Mount Maunganui skatepark: 3D-printed skateable features part of new facility

A new skatepark in Mount Maunganui opening today is making use of 3D printing.

The Destination Skatepark, which was officially opened this morning, features the largest known 3D-printed skate sculpture across the globe, according to a Tauranga City Council statement.

The Wave is one of five 3D-printed skateable features and is almost 12m long and 3m high. Other 3D-printed features include a quarterpipe and skateable ledges.

Tauranga City Council Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley cutting the ribbon and officially opening Destination Skatepark. Photo / Tauranga City Council

The park on the corner of Hull and Maunganui Rds was blessed this morning and attended by council commissioners, members of the local roller community, local hapū Ngāi Tūkairangi and Ngāti Kuku, project partners and other guests.

The council, in conjunction with specialist skatepark designer RICH Landscapes, was keen to explore new and sustainable technologies when developing the Bay of Plenty’s newest and largest skate facility, the statement said.

Surfing the concrete waves: A rider tests one of the new 3D-printed skateable features at Destination Skatepark, which opened on Wednesday. Photo / Tauranga City Council

“There are only a small handful of skateparks we know of internationally [in France and England] using this technology, but on a much smaller scale,” the council’s design lead for Destination Skatepark, Peter Fraser, said.

“It’s a new and innovative way to make unique features. We’ve created new forms and textures that would have been too expensive to make by traditional production methods.”

The community-influenced co-design process involved a 24-member group representing multiple roller codes and modes including skateboarding, BMX, scootering, inline and roller skating, working alongside Rich Landscapes and the council.

“Destination Skatepark has been designed with the community in mind,” Fraser said.

The Wave, one of several 3D-printed skateable features at the new Destination Skatepark, consists of seven segments and took about five hours to print. Photo / Tauranga City Council

“We’ve included a number of skate zones which cater for all ages and abilities. Zones one and two focus on facilities for more experienced skaters, while zones three and four were specifically designed for developing basic and intermediate roller skills.”

To build the 3D-printed skateable sculptures, the Destination Skatepark project team joined up with Hamilton-based Qorox, New Zealand’s only 3D print construction company and an early adopter of the technology.

The 3D-printed skateable features are made up of Q-Ink (Qorox 3D printing ink), which is locally mixed and made of a special low-carbon material that produces 30 per cent less emissions than normal concrete, Qorox director Wafaey Swelim said.

“Q-Ink is 20 per cent lighter than normal concrete. It’s a rapid-set, high-strength material and a more environmentally friendly option, with the same robustness of traditional concrete.

“The process of 3D printing inherently leans itself to creative and organic designs without the need for expensive moulds that would make building these designs very complicated and cost-prohibitive.”

The skatepark’s new 3D-printed features include the 12m-long wave, 3D-printed skateable walls/quarterpipe, skateable art ledges and some standard skinny ledges.

The largest feature, The Wave, comprises seven segments and took about five hours to print.

Specialist skatepark designer Richard Smith, director of Rich Landscapes, said the 3D printing of the wave feature helped create a subtle feel of curling water.

“While The Wave is aesthetic, anyone can carve that element.

“The other 3D-printed features are mostly intermediate-to-advanced use, though learners can use the standard ledge as a drop. They’re a world first in terms of the magnitude of the multiple inground walls and features and the inground wave.”

One of the new 3D-printed skateable features at Destination Skatepark. Photo / Tauranga City Council

Built by Angus McMillan Concrete, other standout features of the wider skatepark include a flow bowl, a surf/skate ditch, competition-style stairs, and a street skate area.

As a seasoned skater and having designed more than 80 skateparks in NZ and abroad, Smith is passionate about evolutionary work using revolutionary yet sustainable technology.

“Both locals and visitors will be kept busy for many years to come, honing their skills and working through all the features and lines this environment holds. Thanks to everyone involved in this project, we’ve delivered something truly inspiring for Aotearoa.”

Development of Destination Skatepark came about following community engagement on the city’s previous long-term plan.

After hearing loud and clear from Tauranga’s growing roller community that existing skateparks were too small, outdated and limiting for users, the council committed to improving citywide skate facilities including Destination Skatepark at the Mount, Gordon Spratt Reserve skatepark in Pāpāmoa, and an upgrade of Memorial Park in Tauranga.