 Aucklanders every year from respiratory diseases and increase the
severity of Asthma, which 1 in 6 New Zealanders suffer from.

To reduce emissions more efficient, cleaner cars are proposed as a solution. However, the largest change needs
to be in the usage of vehicles. New Zealand has one of the highest rates of car ownership in the world and not
only does this impact on air quality it has wider ranging social and environmental effects, including carbon dioxide
emissions which lead to an increase in global temperatures.

New Zealand’s consumption patterns

As a developed, Westernised nation, New Zealand produces significant amounts of waste. The 2007 OECD
Environmental Review of New Zealand notes that waste creation is increasing and continues to do so despite
increases in recycling. This is directly linked with New Zealand’s consumption and inhabitation patterns. Due to
the low population and large land area New Zealand has been settled in an uncontrolled sprawl; high densities
only occur in the central areas of cities.

A prime example of this is Auckland city. The Auckland region has a total area of 531km2, and a population den-
sity of 2200per km2. Of this population, only 1% lives in the central city. The rest live in surrounding suburbs and
territorial areas, such as Manukau and the North Shore. However, a large number of these people commute daily
into Auckland city, most often individually in private transport. This highlights one of New Zealand’s negative con-
sumption patterns. Due partly to the vastness and emptiness of the country, private car ownership is considered
an essential tool and there are 481 cars per 100 people, the 8th highest rate in the world (United Nations (UN),
2010).
Figure 11: The resultant of sprawl and lack
Car ownership is just a small facet of consumption patterns. New Zealanders have an unsustainable lifestyle, of public transport - Auckland motorway.
consuming more resources than are globally available. The Living Planet Report 2008, states that the ecological
From: Lee, M. (2010). Sins of the Fathers:
footprint, per New Zealander is well over 7 global hectares, the sixth highest rate of any country and almost three
the fall and rise of rail transit in Auckland.
times the biocapacity of the earth (World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF), 2008, pg. 14). Auckland: Auckland Regional Council, pg.
4

16
 It is clear that current consumption and lifestyle patterns cannot be sustainably maintained. As humanity’s impact
on the earth continues to increase through population growth - projected to reach almost 9 billion by 2050 - the
footprint of individuals must reduce significantly.

Figure 12: New Zealand has the sixth high-

est per-capita footprint in the world.

From: World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF).

(2008). Living Planet Report. Gland, Swit-
zerland, pg. 14-15.
17
 Climate change

Excluding small dissenting factions, it is almost universally recognised that the earth’s climate is increasing in
temperature. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed over the last 50 years is
attributable to human activities (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2003). These activities tie
into both industrial and agricultural attitudes, as well as consumption patterns and vehicular emissions mentioned
previously that impact on individual aspects of the earth.

These actions have resulted in climatic changes which occur at global and local levels. The increased tempera-
ture of the earth results in:

Changes in sea level, snow cover, ice extent, and precipitation are consistent with a warming climate
near the Earth’s surface. Examples of these include a more active hydrological cycle with more heavy
precipitation events and shifts in precipitation, widespread retreat of non- polar glaciers, increases in
sea level and ocean-heat content, and decreases in snow cover and sea-ice extent and thickness
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2003).

In addition to these consequences an increase in both intensity and likelihood of drought in other regions places
diminishes productive and inhabitable land capable of supporting the global human population, or that of other
species. As a result there will be increased pressure on already endangered species, increases in catastrophic
natural disasters and an increased requirement for availability of fertile land.

Discussion

New Zealand’s environmental integrity has been damaged. It is losing face internationally due to its failure to at-
tend to its local environmental issues and the wider issue of climate change. The country is beginning to appear
less attractive, both as a destination and as a place to live. Regarding soil, water and air quality there are issues of
contamination due to industrial and agricultural activity. Contamination is wide spread and constantly increasing
18
 in New Zealand. This has a direct impact upon the conditions of cities and rural areas.

In spite of this, there has been little intervention undertaken to reverse or negate these effects. These changes
could occur at a policy level or in the form of exemplary action to influence behavioural change. There have been
policy interventions but as can be seen from previous greenhouse gas targets, there has been little done to en-
sure their success.

The place for us to begin is to stop acting as if there exists a separation between the natural and the
artificial, between use and nature. We are nature, and those who exploit or harm it exploit and harm all
of us (Fisher, 2008, pg. 13).

To minimise climate change and prevent further damage to the country there needs to be a change. This change
needs be undertaken on a large scale and at a rapid pace, with less focus on cost, profit and convenience as the
major development initiatives and instead, greater focus on environmental impacts and the repercussions on flo-
ra, fauna. There needs to be a large shift in attitude, behaviour and the relationship between humanity and nature.

Figure 13: WWF’s provacative advertising

campaign highlighting the negative impact
that mankind has on other species and
ecosystems.

From: Ogilvy (2010). What will it take be-

fore we respect the planet? for World Wide
Fund For Nature (WWF). Paris, France:
World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF)
19
20
Chapter Two – Architectural
Implications

Whilst the architecture industry and architects themselves cannot solely be blamed for the state of environmental
systems and global pollution, it is naive to believe that there is no link between the two. With increasing global
populations comes an increase in building. This is a mixture of residential, commercial, industrial and infrastruc-
tural development to facilitate population growth. This construction of the built environment has a huge impact
upon the planet. The energy used in the built environment accounts for 50% of the total energy used in the United
States, (Buchanan, 2005, pg. 6) while, in terms of waste and by-products, it is estimated that waste from construc-
tion and demolition represents up to 50% of all waste deposited in landfills in New Zealand, equating to 1.7 million
tonnes annually (Burns, 2008, pg. 107). Although architects do not have input into all of these buildings and sites,
the impact that architecture and architects can have upon the attitude of the building environment is large. This
can be seen through the development in recent years of the ideas and rhetoric associated with the terminology of
‘sustainability,’ ‘green building’ and ‘regenerative’ architecture.

Rather than investigating all of these aspects, this chapter first defines and then questions the idea of architectural
sustainability and whether it is significant enough action considering the man-made impacts on the environment.
It then presents the idea of regeneration, applied through architecture, landscape and urban design, to reduce
and reverse human impact on the environment and climate that are described in the previous chapter.

Within the chapter, the idea of sustainability is compared to that of regenerative and positive actions. The relevant
regenerative technology, methods and theories currently employed in the construction will be investigated and
compared with the previously mentioned environmental impacts. Throughout the chapter these methods and
21
 technologies will be discussed with regards to the architectural opportunities present.

Sustainability

The term sustainable is defined by Oxford English Dictionary (2010) as being “able to be maintained at a certain
rate or level” and “conserving an ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.”3 The idea of sus-
3. Further, the Our Common Future report
tainability or ‘green building’ has become an integral and very public part of architectural language. However, cur- (1987) describes sustainable develop-
rent architectural sustainability struggles to align with the base definition and has minimal positive environmental ments as:
impact. Sustaining current lifestyles will not allow for the closed loop systems of the earth to survive. ...development that meets the needs of the
present without compromising the ability of
Sustainable architecture is often presented as a solution to the impending climatic issues facing the earth. There future generations to meet their own needs.
has been a widespread ‘greening’ of the way we do things. The basic principles, such as limiting energy use, It contains within it two key concepts:
maximising natural light and ventilation and low energy materials are all positive steps towards lowering the im- • the concept of ‘needs’, in particu
pact upon the planet. However, the rise of sustainability as a concept has also led to criticisms of its effectiveness. lar the essential needs of the world’s
Rosalie Genevro, in Ten Shades of Green notes that: poor, to which overriding priority
should be given; and
American environmentalism in architecture, to date, has been largely focused on technical fixes, on • the idea of limitations imposed by
figuring out how to build essentially the same buildings that have always been built, but to make them the state of technology and social or-
consume less energy... it has not taken on, nor has it asked its clients to take on, the bigger questions of ganization on the environment’s
ability to meet present and future
what is to be built, and why (pg. 5). need. (pg. 65)

Genevro highlights the failure of sustainability to alter social patterns, instead taking the option of technological From: United Nations World Commis-
fixes. In a far more scathing commentary highlighting the flaw in how society functions, Dushko Bogunovich com- sion on Environment and Development
(WCED). (1987). Our Common Future.
ments upon the existing systems of urban inhabitation, noting that there are two ways that current urban trends Oxford.
can be viewed. The first states that:
Although perhaps a more focused defini-
‘urban sustainability’ is an oxymoron. Cities cannot, and will never be sustainable: being nature-friendly tion, the thesis focuses on more than just
development and therefore a broader defi-
was never their brief. On the contrary, a city’s purpose has always been to elevate humans ‘above nition is needed.
nature’ and lighten the battle for biological survival (Bogunovich, 2008, pg. 20).

This is apparent through the continuing degradation of built environments as well as increased pollution. Despite
this there are positive actions taken through the sustainability ideal. However, even though a significant number
22
 of project have a (sometimes small) positive impact, as a concept with non-defined targets, sustainability allows
itself to be abused and exploited by companies to help in selling a product which may have very little, or no posi-
tive environmental impact.

Often called “greenwashing”(The Economist, 2010) this practice is often associated with architecture in creating a
marketing tool for a company or firm. There are numerous examples of this, such as the new Greenway Self-park
in Chicago, Illinois, touted as “Chicago’s first earth friendly parking garage” (Greenway selfpark, 2010). Designed
by HOK architects, the building - currently awaiting LEED certification - boasts wind turbines, naturally ventilated
exterior walls, a cistern rain water collection system, a green roof, and electric car plug-in stations. However the
irony is that the building leads to increased space for single person transport in the central city resulting in de-
creased motivation to use public transport, especially considering it is located very close to the public rail network
of the city.

New Zealand is equally guilty of greenwashing. As a young country, it has not had a large population on much of
the land. This, as well as the early establishment of many National Parks, has left large areas of land remaining
as successful natural landscapes. The success of these landscapes can be - and has been - used an example of
New Zealand’s ‘green’ image when they are in no way a product of New Zealand consumer ideals. This continues
to be underlined by the 2002 Creating our future report, prepared by Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environ-
ment. The report presents the sustainable model, placing the environment as the most important element (pg. 7).
Figure 14: Greenway selfpark, HOK is a
prominent example of “greenwashing,” in-
tegrating technologies that in reality have
no positive impact.

From: Kamin, B. (2010, 21/11/2010).

For parking garage, it’s not easy being
green. Chicago Tribune, accessed online
08/12/2010, photographer Antonio Perez

Figure 15: Sustainable model

From: Parliamentary Commissioner for the

Environment. (2004). Growing for good:
Intensive farming, sustainability and New
Zealand’s environment. Wellington: Par-
liamentary Commissioner for the Environ-
ment, pg. 7
23
 Further, the report notes:

New Zealand’s urban areas, where the vast majority of New Zealanders live and where some of the
major effects on other ecosystems are generated, have not received the attention they need to promote
sustainable urban environments and infrastructures (pg. 8).

However, there has been little policy intervention, in terms of architecture, or development that has helped to fully
highlight this issue. New Zealand has had small assertions of sustainability but lacks projects that have a larger
societal impact.

The above criticisms of the idea of sustainability weigh heavily on societal patterns and action, particularly capital-
ist economic requirements. These patterns associate a sustainable future as one where humanity can continue
thrive whilst keeping the planet at the current levels of emissions, pollution, depletion and population, creating a
separation between mankind and natural systems, despite models that state otherwise. The model of sustain-
ability does not go far enough to prevent the destruction that is occurring in ecosystems around the world. It aims
to slightly alter the status quo, continuing the ideas of capitalism, which have resulted in consumer products with
shortened life-spans.

To begin to alter the cultural view of sustainability a new terminology, employing a more radical outlook for de-
velopment needs to be employed. In the reading of the urban environment Bogunovich describes the other way
that cities can function:

The other view of the idea of urban sustainability could be described as optimistic. It accepts that current
cities are indeed parasites, but then argues that they should still be viewed as an ecosystem. Once this view
is adopted, the focus is on how they might be redesigned so that, like the natural ecosystems, they also
perform in a bio-productive manner (Bogunovich, 2008, pg. 20).

