Aotea Square redevelopment
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Design features |
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Design features
When the
redevelopment of Aotea Square is completed in October 2010, it will be the
city's premier open space with a distinct and unique identity. It will provide a
safer, family-friendly environment for residents and visitors to enjoy major
public events and everyday activity.
The landscape
designs for Aotea Square will help transform this open space into the new
creative and entertainment hub of the city. It will be a great venue for people
to connect, engage and celebrate, and enjoy the best of Auckland's arts and
entertainment.
Aotea Square landscape plan (1,348kb PDF)
Here are some
of the key features of the new landscape design.
Staging
events
Aotea Square
will be a vibrant venue for a wide range of outdoor events - formal and
informal, large and small. The main paved area will be widened and levelled,
which means crowds of up to 20,000 can gather comfortably. The surrounding steps
can double as seats or staging.
The new square will offer more staging options. Temporary stages can be
erected at various locations and audiences will get clear sightlines from both
the paved and grassed areas. The new car park roof will raise the level of the square by an average of one metre, which
will improve connections with surrounding buildings.
To enhance the
event experience, council also plans to install an events screen in the square.
An assessment and feasibility study is underway and a decision will be made in
November 2009. The screen would be used to promote events, performing arts and
other city centre activities such as the Rugby World Cup 2011.
In September,
the Arts, Culture and Recreation Committee endorsed a report for the procurement
of a permanent big screen within Aotea Square. This business case recommended a
permanent screen be located on the side of the SkyCity Metro building that faces
the square to enhance or promote events, performing arts and city centre
activities.
An Aotea
Square events screen will deliver significant long term benefit to the city.
Procurement of the big screen is part of the planning for
Rugby
World Cup 2011, to enable the event to be accessible to the broader public.
Previous use of big screens in public areas during events in Manchester and
Melbourne have been a huge success.
Further
discussion about the procurement and management of the screen will be presented
to the Arts, Culture and Recreation Committee in November.
Entrances
and exits
The redesigned
entrances to the square will be more accessible and appealing. The Queen Street
entrance is redesigned with fewer steps into the paved area making it easier to
access and more inviting.
The walkway
alongside the Auckland Town Hall will be widened and improved for pedestrians.
It will also become an inviting space for small, informal events, with steps
doubling as seats.
Paving and
grassed areas
The main paved area of Aotea
Square is being raised and levelled, allowing large crowds to enjoy events day
or night. The grassed areas will also be landscaped making it perfect for
everyday public use and provides seating areas at events.
The paving is mostly granite, with
a tailor-made concrete on the stairs and terraces.
Trees
Trees are a
key feature of Aotea Square. A total of 63 native trees that reflect the New
Zealand environment, Auckland's heritage, and are well suited to growing conditions
will be introduced in the new landscape. These include a range of ten species: nikau, kowhai, pohutukawa, puriri, kauri, kohekohe, karaka, putaputaweta,
taraire and totara, in addition to the three pin oaks, which will be retained at
the Queen Street entrance.
Ten pohutukawa
will be planted in two rows of five in the hard paved area. Pohutukawa were
specially selected as they are hardy and can withstand
heat. They are good for sightlines as their trunks can be cleared to 2.5 metres.
The type, size
and location of trees is limited by construction constraints to protect the car
park roof. Trees will provide shade on the terraces and a sense of enclosure. A
proposal to supplement shade provided by trees in the square is under
consideration by the project team.
The layout of
the trees is designed to enable clear views for crowds at major public events.
Lighting
Multi-function
poles throughout the square will contain LED lights at the top and bottom. These
will light the square and create suitable ambience for events. Lights can change
colour and illumination depending on the need. The poles will also house audio
speakers for use at events, as well as banner arms to advertise events.
Some of the
trees will have in-ground lighting to enhance the night time ambience in the
square.
Seating
The seating
has been uniquely designed for Aotea Square. Long benches, seats and pedestals
in strategic spots will be installed on paved and grassed areas perfect for
quick lunchtime breaks or more leisurely visits. The surrounding steps can
double as seats or staging.
Car park
stairwell canopies
Two new
canopies made from structural glass are to be introduced over the Civic and
Bledisloe stairwells from the car park. When lit the canopies look like glowing
glass boxes with a graphic pattern created by the light transmitted through the
glass. These lights can change colour and at night the glass box will glow
according to the colour chosen.
The front of
the Aotea Centre will have a new glass and aluminium canopy with feature
lighting. This links to a lower curved canopy between the Aotea Centre and
Bledisloe walkway which will be inset with small lights giving the effect of
stars at night.
Public
artworks
Four art works that were located in Aotea Square have been moved into safe
storage during construction. For more information about their relocation visit the
Art works in Aotea Square page.
Updated October 2009
