Exciting projects.

Did you know the various projects that are happening in Auckland's waterfront?

I have blogged about Silo Park before but there are also other exciting projects that will make the waterfront a much better place.

The Waterfront Auckland website has good descriptions and updates of what is currently being done and the future plans for the waterfront.

The most popular project is The Cloud or Party Central on Queen's Wharf. It is visible on the Viaduct now and it is slowly coming to life. The Cloud will be used for the upcoming RWC 2011 as an international media lounge and as a Tourism NZ i-site. At the moment, The Could is looking like an out-of-place slug-shaped structure on the Viaduct but I am still excited to see the finished development on this once industrial wasteland.

What Queen's wharf would look like with the revamp of Shed 10 and construction of The Cloud.
Photo Source: Waterfront Auckland.

The Viaduct Events Centre is at Halsey St. in the Viaduct Harbour. The Events Centre will host banquets, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, trade shows, weddings and other major events. It will be open by August 2011. Though it is not finished yet, bookings are already being accepted. There are more information available on their website.

The plan for the Viaduct Events Centre.
Photo source: Waterfront Auckland.

Close to the Viaduct Events Centre would be the new development of the North Wharf. Doesn't it look inviting?!

The North Wharf will be full of shops, restaurants, cafes that will cater to everyone's interests.
Photo source: EyeonAuckland.

Opposite the North Wharf will be Silo Park and Gateway Plaza. Gateway Plaza will be the redeveloped Tank Farm. It will be an amazing public open space that incorporates modern design. It will be unique to Auckland because the Plaza allows people to access the water via steps. See for yourself below:

The Plaza incorporates old shipping containers into the new open space.
Photos from Waterfront Auckland.

Last but not the least are Trams! Yes, there will be trams along the new waterfront developments (It will loop around Jellicoe St, Halsey St, Gaunt St and Daldy St.). The Heritage Trams will be operative during the RWC.

Construction is going on now in terms of installing the tramway lines. More photos on the EyeonAuckland website.
Photo source: Waterfront Auckland.

Whether you support the RWC and the implications that comes with it, you can't deny that the upcoming event has facilitated these ground breaking developments in Auckland's waterfront. Looking at these projects makes me think that Auckland's urban environment is definitely changing for the better.

There is a cool timeline of the Wynyard Quarter on the Waterfront Auckland website. Make sure you check it out!

Silo Park.

I was researching about Auckland's urban features and I stumbled upon the 360 Urban website. I looked through it and saw current and planned projects around New Zealand. What caught my attention is Silo Park in Jellicoe St, Auckland.

The project is to transform the once industrial area into an adrenaline fueled adventure park with NZ's funkiest playground, retail, dining and views of the Auckland Harbour Bridge. Currently, the project is still under construction. Rain gardens for drainage has been made and are being filled with soil to be planted with native plants.

What Jellicoe St. looks like now.
Photo credit: Waterfront Auckland

Once finished, Jellicoe St. Wynyard Quarter will hopefully look like this:

Public open space, retail and dining services and views of the harbour. Not bad at all.
Photo credit: Waterfront Auckland

The nearby Silo Park will be an open space that will offer views of the Westhaven Marina and Auckland Harbour Bridge.

Photo credit: Waterfront Auckland

Silo Park will retain the cement silo and 'six pack' to recognise the industrial heritage of the area. It will offer great public open space with views of the Marina and the Harbour bridge and a cinema during summertime. The key uses of the park will be for recreation, water treatment, events and as a play area as shown in the photo below.

Photo credit: Urbika

I think this is a great project. Auckland's waterfront is not really something to be proud of due to the tanks and ugly ships docked in the viaduct. Projects like Silo Park will make the waterfront visually appealing and also accessible to people.

To see more photos and plans of Silo Park, go to Urbika and Waterfront Auckland. An animation of what the waterfront would look like has been made and you can view it here.

Money well spent or a complete waste?

The proposed Te Waka Maori Pavillion
Image from NZ Herald

There has been a lot of talk today about the proposed Waka Pavillion to be built in Auckland's waterfront for the upcoming Rugby World Cup. The Waka will be 60m long and 15m high and made out of plastic. The buzz is about how much it will cost to build the structure. It has been estimated to cost around 2 million dollars.

People who are opposed to the idea is saying that the Waka structure is unnecessary and a waste of money. The government is spending around 1.8million on it and $100,000 is from Ngati Whatua o Orakei who will own the structure after it's built. Is it really necessary for the government to spend that much money on something that they will not even own afterwards?

I think the idea of promoting Maori culture during the world cup is essential. However, I don't think building this structure is the best one to do so. The structure will be made out of plastic which may look very artificial as a real waka is made out of wood. It will also be designed to be easily deconstructed so that it will be portable and can be transferred around the country.

It is a very expensive project. Along with the Cloud, the government has been spending so much in preparation for the Rugby World Cup (9.8 million for the Cloud and 2million for the waka). I don't think the waka is necessary to promote Maori. If they want an iconic structure to represent the Maori culture in New Zealand, then a temporary blow up waka isn't the best idea. Personally, I could think of other ways to spend the 2million dollars to promote Maori heritage and culture. The structure might look interesting and inviting to tourists but what will happen after the world cup? Where will it go? Who gets the profits for it?

These are more photos of what the waka would look like:

Images from NZ Herald

What do you think? Is this worth 2million dollars or is the government wasting taxpayer's money?

If you want to know more about this and answer the poll, read today's NZ Herald, Dominion Post and Radio NZ.