This thesis argues that Bogunovich’s alternate view is, in fact, not sustainability but is rather a call for a regenera-
tive future.

24
Regenerative

Regenerative architecture as a model has many similarities to sustainability. However the largest difference is
that a regenerative model aims to leave a positive environmental impact on a site, instead of creating a project
that has as little impact as possible, as sustainability does. It recognises the damage that is occurring at an en-
vironmental level and notes that to continue to prosper as a species, humanity need to stop treating the natural
and built environments as separate entities and instead create a mutually beneficial relationship between the two
where the built environment acts to improve the natural environment.

Architectural regeneration can be achieved through similar means to sustainability. The most effective ways to
create regenerative architecture is to highlight the areas of current systems and building trends that have the most
negative impact on the environment. Buildings currently have a detrimental effect on the natural environment,
largely through energy use, air pollution, water and stormwater pollution and ground based pollution, particularly
on industrial sites. The current patterns of building and living in New Zealand, with increasing residential home
sizes and a continuing abundance of single, detached suburban dwellings furthers the impact of construction
upon previous greenfields, as opposed to brownfield development where existing developed or contaminated
land is cleansed and reused for a differing purpose. Further to this the shortening lifespan of buildings often
means they are demolished well before their full lifespan (with regards to materials used) has been achieved.

In the following sections of the chapter, architectural regeneration will be investigated with regards to:

• Site regeneration - incorporating air, water and ground cleansing

• Urban regeneration; discussing settlement patterns, density, uses, lifespan and fit-for-purpose trends within
developments.

Architectural opportunities will be compared against current sustainable ideas, as well as development in similar
disciplines, such as landscape architecture processes; as well as historical and theoretical trends and proposi-
tions.

25
 Site regeneration

As previously stated, humanity’s actions, particularly industrial developments have had significant detrimental
impact on an ever-increasing number of sites worldwide and in New Zealand. These sites are often classed as
brownfield sites - former industrial sites that have been abandoned by the previous tenants which “have tended
to leave behind tracts of contamination, often arising from a mix of historic uses and resulting from decades, if not
centuries, of mishandling and spillage of materials” (Urban Task Force, 1999, pg. 37)

In the past two decades there has been a marked increase in efforts to cleanse these contaminated sites to allow
for re-use. These efforts focus typically on the two ground-borne elements of the site: soil and water degradation;
however they sometimes encompass further concerns, such as air pollution. These three elements in particular
will be discussed below.

Soil remediation

Soil is often the largest concern with brownfield sites. For developments to proceed the soil that the building is
cited upon must be safe to inhabit. There are two main ways of undertaking the cleansing process: passive so-
lutions and energy intensive solutions. Both have positive and negative elements and are suitable for different
types of sites. Dickinson (2000) briefly highlights the main remediation options in the table on the facing page. The
relevant of these methods will be examined in more detail in the following sections.

26
 Method Comments Passive / Energy Intensive
Most common technique: excavate
Removal (average 1.5±2 m), cart and dump Energy Intensive
to landfill
Containment of hot spots on site
Encapsulation Energy Intensive
using barriers and capping
Physical treatment Heat treatment, soil washing Energy Intensive + Passive
Liming (to raise pH), soil additives
Chemical treatment Passive
(e.g. zeolites, phosphates)
Dispersion, dilution, adsorption,
Natural attenuation Passive
volatilisation, biodegradation
Figure 16: Remediation techniques Bioremediation Biodegradation by microorganisms Passive
From: Dickinson, N. M. (2000). Strategies Phytoextraction, phytostabilisation
for sustainable woodland on contaminated Phytoremediation Passive
soils. Chemosphere, 41. pg. 260

Energy intensive remediation

Energy intensive remediation processes are the most frequently used remediation techniques. As Dickinson
states, the most common process is removal of the toxic material to landfill. This process is most common be-
cause it is quick and easy. The draw-backs to this method are that the soil is not cleansed; rather it is moved to
landfill where it adds to the contaminated soil there. This is currently common practice in New Zealand due to the
4. This was also the case in Australia until low cost of landfill dumping of the soil.4 Encapsulation does just as its name states, sealing the contaminated soil
the government implemented environmen-
on site to be dealt with at a later date and considerable expense. Energy use is also high, from excavation and
tal tariffs. These increased the cost from
around $60 per tonne (similar to current concrete pours.
New Zealand prices) to around $400 per
tonne. This has resulted in less removal of The remaining treatment is Physical treatment. Although it is also energy intensive, either for washing the soil,
contaminated soil to landfill and more on- heat treatments or baffled roller systems (as undertaken at the FCC in Mapua) the benefit of physical treatment
site remediation.
is that the contaminants are removed from the soil. All three methods require significant energy to undertake and
require a long time frame and microbes and chemicals are used to speed up the process. Baffled roller systems
have been proven to be highly effective in decontamination (Tasman District Council, 2010), however, the long
process and the refinement of soil create air pollution and soil losses.

27
 Figure 17: Baffled roller diagram, simi-
lar (but smaller in scale) to those used in
Mapua FCC site remediation.

From: Nikakhtari, H., et al. (2009). Physi-

cal and Biological Treatment of Oil-Con-
taminated Soil in a Baffled Roller Bioreac-
tor. Bioremediation Journal, 13(3), pg. 133

Passive remediation

Passive remediation solutions rely largely on the interaction of biological agents that act within the contaminated
land mass. The passive solutions outlined above by Dickinson rely largely on microbes to separate contaminants
from the soil. The exception to these is chemical treatment which uses chemicals to remove the contamination.
This often results in leaching from the soil and a breakdown in detritus and nutrients to support life. For this reason
this process is not considered appropriate in this report. The remaining three processes mentioned are all suc-
cessfully proven to cleanse contaminant from soils.

Of the three, bioremediation and phytoremediation offer the most promise for realistic cleansing time for contami-
nated soils as natural attenuation is undertaken over a significant period of time. The two remaining processes are
very similar, wherein bioremediation describes the use of generally microorganisms, fungi, green plants or their
enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition. This occurs either in-
situ or ex-situ depending on the process involved:

The microorganisms act against the contaminants only when they have access to a variety of materials-
compounds to help them generate energy and nutrients to build more cells. In a few cases the natural
conditions at the contaminated site provide all the essential materials in large enough quantities that bio-
remediation can occur without human intervention- a process called intrinsic bioremediation. More often,
bioremediation requires the construction of engineered systems to supply microbe stimulating materials-a
process called engineered bioremediation. Engineered bioremediation relies on accelerating the desired
biodegradation reactions by encouraging the growth of more organisms, as well as by optimizing the envi-
28
 ronment in which the organisms must carry out the detoxification reactions (Water Science and Technology
Board, et al., 1993, pg. 2).

In-situ decontamination is of significant benefit to decontamination of groundwater and will be further elaborated
upon in that section. With regards to soil decontamination, Water Science and Technology Board et al. (1993),
note that “the most elemental criterion for success of an in-situ bioremediation effort is that the microorganisms
are mainly responsible for the cleanup” (pg.3). However, these processes are much harder to trace and control
in-situ.

Ex-situ actions require significantly more energy use, as the contaminated soil must be removed from its original
location. An ex-situ bioremediation process then occurs in a secondary location, such as soil columns. Soil col-
umns are a pressurised column in which the contaminated soil is placed to undergo the cleansing process. The
following excerpt from Liu et al. describes the make-up of a soil column:

The column provided an inlet and outlet for the nutrient solution, which was aerated and sterilized before
entering the column. Four sampling pores were set vertically for the purpose of taking samples. The four
columns were kept upright to allow vertical flow of the influent nutrient solutions in a bottom-top direction
(Liu, et al., 2008).

Figure 18: Soil column schematic.

From: Liu, G., et al. (2008). Biodegradation

of diesel-contaminated soil: A soil column
study. Tainan, Taiwan: National Cheng
Kung University, pg. 3
29
 Previous investigative articles have provided proof that soil columns offer effective decontamination but, as a pas-
sive process take significant time to undertake the process (Baker & Herson, 1994 ; Banat, 1995).

This offers a sizeable architectural opportunity. As a long-term decontamination strategy there is potential to in-
corporate soil columns into architecture. The structures used to house the soil could be incorporated into the built
form either as reinforced columns to support the building itself or as structural or non-structural walls. Soil acts as
a very successful thermal insulator and dependant on the exterior of the column, can be a very visually engaging
aspect of a building or structure.

Re-using existing structures or buildings is also an architectural possibility. As many contaminated sites are for-
mer industrial locations, existing facilities often includes bulk storage. Examples of this include former gas works,
liquid and petroleum storage tanks and concrete production plants all offer existing structures that have both the
volume and engineered strength required for soil decontamination to occur with very minimal alterations to the ex-
isting structures. This offers a short-medium term alternative to demolition or relocation of these structures further
reducing the required energy to regenerate the site and keeping a visual history of previous uses.

The final process, phytoremediation, is very similar to in-situ bioremediation. It focuses on green plants - both
small and large - to assist in attracting and absorbing contaminants present in the soil. There are a number of
different focuses of phytoremediation, including phytoextraction, phytovolatilization, phytodegradation - which oc-
cur in the leaves and stem structure - and rhizodegradation, rhizofiltration and phytostabilization, which occur in
the root structure of the plants (Van Epps, 2006, pg. 2). There are a number of different studies which highlight
the success of these methods; however, the success of phytoremediation at a given site cannot always be at-
tributed to just one of these mechanisms because a combination of mechanisms may be at work. The process
of phytoremediation is successful for site rehabilitation; however, the benefits are most easily achieved through
landscape architecture.

Figure 19: Gas Works Park, Seattle, Wa.

An example of phytoremediation on a for-
mer industrial site.

From: Mabel, J. (2006). Gas Works Park,

Seattle. Retrieved 14/11/2010, from
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmag-
nus/167328804, photographer Joe Mabel
30
Therefore appropriate planting in any architectural development is highly important to aid in regeneration of soil.
This is of particular importance in schemes where an urban framework is to be considered, balancing the need for
areas of phytoremediation with usable public open and green space. Phytoremediation also serves a purpose as
a demonstrational tool in landscape architecture, yet, with regards to constructed interventions, the phytoreme-
diation process offers limited opportunity. To achieve soil remediation and incorporate the process within archi-
tecture, the remediation process with the most promise is that of bioremediation, achieved through ex-situ action.

Water remediation

There are two aspects to contamination of water on sites. Both are caused largely by leaching, either due to
contaminated soils, or from industrial processes wherein water is used to clean sites. These two aspects lead to
contamination of water in groundwater and stormwater, both of which have a significant environmental impact.
Processes to remediate both aspects will be described in this section, as well as methods of utilising them within
architectural, landscape and urban development.

Groundwater

There are a number of ways of treating contaminated groundwater. Most of the techniques are similar to those to
treat soil, as leaching from the soil into the water-table of the site naturally occurs. For example, bioremediation
and phytoremediation can also be highly beneficial processes for cleansing contaminated groundwater, although
phytoremediation is limited by the depth of the plants roots in its ability to affect groundwater, which is normally
less than one metre in the productive life of suitable trees, such as willows. Depth, however, is not an issue for
the bioremediation process:

In-situ groundwater bioremediation is a technology that encourages growth and reproduction of indig-

enous microorganisms to enhance biodegradation of organic constituents in the saturated zone. In-si-
tu groundwater bioremediation can effectively degrade organic constituents which are dissolved in ground-
water and adsorbed onto the aquifer matrix (Adventus Americas, 2010).

Within the process of bioremediation, there are a number of factors that need to be considered. An electron ac-
ceptor (oxygen, nitrate); nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus); and an energy source (carbon) all need to be present. If
31
 bioremediation of the soil is also being undertaken then groundwater will eventually be cleansed as a by-product.
As most biological groundwater cleansing processes occur in-situ there are very limited architectural opportuni-
ties associated with it.

Stormwater

Stormwater, on the other hand, is a much more visual process, one which is often explored through landscape
architecture, as well as in architecture itself. Excluding large water treatment plants there are many smaller scale
methods of dealing with site stormwater and run-off. In recent times the impact that hard paving surfaces have on
increasing the flow of stormwater has been realised and other solutions have begun to be implemented.

