Featured projects
Picton Waterfront Redevelopment
| LOCATION: | Picton |
|---|---|
| CLIENT: | Marlborough District Council |
| CONTACT: | Michael Hawes (landscape design), Marc Baily (urban planning) |
| OUR ROLE: | Urban planning and design, community consultation, master planning, resource consent evidence, landscape design, supervision of site works. |
Picton is the hub of the Marlborough Sounds and the waterfront is its focal area. Thousands of inter-island ferry passengers pass through the ferry terminal every year, right next to the tourist operations, boating and fishing activities that make Picton a destination in its own right, with a bustling port and attractions.
Boffa Miskell assisted the Marlborough District Council to investigate various redevelopment opportunities for revitalising the township. This included deciding on urban design principles for the town centre and waterfront, and conducting extensive community consultation. We reviewed and refined the waterfront master plan with Warren and Mahoney Architects and were appointed to provide landscape design services for the waterfront redevelopment. Construction of Stage 1, which focused on redeveloping the town square on London Quay, was completed in October 2010.
The redevelopment focused on better integrating the waterfront with the town centre and reinforcing the waterfront as a gathering place - a place of social interactions. The design builds on the concept of the site being a meeting place; a place of coming ashore and of looking out to the Sounds; a place where people, landscape and activities - past and present - come together.
Key features of the redevelopment include:
- improved connections between the town centre, marina and foreshore;
- a series of inter-related public spaces, suitable for both peak and off-season levels of activity;
- improved public access to the water’s edge;
- revitalised activities on the working wharfs, with a range of complementary activities for the local community, visitors and tourism operators;
- integration of the built form and public space in the conceptual and functional design, framing views to the Sounds; and
- a revitalised townscape character with strong links back to the site’s history in the contemporary design.
As lead designers, Boffa Miskell managed a fast-track programme, delivering consent and tender documents within a condensed period, staged to enable early progress of marine works in preparation for the main construction.
The completed town square successfully hosted a crowd of over 9,000 on New Year’s Eve 2010/2011 and, in quieter times, is a place for visitors and locals alike to relax.
Others we worked with closely: Warren & Mahoney, Alan Reay Consultants Limited, Abel Properties Limited, HEB Construction