Central Auckland's recent rejuvenation has meant harbourside-dweller Tim Hooson is getting even more out of the city he loves, as he tells Elisabeth Easther.
My wife and I are devout city centre dwellers and have been for the past 30 years. Since we returned to New Zealand in 1993 we've never lived further than about three to four kilometres from the CBD, and for the past four years we've been living at the Viaduct, on the water's edge, at boat level. We bought two small apartments and made them into one, which I designed, and it's a wonderful place to live. Because we don't have children, in some ways perhaps that has given us the liberty to live in these kinds of environments. Although interestingly, one of the key things we've learned about the CBD is there's a newfound waterfront energy for families that we'd not seen in the past, which is particularly exciting and bodes very well for the future.
North Wharf is a real breakthrough for Auckland. I love wandering round that area, watching visitors, particularly kids, having their fun. Those large timber seating platforms are great, as are the speaking funnels where you can shout down one and the noise comes out another. The Wind Tree sculpture (by Michio Ihara) has brought real life and excitement to the area, as have the outdoor movies at Silo Park.
During the week, it's quite a different place from the weekends. We often take a morning walk down there, and do a little exercise. There's a bit of a secret club of people running the gantry at Silo Park. When I first saw the gantry being built I struggled to understand what it was, but we've found a use for it, exercise. Because it's kind of maze-like, you can assemble your own course, down and around and all over it. It's like an adult's jungle gym.
There's a great diversity of opportunities at the water's edge and having the city and the water combined is fantastic. Auckland is blessed in that respect, and there's such easy access to our newfound cultural energy.