The most common treatment procedure undertaken in landscape architecture involves treatment through on site
filtering processes. Martin Bryant (2010) is quick to point out that these processes are hardly new, and have in fact
been employed by a variety of cultures, particularly in Asia and India, for thousands of years. These days systems
employed by landscape architects are made up of three phases.

The first, swales, filter the initial stormwater surge through plant-life, such as grasses and allow water to begin
to seep into the soil. They are ephemeral in nature and can replace kerbs and gutters. These begin to purify and
filter the water. The second phase is wetland areas. These are shallow bodies of water with reeds. These allow
for the treatment of larger volumes of water and begin to purify and filter the water through reeds:

Particulate Pollutants are removed from the water as it passes through the densely planted native sedges
and reeds. Concurrently, water permeates into the gravelly subgrade where bio-organisms remove sus-
pended pollutants. Plants help maintain the porosity of the filtering medium (Wraight and Associates Ltd.,
2008, pg. 4).
Figure 20: Rice paddies are an ancient
form of water purification across a site.
The final phase involves larger, deeper storage ponds. These ponds may also incorporate planting to attract pol-
lutants; however, the stiller water of ponds allows remaining sediment in the water to settle to the base of the pond From: Bryant, M. (2010). Infrastructure
- Utility services, Water sensitive urban
where it collects. It then accumulates and can be removed through mechanical means.
design, Wellington, pg. 7

The use of filtering processes creates significant points of interest and breaks up the landscaped elements of a
development. The final benefit that on-site stormwater treatment is that it offers benefits with regards to irrigation
for green areas within a landscape or urban development. One of the best examples of this is Waitangi Park,
Wellington, developed by Wraight Associates and Athfield Architects. The park integrates wetlands and a pond
32
 system into a waterfront park and creates a successful, highly usable space that also functions as a stormwater
cleanser. Although highly successful as a single intervention, the main criticism that exists of the scheme at Wait-
angi Park is that it is not more comprehensively integrated into the fabric of the city to minimise stormwater run-off
Figure 21, 22, 23 (L-R): Three phases of
water treatment: swales - CentrePoint, and pollution, which would result in a shift in social perceptions of waste water, but also significant cost.
Wellington, Waitangi Park wetland section
- Wellington, storage pond - unknown loca-
tion

From (L-R): Bryant, M. (2010). Infrastruc-

ture - Utility services, Water sensitive urban
design, Wellington, pg. 36

Ibid, pg. 44

Computation Hydraulics International

(CHI). (2010). Detention pond design. Re-
trieved 10/12/2010, http://www.chiwater.
com/Solutions/Software/DetentionPond-
Design.asp

Figure 24, 25, 26 (L-R): Three phases of

water treatment: swales - Victoria Park,
Sydney, Waitangi Park wetlands - Welling-
ton, storage pond - schematic

From (L-R): Bryant, M. (2010). Infrastruc-

ture - Utility services, Water sensitive urban
design, Wellington, pg. 25

Author’s own image

Bryant, M. (2010). Infrastructure - Utility

services, Water sensitive urban design,
Wellington, pg. 20

33
 These landscape processes can also be undertaken in a vertical sense through “hanging swamps,” as illustrated
by the collaborative project undertaken by Innovarchi and LEUD, Government Architects Office NSW, bilpin visi-
tor centre. Filtration of rain and greywater occurs through swamps that act as facade and roof systems for the
building. The horizontal and then vertical procession of the water leaves pollutants in the planting, leaving the
water safe for re-use.

Figure 27: Water cleansing swamp in a ver-

tical facade system - visitor centre, Bilpin
NSW - Innovarchi and LEUD

From: Innovarchi. (2010). Bilpin visitor

centre. Retrieved 25/11/2010,
http://www.innovarchi.com.au/innovarchi.
html

Also translating cleansing processes into an architectural system is Aqua Alta 2.0 by the firm R&Sie(n). Their
unbuilt proposition for a water-bar on the canals of Venice integrates a cleansing process through an unspecified
system. R&Sie note:

The lagoon stinks. It stinks of shit and humanity, of algae and hydrocarbons, between the salty sweat of
summer flagrances and spongy lichens lodged in the smallest interstices of oozing bricks... Instead of a
global vision, the macropolitics of International Architecture... seeking to wipe the whole planet squeaky
clean, we need to infiltrate ourselves into the innermost folds of a situation, to let ourselves be dominated
by the physical and chemical nature of a context (Ruby & Durandin, 2004, pg. 118).

This infiltration occurs through the work, albeit in an unspecified manor but provides discourse to an earlier proj-
ect Aqua Alta 1.0, which aimed not to cleanse the water, but purely to create a spectacle of the filthy existing site

34
 condition through expression as a facade. Although this does not create a cleansing process through architecture
and, in fact, suggests the antithesis of such an idea, the visual impact and resultant discussion created questions
why architecture cannot act in the opposite to this.

Air remediation

Air pollution is a growing concern in most major cities worldwide. A striking example of this was during the 2008
Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, a city that suffers from serious air pollution. To reduce the impact on athletes
authorities in the city shut down factories around the city and removed around half of the estimated 3.3 million
vehicles on the cities roads (Daily Mail, 2008). These two elements are the leading causes of air pollution that is
dangerous for humans. Cities in New Zealand are not immune either, with Auckland are Christchurch suffering
from bad air caused by automobiles and fires. There are two ways of reducing air pollutants; social and policy-
based fixes, and technological fixes. Both of these will be described below.

The first option, as highlighted by the Beijing is to reduce emissions. The steps taken to reduce pollution in Beijing
were extreme, but can be undertaken in a New Zealand through social and policy actions. Recently New Zealand
has brought in more stringent air emissions levels for motor vehicles and local body actions in areas such as
Christchurch has seen a banning on open and old-style wood-burning fires.

There is significant architectural opportunity associated with social action, particularly in an urban sense. As
previously stated New Zealand is a country with very high private transport ownership and very low public trans-
port use. New urban schemes and development need to consider the impact of transportation. A continuation
of suburbia demands private car ownership. To combat this, urban development needs to focus on in-fill and in-
creased density of existing areas. New Zealand needs to shift its focus from the idea of the “quarter acre dream”
(Heyworth, 2008, pg. 36).

To create successful new urban developments that reduce air pollution public transport needs to be an integral
Figure 28: Aqua Alta 1.0, R&Sie(n), Venice part. Douglas Farr describes in Sustainable urbanism: urban design with nature (2008) the idea of sustainable
urbanism as effectively integrating walkable space with high-performance building and effective public transport
From: R&Sie(n). (2010a). Aspiration. Re-
trieved 08/09/2010, http://www.new-territo- within high quality green space (pg.42). To achieve this, significant density needs to be achieved to ensure a
ries.com/apiration.htm
35
 transport system is utilised. As Farr notes “increasing neighbourhood population also supports improved public
transit service.” This, combined with walkable paths significantly reduces the requirements for private car trans-
port, thus reducing air pollution.

The other point mentioned by Farr is that of high-performance building. By reducing the need for energy in a build-
ing for heating, cooling and lighting, emissions from these systems, as well as electricity production is minimised.
To achieve this passive heating, cooling and ventilation are key issues. This is achieved through material selec-
tion, natural lighting and insulation. It is also achieved by smaller, more efficient spaces. As Robert and Brenda
Vale remark in Time to Eat the Dog (2009):

The bigger the house, the more energy it uses, even if it is a low-energy house. This suggests that, rather
than undertaking extensive research into making embodied energy figures more and more accurate, we
should concentrate on showing how small houses can be beautiful and wonderful spaces for families to live
in (pg. 138).

These issues are all social and cannot be changed by architecture. But, architecture and urban planning can have
significant effect in reducing air pollution through well thought out design.

The other way that architecture and construction can have a positive influence on air quality is through techno-
logical development. Pollution removing technologies are beginning to appear to reduce air pollution whilst be-
ing practical and interesting elements of architecture. Two examples, Prosolve 370e and the work of architects
R&Sie(n) will be elaborated on to discuss technological fixes.

Prosolve 370e

Prosolve 370e is a facade panel developed by the company Elegant Embellishments. The seemingly randomly
generated patterns created are made from a combination of just two modules creating a maximised facade area
to reduce air pollution:

Employing a unique configuration of this technology, the tiles neutralize air pollutants when sited near traffic
or densely polluted conditions.

The tiles are coated with a superfine titanium dioxide (TiO2), a pollution-fighting technology that is activated
by ambient daylight. This is the nanophotocatalytic version of conventional TiO2 commonly used as pig-
ment and already known for its self-cleaning and germicidal qualities. It requires only small amounts of
36
 naturally occurring UV light and humidity to effectively reduce air pollutants into harmless amounts of car-
bon dioxide and water (Elegant Embellishments Ltd., 2010).

Prosolve 370e effectively neutralizes nitrous oxides (NOx), a harmful by-product of combustion engines in ve-
hicles. As a facade material it offers an interesting and changeable option for construction that allows for a posi-
tive environmental impact. Further to this, the tiles themselves are made from plastics sourced from recycling car
bumpers (Elegant Embellishments Ltd., 2010). The product offers significant architectural opportunity in design-
ing and redeveloping spaces.

Figure 29, 30, 31: Prosolve 370e, technolo-

gies involved and physical applications of
the two panel system. The plastic coating
absorbs NOx and with the aid of sunlight
breaks it into CO2 and CO

From: Elegant Embellishments Ltd. (2010).

prosolve 370e. Retrieved 08/08/10,
http://prosolve.elegantembellishments.net/
home.htm

37
 R&Sie(n)

In contrast to the previously mentioned technological fix, the work of French firm R&Sie(n) presents environ-
mental solutions that are fully integrated into the structure and function of buildings, as mentioned in the water
remediation section of this research. The work of this firm is largely unbuilt but offers a different attitude towards
environment than normally seen in architecture where, when built offers a:

bucolic disinhibition [that] is the radical antithesis of Paris’ manicured urban condition, but architects
R&Sie(n) (punningly pronounced ‘heresy’) actively relish all manner of tensions, whether between nature
and architecture, purity and corruption, attraction and repulsion (Slessor, 2009, pg. 70)

For R&Sie(n) the external and built environments are not separate entities and this becomes apparent through
their design solutions. The project Dusty Relief / B-mu is sited in Bangkok, a city with considerable air pollution
issues. Dusty Relief / B-mu proposes a facade system that collects the dust particles “on the surface of aluminium
latticework using an electrostatic system” (Ruby & Durandin, 2004, pg. 137) . The project, incorporating a func-
tional museum that “feeds off of the climatic opposition between the urban environment’s protuberant energy and
the interior subdued and subject to the museum’s conditioning procedure” (Ruby & Durandin, 2004, pg. 138). This
presents an incorporated way of dealing with environmental issues while addressing the fundamental issue of
creating a better environment. Figure 32: R&Sie(n) address on-site elec-
tricity generation in un-plug, Paris

From: Ruby, A., & Durandin, B. (2004).

Spoiled climate :R&Sie, architects.
Boston, Mass.: Birkhauser-Publishers for
Architecture, pg. 139

Figure 33, 34: Using static electricity,

R&Sie(n) attract pollutants to the buildings
facade system - Bangkok.

From: R&Sie(n). (2010b). Dusty Relief.

Retrieved 08/09/2010, http://www.new-
territories.com/roche2002bis.htm9

38
 From research, it can be seen that there are a number of solutions to the issue of air pollution that can be ad-
dressed architecturally. Although there are two streams of thought, it is in the area that they overlap, combining
social patterns of change and new technology to allow for this change that appears to be the most successful way
to integrate air cleansing procedures into architectural and urban design.

Urban regeneration

New urban development can be strongly linked to the regeneration of previously contaminated sites. The reuse
of brownfield sites significantly reduces the strain on productive, greenfield sites, which helps offset the up-front
costs of remediation. Additionally, if these sites are urban or near-urban sites they can aid in changing patterns of
inhabitation and consumption if the facilities and programmes of the development are well considered. As Doug-
las Farr succinctly proposes:

Reduced to its most basic tenets, sustainable urbanism is walkable and transit-served urbanism integrated
with high-performance buildings and high-performance infrastructure. Compactness (density) and biophilia
(human access to nature) are core values of sustainable urbanism (pg. 42).

