The upgrade of Bledisloe Lane provides a safe pedestrian link to Aotea Quarter.

The upgrade of Bledisloe Lane has seen a positive transformation of this vital link, improving safe connections for pedestrians to Aotea Quarter.

A useful thoroughfare for inner city workers, theatre-goers and tourists, the lane connecting Wellesley Street to Aotea Square had often been criticised for its dark recesses, gloomy, unwelcoming character and poor legibility.

The laneway upgrade was commissioned in order to create a brighter and safer connection. The project was developed in parallel with the adjacent Bledisloe House upgrade and delivered collaboratively to ensure the vision of enhancing the public’s experience of Bledisloe Lane benefited from both projects.

Location

Auckland

Project team

Yoko Tanaka
Alex Smith

Worked with

Envivo
Creative Spaces
Davis Langdon
Fletcher Construction
Jawa Structures
LDP
Pragmatix

Project date

2012 - 2014

Awards

Gold Award | New Zealand Commercial Project Awards

Our landscape architects created a paving design which maintains a sense of movement through the lane and integrates strongly with Aotea Square and the surrounding streets. The upgrade provides a more inviting lane, with a balance of shelter and openness.

As part of the lane upgrade, integral improvements to the pocket park space on Wellesley Street were part of the project, including relocating a sculpture which provides better integration with the surrounding space. The addition of low walls and steps offers informal seating.

There is now potential for vitality and a renewed mix of businesses to trade in the surrounding area. The lane upgrade has encouraged the redevelopment of adjacent building façades, with new tenancies created, opening out to the lane. The Bledisloe Lane upgrade demonstrates how a quality public space adds value not only in terms of social and aesthetic qualities but also to the surrounding businesses and properties.

Bledisloe Lane – along with the earlier upgrades of Darby, Elliott, Federal, Fort and Lorne Streets – were a start to realising the City Centre Masterplan (2012) vision for a high-quality laneway network. Aotea Square; and the future upgrades of Victoria Street, the Wellesley Street Bus Corridor, and Aotea Rail Station will significantly improve access to the mid-city as a destination and attract opportunities for growth.

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