Te Ara Tukutuku is putting forward a vision of a thriving foreshore, and a gradient edge with intricate coves to support intertidal life.
Te Ara Tukutuku is putting forward a vision of a thriving foreshore, and a gradient edge with intricate coves to support intertidal life.
OPINION
Over the past decades, I’ve witnessed global cities grapple with the continuous process of transforming their waterfronts. Over generations, the water’s edge has shifted from being a place of bountiful marine life and subsistence fishing to dredged ports and shipping, to sites of heavy petrochemical industry, and, morerecently, to residential and recreational uses.
In Tāmaki Makaurau, on a piece of ground once known as the Wynyard Quarter tank farm, there is a vibrant, holistic initiative taking shape that I have not seen anywhere else – an initiative that moves far beyond the notion of “land use” which is giving rise to a new shared vocabulary, new ways of working together, and new/old ways of living in the world.
Te Ara Tukutuku is more than a vision for a landscape.
This is the story of Te Ara Tukutuku. Moving away from the concept of a water “front”, a military term where land and water are separated by a line, this design process is guided by a spatial metaphor and a new set of relationships that are connective and cultural. Te Ara Tukutuku is a name gifted by Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (Mana Whenua) and refers to a gradient slope that enables a canoe and people to move between land and water. This metaphor is inspiring us to behold the landscape holistically and consider the binding of the land and the sea as its core programme.
It is a process that begins firstly with an effort to heal the division between the whenua [land] and moana [sea]. Few are so lucky as to have ancient and indigenous knowledge to help guide this process.
Those who know the history of this 10ha site know it is made from urban fill in a zone that was once the seabed. Eventually, petrochemicals and paint thinners - among many other industrial bulk liquids - were stored in a vast array of tanks here.
Wynyard Point.
Enhancing the mauri [life force] of this former seabed will take a coalition of mana whenua partners, technical experts and designers with an open mind, heart and temperament. I am seeing this collaboration grow first-hand as part of a partnership with mana whenua and a design collective made up of some of New Zealand’s best called Toi Waihanga. Our role is to co-create a vision for the future of this place.
This effort to date has been a model for a more holistic approach to the water’s edge and the future of urban nature. It departs from a business-as-usual approach, which has typically included high-end residential buildings, a hardened edge and linear walks laid out according to European urban design precepts.
In contrast, Te Ara Tukutuku is putting forward a vision of a thriving foreshore, a gradient edge with intricate coves to support intertidal life, and an exploration path reconnecting the land to the sea. This vision of a physical landscape is bolstered by new stewardship and teaching models that support the renewal of culture and community, breathing life into a once-barren place, reminiscent of lost headlands that held deep significance for mana whenua.
To do this, the collaboration of Māori culture and design is destined to set a new global benchmark in regenerative landscape design, focused on collaborative and indigenous-led practices. Mana whenua and Western science are working together here to blur the lines between sea and land, shaping landforms and views across Tāmaki Makaurau, a canvas for a thriving forest, rocky coves supporting marine life and a promenade inviting people to explore, appreciate, and participate in its regeneration.
Our collaboration with mana whenua representatives goes beyond shaping physical spaces; it aims to redefine how societies approach large urban projects. What sets this endeavour apart is the genuine commitment to incorporating diverse voices, particularly those who have always called Tāmaki Makaurau home.
Te Ara Tukutuku is more than a vision for a landscape; it is a living testament to the possibility of healing, learning and co-creating a future that emerges from indigenous practices and the land’s potential for renewal. Interest in projects like this, where people and nature can thrive together, is soaring. This bold project is becoming a beacon of hope and inspiration, not just for Tāmaki Makurau but for the world.
New York-based landscape architect Kate Orff is the founding principal of Scape Landscape Architecture and one of Time magazine’s most influential people for 2023. Te Ara Tukutuku is the first Aotearoa project that she has been involved in.