Using sustainable urbanism as a platform to go beyond, these aspects, coupled with careful consideration of lifes-
pan of building and development can lead to new urban development having an extremely positive impact with
regards to regeneration of neighbourhoods and community, as well as reducing the impact on greenfield sites
Figure 35, 36, 37 (T-B): Three stages in
the history of Melbourne Docklands: past,
and the environment as a whole. These elements will be further outlined below taking into account current theory,
present, future. Docklands is a former in- as well as examining historical precedents, such as Constant’s New Babylon, Superstudio and the Japanese
dustrial site that has been redeveloped. Metabolist movement.
From: Lovell, P. (2009). Melbourne Dock-
lands: workaday yet relentlessly romantic.
Urban infill
Historic Environment, 22(2), pg. 34.
It is only in the last century that there have been significant changes in how humanity inhabited the land. Until
Sauer-Thompson, G. (2009). Public Opin-
then, populations existed largely in smaller, localised groupings. As Fischer notes in Architectural Design and
ion. Retrieved 07/12/2010, http://www.
sauer-thompson.com/archives/opin- Ethics, it was only “after the [second world] war, many people began to move into mostly suburban developments
ion/2009/09/melbournes-dock.php characterised by nearly identical houses and nearly identical neighbours, ghettoizing themselves.” Suburban de-
Docklands Sailing School. (2005). The Mel- velopment lead to massive increases in private automobile transport and created settlement patterns that have
bourne Docklands. Retrieved 09/12/2010, continued to strongly privilege this form of transport to the point where “we spend more time travelling, typically
http://www.docklandsailingschool.com.au/ by car, to the next building than we do enjoying outdoor spaces between them.”
the_docklands.html
39
 In recent decades the movement of populations away from rural to metropolitan areas has created massive and
continually increasing sprawl and lead to a reduction in productive land.5 In association with constantly increasing 5. Despite its small population, New Zea-
land’s cities, particularly Auckland and
populations due to growth the result is that:
Christchurch have a very large built area
and a low population density.
Even with the shrinkage in our environmental footprint as a species, the exponential growth in our numbers
means that we will continue to tax the resources of the earth in ways that affect every other species and
every corner of the world (Fisher, 2008, pg. 12).

New Zealand is in the fortunate position that it has plentiful land resources and a small population. Unfortunately
this has lead to suburban sprawl. In contrast to this, in Japan, the urban metropolis had already run out of in-
fillable space by middle of last century. This need for further land in part gave birth to the Metabolist movement,
envisioning “sea and sky as future sites for human habitats, and they suggested the city would grow and trans-
form in a manner like the evolution and metamorphosis of an organism” (Lin, 2010, pg. 1).

Therefore a shift to urban infill, increasing density and rezoning former industrial and commercial sites where the
tenants have moved to more appropriate areas provides an opportunity to reduce environmental impact. This
densification and infill has numerous benefits. Increasing neighbourhood population supports improved public
transit service (Farr, 2008, pg. 44) and the relative centrality of infill development further diminishes the use of
private transport. This is a key element to reduction in environmental impact, as 40% of New Zealand’s energy-
Figure 38: City in the Sky, Arata Isozaki, in-
related greenhouse gas emissions are from motorised transport (Lietz, 2008, pg. 29). Densification also results tegrating many of the Metabolist principles
in smaller plot sizes and therefore significantly smaller dwellings than in suburban areas. This, in turn results in a expanding into the sky
decrease in resources consumed bringing about changes in behaviour. As Robert and Brenda Vale (2009) note
From: Lin, Z. (2010). Kenzo Tange and
to reduce environmental impact and footprint size “we need to have less, which means living in and using smaller the Metabolist movement :urban utopias
buildings” (pg. 189). of modern Japan. New York: Routledge,
pg. 70
The Vales also comment “that behaviour change, rather than a change in technology, can make a significant dif-
ference - and incidentally costs nothing” (pg. 154). Therefore combining the idea of more compact housing into
more dense settlements has a substantial impact on reducing resource consumption, as well as allowing for the
physical regeneration of site and neighbourhood due to the developments. In this way the “availability of contami-
nated or ex-contaminated sites is a development opportunity which can help stitch back together the urban fabric
and create value” (Urban Task Force, 1999, pg. 244).

Mixed use development / Relationship between built and open space- Landscape urbanism

40
 If the clean-up and infill development of a contaminated is to occur it is vitally important to consider the inherent
functions, programs and uses that will take place within it. Megan Howell notes in A Deeper Shade of Green:

There are important planning roles in creating the best possible conditions for sites and buildings, including
aspects such as proximity of services, retail and public transport, how key services (water, energy, waste)
are provided for, and – in the case of new subdivisions – achieving the best site orientation for solar gain
and community interaction (pg. 28).

Therefore, the number of different functions to occur in a development needs to be strongly considered against the
size of proposals and the needs of surrounding areas. In the case of a large parcel of brownfield land there is sig-
nificant potential to incorporate a number of mixed uses and choices, particularly as “choices, for example allow-
ing residents to shop, work and recreate locally, is critical to sustainability and resilience of communities(Howell,
2008, pg. 28). If these facilities are successfully supplied it significantly reduces the need of residents to travel
and therefore further reduces the need to travel.

Figure 39: Potsdamer Platz, Richard Rog-

ers. The development integrate a wide va-
riety of uses into the plan

From: Richar Rogers. (2010). Potsdamer

Platz. Retrieved 02/12/2010, http://www.
richardrogers.co.uk/work/all_projects/pots-
damer_platz

41
 The idea of mixed use implies that with different requirements for different functions there will be different archi-
tectural response. A commercial building will have different requirements to an apartment or house and therefore
should exist on differing scales. This is an essential element in creating a development that will regenerate and
allow for continued prosperity of community and neighbourhood functions – if a development is too bland it will
not be accepted by residents and they will outsource their requirements for retail and essential services to more
attractive areas if possible. Schropfer et al. (2010) note this in their study on Valdespartera6 saying that because 6. A purpose built ecologically friendly de-
velopment for up to 24,000 residents in
there are very few typologies for building in the development the same “superblock” is repeated throughout, mak-
Zaragoza, Spain. The development is on a
ing it monotonous and drab (pg. 14). former brownfield site, converted from mili-
tary use.
Another aspect of mixed-use development to avoid monotony and to create a positive sense of place is the re-
lationship between the built environment and open green spaces. In traditional models of inhabitation there was
significant separation between green space and built areas, suggesting that the city and nature were separate
elements that could not coexist.

In this view, cities are seen to be busy with technology of high-density building, transportation infrastruc-
ture, and revenue-producing development, the undesirable effects of which include congestion, pollution,
and various forms of social stress; whereas landscape, in the form of parks, green-ways, street trees, es-
planades and gardens, is generally seen to provide both salve and respite from the deleterious effects of
urbanization (Corner, 2006, pg. 24).

To avoid this Corner suggests the idea of terra fluxus that integration of green space and built areas offers. In this
sense the rigidity of existing urban development gives way. The combination of architecture with landscape and
greenscape creates far more successful urban infrastructure. He notes:

The term terra firma (firm, not changing; fixed and definite) gives way in favour of the shifting processes
coursing through and across the urban field: terra fluxus (Corner, 2006, pg. 25).

Corner’s assessment of architecture as something that “consumes the potential of a site in order to project”(Corner,
2006, pg. 25) , is, however, not necessarily true. Although poorly considered architecture can have this sort of
impact, in reality a building can have a minimised impact upon a site. A number of architect Steven Holl’s new Figure 40: Highline, New York - an exam-
ple of Corner’s “landscapes of chage” idea
projects promote this relationship, heavily privileging inter-connectivity, not just of architectural programmes, but
at urban and landscape scales whilst minimising ground cover. From: Field Operations. (2010). The High-
line, New York. Retrieved 06/12/2010,
Two quite different examples of this are Linked Hybrid and Horizontal Skyscraper, both in China. Linked Hybrid, http://www.fieldoperations.net/

42
 in Beijing, consists of linked buildings with “porous urban space, inviting and open to the public from every side”
(Steven Holl Architects, 2010b), offering large public spaces at ground as well as shared facilities as roof gardens
and raised public facilities occurring at a 12-18th “floor public sky-loop” (see below left, Figure 42)(Steven Holl Ar-
chitects, 2010b). The second project entitled Horizontal Skyscraper aims to utilise even less of the ground plane
for building area. Instead the project aims to “generate the largest possible green space open to the public on the
ground level” (Steven Holl Architects, 2010a) by raising all of the building off the ground on eight legs (see below
right, Figure 43).  Propositions such as this question the need for built inhabitation at ground level. However, al-
though there are few built examples, in reality this idea is not a new train of thought.
Figure 41:Continuous Monument, Super-
studio

From: Lang, P., & Menking, W. (Eds.).

(2003). Superstudio - Life Without Objects.
Milan : Skira ; London: Thames & Hudson.

Figure 42 (L): From Steven Holl Archi-

tects. (2010b). Linked Hybrid. Retrieved
22/11/2010, http://www.stevenholl.com/
project-detail.php?id=58&type=&page=0

Figure 43 (R): From Steven Holl Architects.

(2010a). Horizontal Skyscraper. Retrieved
22/11/2010, http://www.stevenholl.com/
project-detail.php?type=&id=60

The idea of raising the ground plane to create a second level of inhabitation gained favour in the 1960’s and 70’s
through the utopian projects of the likes of Constant Nieuwenhuys (New Babylon), Superstudio and the Japanese
Metabolist movement. New Babylon proposed an urban interaction without the boundaries that currently exist in
society and, although provocative as a sociological theory, the images and models are by far the strongest point
of Constant’s decade long experiments in architecture. His montages and models suggest a world inhabited
Figure 44: New Babylon model, Constant above ground with layouts of interchangeable spaces. A similar theme is exhibited in Superstudio’s works. The
Continuous Monument is made up of a “sequence of ‘sectors’, gigantic structures built on high supports that tower
From: Wigley, M. (1998). Constant’s New
Babylon : the hyper-architecture of desire.
over a landscape used for fully mechanised agricultural production and covered with lanes of fast-moving traffic”
Rotterdam: Witte de With Center for Con- (Heynen, 2004, pg. 62).
temporary Art : 010 Publishers, pg. 110
43
 It is this agricultural production that is of most interest in the current climate. With continuing reductions in produc-
tive land the visions of Superstudio suggest an avenue that has been largely overlooked. By raising built inhab-
ited environments the amount of productive land available is significantly increased. Furthermore by localising
production costs, both monetary and environmental, can be reduced through reduction in food miles. Added to
this are the economic and poetic opportunities of urban farming - particularly in New Zealand.7 The opportunity to 7. As a major exporter of dairy, meat and
agriculture New Zealand is often referred
keep productive land at ground level drastically reduces the cost of urban farming compared to the idea of vertical
to as a ‘Bread Basket’ economy and pro-
farming, which although an interesting proposition is prohibitively expensive when weighed up against the cost of motes its farming industries as innovative.
urban land and construction costs (Ehrenberg, 2008).

Lifespan

The final aspect to consider in urban development is that of the lifespan of developments. Historically buildings
stood for hundreds of years but nowadays a building may not even see out its physical lifespan, demolished years
before it needs to be, particularly in rapidly developing nations such as China. For example, in Shanghai officials
predict that any housing built prior to 1999 will have to be demolished well before their designed lifespan. As Yu
Hongsheng, director of the Urbanization Research Center in Shanghai comments in The China Daily:

Today, there is an impulse from both the government and developers to build newer and higher buildings to
gain greater profits, which has accelerated the pace of the demolition of old buildings. But it is actually not
in line with the concept of sustainability (Yanfeng, 2010).

This phenomenon highlights the speed at which needs and uses change in the modern world, even more so in
developing nations such as China. Therefore new building needs to be one of two things: either highly flexible
to accommodate change; or built with a short lifespan acknowledging the limited lifespan it may achieve. Both of
these are valid responses and to an extent can both be achieved within developments.

The first approach, flexibility, is an idea that is applied currently in development. However, this normally applies
only in office buildings at an interior level - as floor plates are designed to be adjustable to different functions of
tenants. This is due to a large, exterior shell which allows for flexible interior changes. The Metabolist movement
addressed this concept at a city-wide level:

To accommodate a city’s growth and regeneration, Metabolists advanced transformable technologies

based on prefabricated components and the replacement of obsolete parts according to varying life cycles.
This notion of growth and change at the scale of the city ultimately overthrew traditional theories of city
44
 planning and demanded a redefinition of several critical relationships on design: order/chaos, permanence/
transience, collective/individual, and planning/ spontaneity (Lin, 2010, pg. 2) .

These relationships are built on throughout Metabolist works and are best expressed with proposals such as To-
kyo Bay by Kenzo Tange and Arata Isozaki’s Clusters in the Air scheme from 1962. Isokzaki’s scheme focuses
on a central spine with cantilevering units hanging off it, effectively creating two aspects to the project, a skeleton
and infill units. Fumihiko Maki builds on this theory and in his 1964 investigations notes:

The element in mega-form does not exist without a skeleton. The skeleton guides growth and the element
depends on it. The element of group-form is often the essence of collectivity, a unifying force, functionally,
socially, and spatially (as cited in: Lin, 2010, pg. 19).

Figure 45: Tange compares the growth of

an organism to the growth of his Tokyo Bay
proposal suggesting the linear extension
and outwards growth as a natural solution

From: Tange Associates, cited in Lin, Z.

(2010). Kenzo Tange and the Metabolist
movement :urban utopias of modern Ja-
pan. New York: Routledge, pg. 160

45
 This skeleton and infill relationship allows for two systems to develop - shorter term changeable units that are
supported by a longer term structural skeleton. As Tange declares “ the two tendencies - towards shorter cycles
and towards longer cycles - are both necessary to modern life and to humanity itself” (as cited in: Abley, 2009,
pg. 12). The relationship created by these Metabolist works creates an interaction that facilitates the relationship
between these two facets.

The Metabolists also investigate the life of building units and elements throughout their dissertations. Kawazoe
takes the idea of the larger skeleton but focuses on the infill units made up of ‘parts.’ The focus of these factory
produced parts is that they:

...will be capable of endless combination and change by means of standardized systems and joints. People
will be able to select suitable shapes, colours and quantities according to their liking, and put them together
in entirely free sizes on the necessary scales (as cited in: Lin, 2010, pg. 107).

The best example of these ‘parts’ existing in a temporary nature is Kisho Kurokawa’s Nakagin Capsule Tower
in Ginza, Tokyo. One of the few built projects that appear to fully encapsulate the Metabolist ideals, the tower
comprises of a concrete frame with 140 modular units bolted to it. The aim of these units was that they would be
removed and replaced when their short lifespan was complete. The irony of this fact was that the units were never
replaced and the building is now caught in a battle to either be demolished or preserved as an architectural relic.8 8. Both proposals were rejected by the late
Kurokawa who instead suggested ‘unplug-
ging’ the existing modules and replacing
them to achieve the original aim of the de-
velopment (above) in Figure 46.

From: Kisho Kurokawa, cited in Kenzo

Tange and the Metabolist movement :ur-
ban utopias of modern Japan. New York:
Routledge, pg. 241

Figure 47, 48: Nagakin Capsule Tower,

Kisho Kurokawa - construction

From: Kisho Kurokawa, cited in Kenzo

Tange and the Metabolist movement :ur-
ban utopias of modern Japan. New York:
Routledge, pg. 234

From: Ibid, pg. 239

46
For the lifespan of a development to have a regenerative impact it is important to consider both the element of
flexibility and lifespan. By achieving the right combination of the two, waste products can be reduced and ele-
ments can be reused and recycled to future developments. As the building industry currently has such high wast-
age these elements are vitally important to reduce site impact.

Discussion

There are a number of solutions to aid in the regeneration of contaminated and damaged sites, both technological
and social. With regard to soil and water these are normally based around the introduction of plants or microbes
to undertake bioremediation. Air quality issues can be resolved through technology and architectural integration,
such as Prosolve 370e, or through behavioural changes; such as reductions in personal car use.

As urban responses, architecture and urban planning can play very important roles. The creation of mixed use
sites with large amounts of green space, incorporating Metabolist principles of two cycles of development can
lead to developments having very little contact and impact upon the ground of sites. This results in the productive
re-use of land once remediation has been undertaken.

These remediation techniques are all possible; however, changes are required to be made in behaviour and the
development approach to make them successful. Environmental impact needs to be the strongest driver in a
project, rather than just cost and profit and then changes need to happen immediately to begin replenishing envi-
ronments and reducing impacts on the climate and finite resources of the planet.

47
48
Chapter Three - Site Analysis

From a synthesis of the research undertaken, to achieve an architecture that not only cleanses site conditions,
but also offers a positive change to established New Zealand settlement patterns, an urban site of a contaminated
nature is required. To achieve this, a number of sites were considered from around the country. The chosen site is
the Western Reclamation, on the western edge of the Viaduct Harbour in central Auckland. There are numerous
benefits and reasons for choosing this site.

The first of these is that the site is already widely accepted as a contaminated site, due to its historical and current
uses. The second reason for selection is that there is an existing development plan to transform large areas of
brownfield land into a mixed use area, known as the ‘Wynyard Quarter.’ This allows for a discussion and com-
parison of existing methods and proposals against regenerative and cleansing ideas. The final reason for the site
selection is the nature of the site. As it is situated on the edge of Central Auckland, it offers an opportunity to high-
light inner city inhabitation and urban densification; instead of the ingrained suburban nature of much of the city.
In addition, the site “headland is prominent from many places along the harbour shores (meaning any major struc-
ture built on it would be visible from many corners of greater Auckland)” (Bogunovich, 2007, pg. 3). This means
the location provides a very visible platform which can influence future developments and provoke discussion.

This chapter will firstly outline the history of the site, as well as giving brief insight into the history of wider Auck-
land. Secondly, the existing master plan of Sea + City, for the Wynyard Quarter will be assessed. Finally, recom-
mendations will be made as to how the contamination research undertaken can help to guide future development
on the site beyond the Sea + City masterplan.

49
 History of the Western Reclamation

Auckland, as a city, has always had a close association with the sea. As Michael King notes in The Penguin His-
tory of New Zealand, Auckland’s “prosperity was ensured by its location on an isthmus between two navigable
harbours,” (pg. 173) which resulted in Auckland being the only city in New Zealand to grow from unorganised
migration.

From the outset the port was a focal point for development, with the city expanding out and away from it. The wa-
terfront was quickly populated and, as the need for flat land increased, so too did reclamation out into the harbour.
Reclamations were made by the Auckland Harbour Board from whatever was nearby. In the case of the Western
Reclamation in Auckland, the most abundant material was the waste from the shore front industries of Freeman’s
Bay, namely a pit sawing area, a brick kiln and a gasworks (Harbour Edge Advisory Team (AKC), 1990, pg. 3).
This meant that from the outset, the Western reclamation was not clean soil but a mix of old rubbish, chemicals
Figure 49: Early development in Freemans
and dirt. Bay, Auckland, 1877. The smokestack on
the left is now part of Victoria Market

The area was initially utilised by the timber trade, and then in the 1930’s it started to be used for bulk petro- From: Harbour Edge Advisory Team
(AKC). (1990). Waitemata Waterfront -
chemical storage. This activity now dominates the northern end of the reclamation, which has often been Harbour Edge Development Group - Vision
referred to as the ‘Tank Farm’ (Sea + City, 2009e). for the Auckland Harbour Edge. Auckland:
Auckland City Council (ACC), pg. 3

Figure 50: Existing Tank Farm on West-

ern Reclamation with Auckland CBD in the
background

From: Sea + City. (2009c). Photography.

Retrieved 02/07/2010, http://www.seacity.
co.nz/images.htm
50
 Through its life as a petro-chemical store, the site has had a number of tenants. Shell and Mobil were both major
tenants until the 1990’s. There have numerous of uses for the tanks throughout their operational lifespan. This
is shown by documents obtained from the Auckland Archives. They show “petrol, Avgas 100, Jet A-1, hexane,
kerosene ...ammonia...ethanol [and]... turpentine,” (Auckland City Council (ACC), unknown) among others, have
9. see Appendix Two all been stored on the site.9 Currently Marstel Terminals operates the only remaining storage facilities on the site.

The history of uses of the site has left, in its wake, some serious contamination issues. There is a verbal history
reporting that the contents of one of the bulkstore gasoline tanks emptying entirely into the soil in the late 1980’s.
Reporting undertaken for the Auckland City Council has found “there is significant soil and groundwater contami-
nation within the study area... there is potential for further contamination to be found” (Harbour Edge Advisory
10. see Appendix One Team (AKC), 1990, pg. 7.0).10 The Sea + City development agency has also had contamination studies under-
taken. These highlight the presence of heavy metals and separate phase hydrocarbons (SPH) in the soil of the
site (Matthews & Carruthers, 2010, pg. 33).

Changes in bulk liquid transportation and the advent of the pipeline from Marsden Point (Harbour Edge Advisory
Team (AKC), 1990) has meant that the majority of the land on the Western Reclamation has become superfluous
to the needs of the original industries. In the 1990’s much of this land was bought by Auckland Regional Holdings
(a subsidiary of the then Auckland Regional Council) for development.

Large scale urban redevelopment of the adjacent Princess Wharf and Viaduct Basin, occasioned by the
winning of the America’s Cup by Team New Zealand in 1995, have provided a model for the possible urban
redevelopment of the Western Reclamation (Bradbury & Hinton, 2009).

This resulted in the current plans to turn the area into the Wynyard Quarter, a mixed-use development of apart-
ments, commercial, industrial, public and green space.

Figure 51: Trueview simulation across to

Wynyard Quarter from Pt Erin

From: Sea + City. (2007). Illustrations

and Graphics - Trueviews. Retrieved
02/07/2010, http://www.seacity.co.nz/im-
ages_trueviews.htm
51
 Sea + City – Wynyard Precinct

The redevelopment of the Western Reclamation, also known as The Tank Farm or Wynyard Quarter, in
Auckland is envisioned to be New Zealand’s leading example of sustainable development. Design and de-
velopment will incorporate world class and best-practice sustainability strategies and design components
(Sea + City, 2009d, pg. 2).

There has been an ongoing process to develop the Western Reclamation for some time. This section will examine
the schemes and evaluate the most current version (by Sea + City) against previous versions and against the
research set out in the previous chapters.

Since the 1990’s there have been various projects undertaken to change the Western Reclamation into a more
constructive precinct within the city of Auckland. The first of these was “Project ‘90,” undertaken by Fletcher
Construction. This lead onto the Harbour Edge Report (Ports of Auckland, 2005, pg. 5), that has been previously
quoted in this chapter. The report identified issues of contamination with the site and noted significant soil and
groundwater contamination. These early findings have in some ways shaped future development projects, as it
identified the site as a contaminated brownfield site that would need remediation. Throughout the late 1990’s and
early 2000’s there were a number of plan changes that allowed for the site to be potentially developed into a more
mixed use area (Ports of Auckland, 2005, pg. 5).

The first design iteration was commissioned by Ports of Auckland 11 in 2005 and involved Peter Walker and Part- 11. The successor to the Auckland Har-
bour Board
ners (U.S.A.), Architectus, Beca and Innovus to create initial design plans for the quarter. The plan developed a
number of key principles for the new precinct which was to originally be called Kahurangi:

• Re-establishment of the Waterfront - linking with the CBD through the introduction of a bridge to Te Wero
Island. This connection, “’the spine’... [is used] to extend the activity and vibrancy of the Viaduct Harbour into
the reclamation... The concept also suggests the potential establishment of a ‘cultural anchor’ such as a gal-
lery or museum on the Westhaven end of the spine” (Ports of Auckland, 2005, pg. 6).

• Re-Introduction of Water – proposed along the northern face of North Wharf, forming the northern edge of the
spine. This strategy reinforces the spine’s waterfront context and orders the site north and south of this axis
(Ports of Auckland, 2005, pg. 6). This pond also allows for the on-site treatment of stormwater.

52
 • Connectivity - the design suggests three important connections: a green connection between Victoria Park
and the Point Park; a water connection, aligned with the axis of the Wynyard Wharf and a CBD connection, to
the Viaduct and the central city.

• Layering of Uses and Activities

• Buildings as Topography

• Phased Implementation

• Two Grids - on different angles following the natural shape of topography.

• Open Space - the most successful element of the proposal, allocating 21% of the overall site area to public
open space. “The open space system is structured around two major parks and a linking element along the
western edge” (Ports of Auckland, 2005, pg. 7). One of these parks is at the termination of the CBD axis,
while the other, at the point of the reclamation introduces a reference to Auckland’s volcanic history with a
man-made mound that spirals up.

Figure 52: Key features of the original Ka-

hurangi proposal by Peter Walker et. al.

From: Ports of Auckland. (2005). Western

Reclamation Design Concepts. Auckland:
Ports of Auckland, pg. 7

53
 The initial investigation presents a thorough plan which offers many positives, including linking the city, the layer-
ing of activities and uses, and the significant amounts of open space. There are, however, a number of criticisms
that can be made about the Kahurangi development. The first of these is that the development significantly re-
duced land available for the marine industry (Orsman, 2006), the largest earner and employer in the area. The
other criticisms were of the use of the end of the site for a “volcano”(Rudman, 2005) and that the proposal was
not creative enough for such an important site.

The next phase in development was the current masterplan, by the renamed Sea + City for the renamed area,
the Wynyard Quarter. The plan retains the general layout of the earlier Walker version but expands public space,
removes the volcano and increases land availability for the marine industry (Sea + City, 2009a). Sea + City also
set out a Sustainable Development Framework, discussing benchmarks for important issues. Some of the more
important benchmarks include:

• a 40% reduction in energy use

• a 30% on-site renewable energy use

• a minimum standard of 4 star NZGBC (or equivalent) building across the site

• a ratio of 1.4ha / 1000 people of open space

Although the framework sets out these goals, there is very little concrete planning, or evidence on how to achieve
these goals. Nor does the current version appear to incorporate the idea of renewable energy into publically avail-
able sketches of the masterplan (Sea + City, 2009c).

One area that is considered in depth (although not necessarily successfully) in the proposal of Sea + City is that
of site remediation. Due to the nature of the site this is a particularly important issue, as highlighted by the risk
assessment undertaken by the Harbour Edge Advisory Team (1990 report). Therefore, the developer proposes
to remove soil as required. There has been ongoing discussion with previous tenants (such as Shell and Mobil)
as to the timeframe that is required to undertake this process. Currently, monetary provisions have been made to
remediate the site when required (Matthews & Carruthers, 2010). The positive of this is that the whole site will not
be excavated and fully replaced with clean soil. Instead, soil will only be removed and replaced as required, as
foundations and underground building will decrease the need for clean soil. The negative aspect of this proposal
is that the contaminated soil is merely moved to landfill, the cheapest and least positive remediation technique.12 12. See Chapter Two - Soil remediation.

54
Figure 53: Refined Sea + City proposal -
point park has been flattened and public
spaces increased.

From: Sea + City. (2009a). Concept Frame-

work. Retrieved 02/07/2010, http://www.
seacity.co.nz/design_concept_framework.
htm

Since the original plans of Sea + City have become available, there has been discussion that public open space
will also be reduced to cut costs and increase revenue (Orsman, 2009). Combined with increased building heights
and the lack of creativity in addressing issues, the new scheme has drawn public and industry criticism (Bogunov-
ich, 2009). This led Bradbury and Hinton (2009) to note that the master plan effectively reinvents the site as real
estate, but it “fails to [fully] address the serious environmental issues that are present on the site... major storm-
water pollution... and serious terrestrial pollution, from petroleum products” (Bradbury & Hinton, 2009, pg. 152).
Bradbury and Hinton attempt to address stormwater concerns on the site by creating a large wetland instead of
the proposed Wynyard Point Park. By addressing contamination through staged phytoremediation and creation
of storage ponds the scheme largely removes publically accessible greenspace and instead proposes “a gently
sloping plaza... beach... boardwalks... [and] shipping containers for local vendors... [through] the wetlands” (Brad-
bury & Hinton, 2009, pg. 155).

55
 Figure 54, 55: Wynyard Park, Bradbury
and Hinton. Public spaces are set amongst
a functional wetland.

From: Bradbury, M. A., & Hinton, B. (2009).

Pelagic city: The Wynyard Point Park. In
Feyen, S. & Feyen, N. (Eds.), Water and
Urban Development Paradigms. London:
Taylor & Francis Group, pg. 155

From: Ibid, pg. 155

Dushko Bogunovich’s comments and papers also points out problems with the Sea + City proposal. Bogunovich
notes that there is little information on environmental impacts, nor “how the projects could or should be made en-
vironmentally sustainable, or what exactly was the economic development agenda of this project, that is beyond
sheer property development” (Bogunovich, 2007, pg. 4) His proposal for the space suggests a “waterfront entirely
self-sufficient in energy, water and waste disposal” (Bogunovich, 2006). He suggests:

Let’s build a beautifully designed wind, sun and sea-powered and/or hydrogen plant on the Tank Farm and
show the world that having a city that generates locally clean and safe energy is the ultimate cultural state-
ment. It could be part of a museum of the future or an art and technology gallery.

In this context, the waterfront is first and foremost our facade, showcase and shop-window. Its potential to
act as a display for the city, the region and the nation is priceless. This is the place to exhibit our best goods
and our most important messages... to show in tangible terms what sustainable development is all about,
particularly in urban circumstances... Before this can happen we must realise that more Viaduct Basin-type
urbanism on the waterfront would be a wrong step. It would take us straight back to the 20th century, instead
of putting us in a position to lead the world into the 21st (Bogunovich, 2009).

56
Discussion

Currently the Sea + City proposal continues, with the North Wharf promenade as well as an interim link across
the Viaduct Harbour and the Events Centre scheduled to be complete in time for the Rugby World Cup, in 2011.
As the development is staged there is still time to alter ambitions and targets for the development. From the case
study a number of serious shortcomings of the Sea City scheme have been identified. The main issues that are
not adequately addressed are:

• the contamination of site and environmentally positive remediation techniques

• successful use of public places and green spaces in the Wynyard Point Park

• the mixed use that should occur across the site and whether the whole site should be inhabited or be used
as a showcase

• creative and innovative thinking about issues that will affect future urban development and wider ecological
systems.

57
58
 Chapter Four - Design

In this chapter the site issues identified in the previous chapter, combined with research into the ability of archi-
tecture to aid in cleansing and regenerating site is explored through design. This exploration is presented through
an amalgamation of visual images and discussion and explanation of design elements.

The chapter begins with a brief site description, followed by discussion of precedents and the methods chosen
to inform the design process. These lead onto design development, outlining a programme and site relationship.
Subsequently, the design outcome will be presented, followed by discussion. It should be noted that the design
is not necessarily a termination of the research; rather it is an applied case study to a particular situation with
specific issues. In this way, the addressing of the site is undertaken as a specific solution. Further, the research
findings, through architectural development, imply that a site specific solution will always be necessary; rather
than a broad, generic framework.

As the purpose of this research is to outline an architectural solution to issues focusing on site remediation and
urban regeneration there are limitations to the design. Research undertaken is purely theoretical and has not
been personally site tested. Therefore the design assumes that research findings are correct and will result in
successful remediation. Further, limitations are acknowledged with regards to engineering and landscape solu-
tions. To reduce assumptions, discussion has been undertaken with relevant design professionals, including an
engineer, landscape architects and urban designers. However, further development would be required to imple-
ment a fully successful solution.

59
60
Design outcome

The design outcome investigates how remediation and cleansing of the site conditions can be integrated into an
architectural development that incorporates the positive elements of the existing Sea + City development and also
address its deficiencies. The design addresses the large scale master plan to regenerate and apply an urban
framework for the development and then focuses in more depth on a specific area. The concepts applied are not
purely architectural, but are also technological, psychological and explore the implications of architecture beyond
the physical edifice.

Re-use of the existing tank structures is used as the initial design rationale. This limits new construction and helps
to provide an interesting, productive, visual and historical trace of former uses as well as retaining some of the
constraints of the existing site.

Note: All images in this section are the authors own work unless otherwise stated.

61
 Figure 56: Western Reclamation - Wynyard
Wharf site plan.

Authors own image compiled from archival

images, courtesy Auckland City Council

100m
62
 Site description

The Western Reclamation is an area of reclaimed land of approximately 18 hectares, stretching from Pakenham
Street in the south, to the point of the reclamation (Bradbury & Hinton, 2009, pg. 152). The site also consists of
1.8 hectares of coastal marine structure (wharves) (Ports of Auckland, 2005, pg. 3) The site is largely owned by
Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH), although a large area is inhabited by Marstel Terminals, whose lease peri-
odically expires between 2016 and 2025 (Sea + City, 2009a). The other remaining tenants are industrial, largely
associated with the marine industry.

As stated there is an existing master plan for the area which seeks to house large numbers of new residents, com-
mercial and industrial activities, public facilities and public open space. It proposes to remove almost all traces of
13. It is planned that the remaining tanks the site, leaving only the large concrete silo and the “six pack” (Sea + City, 2009a).13
will be demolished or relocated.

63
64
 Precedents

From research into the existing Sea + City plan for the site, it becomes obvious that the developers believe that
the existing tank structures offer no future benefit. The proposal keeps the large cement silo and six-pack at the
western edge of the site but their uses are not only vaguely defined - the brochure Discover Wynyard Quarter sug-
gests “a light house,” (Sea + City, 2009b) as a public installation, whilst the six-pack of silos is not addressed at all.

Figure 57, 58, 59 (clockwise from left): The There are a number of precedents which successfully integrate existing industrial structures into a new develop-
abandoned concrete factory before reno-
ment. In first dates from 1975 when architect Ricardo Bofill transformed an abandoned cement factory into his
vations.
head office and personal house.
Exterior after renovations. Planting has
been used to soften the appearance of the The factory, abandoned and partially in ruins, was a compendium of surrealist elements— stairs that climbed
forms.
up to nowhere, mighty reinforced concrete structures that sustained nothing, pieces of iron hanging in the
Boardroom after renovations. The concrete air; in short, huge empty spaces filled nonetheless with magic (Ricardo Bofill Taller de Arquitectura, 2010).
silo is an integral part of the design.

All images from: Ricardo Bofill Taller de

Arquitectura. (2010). Ricardo Bofill Taller
de Arquitectura in Barcelona. Retrieved
03/12/2010, http://www.ricardobofill.com/
en/7462/Architecture/Ricardo-Bofill-Taller-
Arquitectura-in-Barcelona.htm

65
66
Figure 60, 61 (L-R): View of The Silos from
Raglan wharf.

Courtyard between the two silos.

All images from: The Silos. (2010). The Si-

los. Retrieved 10/12/2010, http://www.the-
silos.co.nz/pages/home.asp

The second exemplar is the re-use of former silos as accommodation/ The Silos, a former Golden Bay cement
silo on Raglan Wharf is a New Zealand example of positive reuse. The silo and a subsequent new building at-
tached results in three apartments overlooking the harbour.

In an overseas context, Oil Tank (Oljetanken) is constructed from a surplus Mobil oil silo on a small Norweigan
island. The tank is re-used to create a single family dwelling which is capable of withstanding the harsh coastal
environment.

Figure 62, 63, 64 (L-R): During the renova-

tion process.

Completed dwelling. The roof has been lift-

ed 30cm to allow for three full height floors.

Access to roof garden.

All images from: Otterbeck, M. The his-

tory of thought (translated). Retrieved
10/12/2010, http://www.oljetanken.no/in-
dex.php?cid=16342&pageNum_Record-
set1=3, photographer Nina Ruud

67
68
Figure 65, 66, 67 (L-R): Blast Furnace
Park in Duisburg Nord

Open air gallery incorporating old structure

and planting for phytoremediation, Duis-
burg Nord

Climbing walls re-use the old industrial

structures in a new and interesting way,
Duisburg Nord.
The third precedent is a landscape park designed by Latz + Partner. The Landscape Park Duisburg Nord in Ger-
All images from: Latz + Partner. (2010). many utilises a former coal and steel plant and addresses contamination through phytoremediation. Post reme-
Landscape Park Duisburg Nord. Retrieved diation the park provides a number of unique environments for the public.
07/12/2010, http://www.latzundpartner.de/
projects/detail/17
The final design precedent regarding the integration of existing structure and remediation of site is Ballast Point
Park in Sydney. One tank has been sculpted into a productive sculpture and other historical traces of the former
industry remain throughout the park.

Figure 68, 69, 70 (L-R): Aerial view of Bal- A number of other architectural projects also helped to gain focus for this project. Many of these (such as the
last Point Park.
Metabolists) have already been mentioned throughout the research. Those not yet mentioned will be incorporated
Former tank structure is re-used as a pro- over the following pages.
ductive sculpture, invoking historical refer-
ence and utilises regenerative energy.

Old structures and excavations create dif-

ferent zones in the park.

All images from: World Landscape Archi-

tect. (2010). McGregor Coxall Wins Inter-
national Waterfront Design Honour Award
for Ballast Point Park Sydney. Retrieved
19/10/2010, http://worldlandscapearchi-
tect.com/mcgregor-coxall-wins-internation-
al-waterfront-design-honour-award-for-bal-
last-point-park-sydney/
69
 ` Figure 71: Fun Palace, Cedric Price. The
structural frame supports interchangeable
functions and can be altered to suit condi-
tions and events.

From: Canadian Centre for Architecture

(CCA). (2010). Cedric Price: Fun Palace.
Retrieved 14/12/2010, http://www.cca.
qc.ca/en/collection/283-cedric-price-fun-
palace

Figure 72: Cloud Hanger, el Lissitzky. The

photomontage suggests raised inhabita-
tion as early as 1925.

From: Bussagli, M. (2005). Understanding

Architecture. London: I. B. Tauris, pg. 176
70
Figure 73: Reuse of former industrial struc-
tures to combat the effects of rising sea
levels on the Thames. Floating City 2030,
Anthony Lau.

From: Lau, A. (2010). Floating City

2030: Thames Estuary Aquatic Ur-
banism. Retrieved 26/07/2010, http://
www.flickr.com/photos/bldgblog/
sets/72157624266798837/

Figure 74: Plug-in city, Archigram (Peter

Cook). The structure incorporates remov-
able housing elements into a megastruc-
ture of concrete.

From: Cook, P. (Ed.). (1999). Archigram.

New York: Princeton Architectural Press,
pg. 37.
71
 Figure 75: Time based elevation of the de-
sign showing three stages: before remedi-
ation (left), during bioremediation (centre)
and full site inhabitation (right).

72
Design detail

The design acknowledges that not all elements of regeneration and development can be undertaken simultane-
ously. Therefore the project is based upon three stages. The first focuses on site regeneration, the second, initial
inhabitation and the third focuses on long term use and future proofing.

73
 Figure 76: Stage one - phytoremediation
and bioremediation processes of soil and
water cleansing being undertaken. The
first crop of bamboo may have too many
absorbed pollutants to be used for cosn-
truction.

74
 Stage one: Site regeneration

The design deals with the two different types of architectural implications set out in chapter three. It firstly deals
with issues of remediation of site, before urban regeneration can occur. The most important aspect to consider
on the Wynyard site is the contamination present in the soil. The two most effective ways of dealing with this
contamination, considering that heavy metals and SPH’s are present, are phytoremediation or bioremediation.
The design project uses a combination of the two, taking into account the limited depth at which phytoremediation
14. In Matthews & Carruthers, (2010) con- can occur.14
tamination appears present to a depth of ap-
proximately 4m (pg. 33). The project re-uses the existing tanks to undertake bioremediation. The tanks act as soil columns and remove
contaminants over the period of approximately a year. This requires three actions. The first is minor alterations to
the tanks so that the influent an effluent solutions can be administered and the soil can be removed at the end of
15.Based on the report of Liu et al., a cycle the cycle.15 Strengthening of the tank foundations may also be required.
of 330 days created biodegradation of pol-
lutants of up to 80% (pg. 13). The second action is the excavation of the soil. Due to the number of tanks and the volume of soil, it is calculated
that (assuming most of the tanks are kept) there will need to be between four and five rotations to treat all of the
accessible soil of the site. The soil that cannot be excavated - for example, that which is in too closer proximity
to the tanks themselves - is addressed through phytoremediation. This is undertaken with bamboo. Bamboo was
chosen as it is fast growing, has a large root rhizosphere (to attract pollutants) and is a highly versatile construc-
tion material. The site excavation that is undertaken is done with heavy machinery. It is sorted into soil and waste
products (such as concrete) which will be reused and recycled where possible.

Figure 77, 78 (L-R): Bamboo root diagram

From: Nilsson, J. (1998). Parts of a Bam-

boo. Retrieved 14/12/2010, http://www.
bambooland.com.au/information_terms.
htm

Material separation is currently occuring

onsite to separate concrete, asphalt and
soil.

75
 Figure 79: Development of hexagonal
frame pattern. Derived from the tank
shapes and the aims of reducing impact on
the three axis of the existing plan and re-
ducing impact on the ground plane.

76
The third site remediation intervention is the transport of the soil into the existing tanks. The transport of the soil
to the tanks occurs on conveyer systems, supported by a hexagonal structural framework that wraps around the
tanks. This frame incorporates the ideas associated with Prosolve 370e. However, instead of using these pan-
els as a facade element, the design incorporates the pollution absorbing technology into the cladding over the
steel structure of the frame. The frame is created from a number of interweaved hexagons of different sizes and
heights. It is largely elevated off the ground, supported from the tanks themselves and from steel columns. It pro-
vides an aesthetically effective frame that follows a definable pattern and provides contrast to the circular forms
of the tanks themselves. The makeup of the frame offers a large amount of surface area. This allows the frame
to remove air pollution whilst acting as a system within the larger development. Due to the number of rotations
required to decontaminate the soil across the site this permanent frame is constructed instead of a temporary
solutions, such as cranes or portable conveyor systems.

77
 Figure 80: Section Z - Z through the site
during excavation and remediation process
(stage one). The buildings on the right are
workers accommodation and laboratories.

78
 The other positive the frame offers is that it provides access to the tanks and can be used to support smaller
structures such as laboratories and accommodation for the workers. This is envisioned to be a number of light
timber frame buildings that are supported by the hexagonal frame. The long term nature of the frame contrasts
with the shorter lifespans of the infill buildings, allowing for the “skeleton” (as cited in: Lin, 2010, pg. 19) and infill
that Maki describes.

By elevating much of the inhabited and functional programmes through the use of the hexagonal frame, the water
table of the site is allowed to return to a more natural cycle, less inhibited by built forms; such as underground
carparks, floor slabs and large scale foundations. The planting systems integrating bamboo and the reduction in
ground plane contact also reduces run-off from rain and thus, reduces the load on future stormwater systems.
This means that the site is regenerated into a more natural form once the cleansed soil has been returned.

At the end of first stage of development soil on the site will have been returned to safe levels, natural water tables
and flows will be resumed and there will be measures in place to reduce air pollution levels.

conveyor system to
transport soil
titanium dioxide coated
plastic cladding, TiO2

410 UB 54
roller-system (removable)

Figure 81: Hexagonal structural framework

detail (stage one). A conveyor system at-
taches to the steel allowing for the trans-
port of dirt. The frame is clad in panels that
use a TiO2 coating based on that of Pro-
solve panels.

79
 Figure 82: Stage two - re-inhabitation of
site. The smaller buildings wrapped around
the tanks are residential while the tanks are
a range of uses, including carparking build-
ing (far left), office space (centre left) and
church (far right).

80
Stage two - Urban regeneration

Once the site has been remediated it will become safe for inhabitation. The project argues that to cleanse the
earth, only to build over it and again create impermeable ground planes is a tremendous waste of productive land.
Therefore the majority of building around the tanks will be raised up, supported by the frame structure and the
tanks themselves.

Once the tanks have fulfilled their role in the remediation process they present two options: be removed, or inte-
grated into the development. The design focuses on the latter, allocating public and commercial functions to the
larger tanks, such as an art gallery, parking building, gym and church. Tanks are also used for greywater storage
and treatment and for water storage, heating and energy production. These functions have been selected as they
are very inwards focused, requiring few changes to the tanks, as openings compromise their strength as shell
structures. Interior functions within the tanks are a mixture of self-supporting boxes, such as in the gym; or floors
supported from the tank shell. The smaller tanks at the southern end of the reclamation are devoted to residential,
although this has not been investigated beyond precedents such as The Silo and Oil Tank (Oljetanken).

81
 Figure 83: Section Z - Z through the site
once remediation is complete. The tanks
that are sectioned have been reused as
carparking and gallery space. The frame
now provides access and utilities to the
residential units.

82
 Around the larger tanks the hexagonal frame remains. This is now utilised as access and support for the resi-
dential units. The form creates private paths between the units, with the interior of the hexagonal frame used for
plumbing and wiring services. Greywater is also piped in the frame (see below), or runs above, supported by the
tanks.

The residential units are designed as a range of sizes to cater for a wide range of situations. The larger units
have three - four bedrooms, whereas the smaller units are one - two bedrooms. The sizes range from 45m2 up to
120m2. They are detached - continuing the widely accepted New Zealand inhabitation style, but with creative and
effective uses of space and without the allotment of land. Where possible, high stud heights are incorporated into
open plan living areas to allow for loft sleeping areas and to provide for storage solutions. The units are timber
frame where possible, with LVL I-joists or steel I-beams if required to span across the hexagonal frame. They
effectively have two external cladding layers. The outer layer is built from the bamboo that is grown on-site. The
vertical tubes are used for drainage, supported by the horizontal layer of bamboo, which is fixed to the second
cladding, a cavity plywood system over a timber frame.

titanium dioxide coated stormwater piping

plastic cladding

Figure 84: Hexagonal structural framework 410 UB 54

detail (stage two). The frame is now used waste water and grey
for access. It is fully clad in panels that use water piping
a TiO2 coating based on that of Prosolve
panels. Handrails attach to the structural
steel and services run through the centre.

Figure 85 (following pages): Perspec-

tive view of the site looking back towards
Auckland CBD. The drawing expresses the
complexities of the scheme.

83
84
85
 see node plan for
further detail

86
 The wider masterplan incorporates more traditional buildings in the plots between the tanks; however, these plots
are limited where possible to leave cleansed land available for non-built use. The masterplan allocates space
for the marine industry, commercial, residential and productive sites and a significant portion of space as open
or green space. These are envisioned as public sheltered areas and promenades with access to amenities and
relevant retail spaces. It is important to find a balance between public open space, private open space and the
productive spaces suggested by Bogunovich to provide a showcase of how new urban inhabitation can be lo-
cally and regeneratively focused. These productive spaces are planned as a mixture of food or plant production,
energy generating sites and natural treatment facilities, similar to the wetlands mention in Bradbury and Hinton.

The layout of the site follows a similar pattern and street grid to the existing proposal. Having a loop road creates
more traffic across the site, an important safety aspect. The roads are wide with on-street parking, provisions for
public transport and non-motorised transport. Activating the vehicular paths, on-street parking and mixed use
transport results in slower moving traffic. The existence of Wynyard Wharf is utilised for a public promenade and
provides further pedestrian, non-motorised vehicle access and access to the water. The promenade is continu-
ous around the site to encourage public usage across the site. This helps address the outer third of the peninsula
Figure 86 (opposite page): Masterplan of development, which typically, is hard to make financially successful. To generate interest in this end of the site,
proposed Wynyard Quarter. The proposal
a landmark building is proposed at the northern-most section of the reclamation. This has not been designed or
draws inspiration from existing plans but al-
locates space very differently, priveledging specified but from public consultation, an art gallery, museum or music venue have all been previously suggested
green and open space. (The New Zealand Herald, 2006).

Figure 87, 88: On-site energy generation.

These structures have a number of uses:
solar power generation, rain water storage
and shelter for the public. It is also envi-
sioned they could be used for amenities or
kiosk-type shops.
87
 07 07

07
07 07
07 07
07
07
07
07 07 07

07 04
07
Z 01 05
Figure 89: Nodal plan.
07 Y 07
07 01. - Gym
07
Y 02. - Parking
07 03. - Gallery
04. - Church
07 06 05. - Office / commercial
02 07
07 06. - Greywater treatment
07 07. - Residential
- Raised pathways / access
- Open space / bamboo crops
05
03 07 - Footpath

07
07
05

Z
88
Figure 90: Interior view of the gallery space.
Natural light is mediated through skylight-
ing and the opaque glazed boxes creating
a highly internalised and effective gallery.

Figure 91: Gym. Also a very internalisd

space, the vast nature of the tank makes
this an intriguing space. The interior struc-
ture is largely self supporting.

89
90
Figure 92, 93 (L-R, opposite page): View
along the hexagonal framework be-
tween residential unit and a tank. Over
time it is envisioned that vines will grow
up the sides of both the residential and
tank structures, softening the industrial
aesthetic. Greywater pipes can be seen
traversign the tank above the frame.

Church. Small circular holes are cut in the

exterior of the tank. These do not affect
the strength of the shell and create amaz-
ing interior lighting effects.

photovoltaic cells or so- greywater treatment and

lar hot water stores. The storage. Rainwater run-
angles of the roof offer off and grey water from
large amounts of north- residential and public fa-
ern exposure cilities is collected

hexagonal structural
framework

bamboo plantation

irrigation for bamboo

Figure 94: Section Y - Y, through residen-
plantation
tial unit, hexagonal frame and greywater
treatment tank. After treatment process,
greywater is utilised for irrigation of the
bamboo that grows between the tanks.
91
 Figure 95: 2 bedroom apartment plan
scale 1:100

01. - Entry
02. - Kitchen / dining
03. - Lounge
04. - Bathroom
05. - Laundry
06. - Bedroom

06

03

02

05 Figure 96, 97 (opposite page): Interior

06 views of a 2 bedroom apartment. The loft
01 and condensed areas creates an effective
04 use of space and details such as exposed
framing continue the industrial aesthetic of
the development and functionally can be
used for storage.

Sections of the units are opaquely glazed

for privact. This results in a latern like ef-
fect at night, cotrasting against the impos-
ing forms of the tanks.
92
93
 Figure 98: Bamboo caldding and timber
frame wall details. Bamboo splinters when
subjected to screws or nails. Therefore
it must be bolted or tied. This makes
de-construction much simpler, which is
another positive for using bamboo. The
vertical elements are used as downpipes
for the drain. They are fixed to horizontal
drained cavity battens with a circular shoe
fitting, which in turn fixes the horizontal
bamboo. This horizontal bamboo is used
for privacy, to facilitate the growth of vines.
94
 Stage three - Extended lifespan

As stated in Chapter three, the lifespan of development is a crucial issue to address ecological and environmental
impact. The re-use of the tanks and the hexagonal frame provide a long lifespan for the site. Due to the size of
the tanks, their uses can be flexible with internal changes not affecting the outer shell. However, as any building,
they do have a design lifespan. Dependent on the success of the development it may be necessary to eventually
replace the shell structures with more conventional buildings, or single sections replaced as required. The frame
provides a long term constructed solution. This allows for the infill units to adapt as the needs and functions of the
development evolve. The use of timber in the infill units creates structures that can be extensively recycled. At the
end of their lifespan they can disconnected from the hexagonal frame, deconstructed and replaced with new units.

With regards to functions upon the ground, the limited footprint of building allows for adaptive landscapes. As
James Corner (2006) comments, successful “urban infrastructure sows the seeds for future possibility, staging
the ground for both uncertainty and promise” (pg. 30). These ideas are tied into the development through open
space. Productive spaces can be easily altered and, dependent on people movements and trends, their relation-
ship to public usable spaces can be moved or realigned (and vice versa).

Figure 99 (following pages): Perspective

view of the nodal development looking
north, with the gym tank (left), carpark
tank (centre) and art gallery tank (right)
visible. Swales separate traffic and control
pedestrian movement, making for safer
crossings.

95
96
97
98
Discussion and Conclusions

The following chapter discusses the strengths, motives and drivers behind the research and examines the suit-
ability of the design response. The basis of this critical assessment is the notion of ‘architectural regeneration,’
specifically concerning site remediation and urban inhabitation patterns. Subsequently future design steps and
possibilities are considered. Finally, this chapter concludes, identifying the solutions drawn from this research and
design study.

Discussion

George Orwell notes in The Decline of the English Murder and Other Essays:

There are four great motives for writing (or any other creative endeavour):

Sheer egoism

Aesthetic enthusiasm

Historical Impulse (to record)

Political Purpose in its broadest sense - a desire to push the world in a certain direction, to
alter other people’s ideas of the kind of society they should strive for (pg. 183).
99
 This research is initiated by the acknowledgement that current lifestyle and societal patterns of the Western
World need to change significantly and quickly. It aims to contribute to the larger body of knowledge concerning
inhabitation patterns and site remediation. It notes that we need to do more with less and approach the issues
associated with increased population and changes in global climate creatively. It needs to be acknowledged that
while technology can aid in the regeneration of the earth’s systems it is not a comprehensive solution. Attitudes
and behaviour regarding building, consumption and separation between humanity need to be readdressed.

Albert Einstein eloquently stated “we can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we
created them” (Space and Motion, 1997). As such, this thesis attempts to identify a progressive design solution
by bringing together new technologies and time tested, traditional methods in new creative ways to resolve exist-
ing issues.

Site remediation

The research and design offers solutions to the issues associated with site remediation. It assesses the site
specific conditions and due to the presence of heavy metals and SPH’s, incorporates bioremediation into the
architectural features and make-up. It is assumed that this process can be undertaken in the tanks; however,
more extensive testing needs to be initiated. The advantage of ex-situ bioremediation is that the process becomes
highly visible on site and can be associated with new methods of dealing with site contamination. The disadvan-
tage of the bioremediation process is that it occurs over an extended period of time to remove pollutants to a safe
level. Currently soil is usually removed to landfill, typically due to cost implications. This research does not dwell
on cost. Instead, it focuses on the environments potential to enhance development.

Although cost is largely monetary, environmental costs are also considered. The hexagonal structural framework
is made of steel, which has a high embodied energy. This is justified over concrete or timber because of the ex-
pected lifespan and the reduction in man hours allowed by the steel frame during construction due to the ease of
steel connections and fabrication. Regular treated timber has been ruled out, but LVL or glulam may be feasible
options but require additional investigation.

The cladding for the frame utilises technology used in Prosolve 370e panels. To ensure their effectiveness in a
100
different formation, testing is required to ensure the air cleansing ability and also the best material to be used.
Currently this is a thick plastic, but may need further reinforcement to endure the impact of planned use.

Urban regeneration

The design accepts the need for a multi-use development to ensure the viability of such a large scale project.
The tanks and frame structure easily allow for changes in function to occur at small and medium scales and offer
significant future proofing for changes in function. More investigation is required to obtain an appropriate balance
between public facilities and commercial functions as well as how much land would be required to generate en-
ergy and other productive and long term measures, such as stormwater treatment area.

Focusing on a wider masterplan and simultaneously, a specific node or area creates difficulties in between the
scales. Inevitably there are other aspects of the large site that need to be addressed and more intently developed.
To ensure the full extent of the peninsula is utilised the ‘landmark’ building at the seaward end of the site needs
to be developed further. This site is critical to the success of the overall design, as it needs to draw visitors from
across the site and from around the city and region. In saying this, the ‘build it and they will come’ mentality is
not appropriate. Neither does the building have to be public. It can be as Bogunovich suggests a “wind, sun and
sea-powered and/or hydrogen plant” (2009).

The overall solution effectively addresses both site issues and the requirements of an urban development. How-
ever, such megastructures have been criticised. In the past the few that have been built have had mixed suc-
cesses. As Reyner Banham noted in 1976:

[Peter] Hall’s critique [of megastructure] had two cutting edges: one was the destruction of existing
urban fabrics... He then went on to explain what the replacement was likely to be, and now megastruc-
ture felt the other cutting edge directly, being attacked not only for what it was, but also the intellectual preten-
sions of its exponents (pg. 204).

Part of the issue is the ‘utopian’ nature that is invariably associated with such large scale work. This project has
utopian aspects within it. Despite this, the project is not thought of as utopian. Rather, the project focuses on the
potential of the earth to be utopia if behaviour and consumption are altered.

101
 Other issues

As the project is devised as a three staged development, time is an integral factor. The design aims to limit the
influence of time by offering two levels of intervention, as both a larger structure and smaller, removable units.
The solutions put forward are founded in history but seek the future. It is acknowledged that, as with most future
orientated work, the actual reality and technologies that are available will be significantly different. This may also
be the case with climate and sea levels.

Changes to Auckland’s layout may also have a large bearing on development. The route of second harbour cross-
ing, to alleviate pressure on the harbour bridge, has been suggested as spanning right across the site. This is the
draw-back to such a site specific response but due to the unique issues associated with each brownfield site, a
generic framework is not an appropriate solution.

Overall, the project successfully addresses the three main areas of contamination concern and integrates them
into an architectural and urban solution that implements an alternative solution to current inhabitation patterns.
It offers a regenerative solution that strives beyond sustainability, breaking down the separation of the built and
ecological environment.

Future development:

The project offers significant scope for future development. The stages described create a framework that has a
long lifespan. This allows for changes in programme and use to be easily incorporated. To predict these would
require more in depth study of facilities and amenities surrounding the site. As the design presents a master
plan and then focuses on one specific node there is scope for more detailed planning at a wider level. The first
programme to define further is for the northern-most site. Due to its prominence and location the selection of this
use is vital to the development.

To continue to push the agenda of a productive landscape further investigation into useful materials and re-
sources could also be undertaken. These may be food, energy or construction based and may help to define the
northern site.

102
Conclusions

New Zealand’s international image and integrity has been damaged. The issues that New Zealand faces, regard-
ing climate, pollution and population growth are serious. The research shows that, despite this, there are creative
and successful solutions to these problems. To integrate these into design and undertake remediation and regen-
eration through architecture requires careful consideration, but can be implemented through simple interventions.
The main factor required is a change in focus; away from monetary focus and instead to environmental focus. This
needs to occur immediately to avoid further environmental damage and to begin remediation of existing damage.

The biggest behavioural change needs to be considering the way in which we live. As urban responses, archi-
tecture and urban planning play very important roles. The creation of mixed use sites with green space allows
for localised consumption and recreation. There are important planning lessons to be learnt from the Japanese
Metabolists - who dealt with sprawl and lack of space almost 50 years ago. These issues have previously been
poorly addressed by New Zealand developers and a different rationale and process needs to be undertaken. It is
time for New Zealand to stop appearing green and start taking significant steps to reducing environmental impact.

The project successfully investigates and addresses the issues of regeneration, both of site and urban conditions.
It sits between the two streams of thought, technological and theoretical and extracts the positives of these two
elements to create an informed solution that recognises past, present and future use. It confirms that regenera-
tion of contaminated sites can be incorporated into architecture, both through technology and programme. The
final design outcome is intentionally bold and eye catching. However, it does not strive to be iconic. Instead it is
an exemplary architectural solution that influences behavioural change and regenerates damaged environments.

103
104
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Appendixes

The following documents are sourced from the Auckland City Council Archives and were accessed 17/08/2010.

Appendix One is from the Harbour Edge Advisory Team (AKC) (1990) Waitemata Waterfront - Harbour Edge
Development Group - Vision for the Auckland Harbour Edge. Auckland: Auckland City Council (ACC).

Appendix Two is believed to be an appendix of Harbour Edge Advisory Team’s report, but the exact source is
unknown, except that it was prepared for the Auckland City Council (unknown)

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 Appendix One

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Appendix Two

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