Abstract:
The resilience of a city is its ability to evolve over time creating
a strong sense of place, and community, shaping the people and
societies in which they were originally created. However, the opposite
effect can also be true. In removing elements of space, the web of
memory and meaning can be made weaker, with the spirit of place and
the bonds of the urban environment reduced or broken.
In Tāmaki Makaurau / Auckland, nowhere is it more apparent
that these bonds have been weakened than with the construction
‘Spaghetti Junction’ through the Newton Gully in the 1960’s. This
critical urban infrastructure has left a hole in the city fabric and
created the severance and destruction of the Newton community.
Where it was once a vibrant, thriving community, today the remaining
parts of Newton are disconnected and neglected.
The motorway remains a critical piece of infrastructure and is not
going away anytime soon, but as Auckland’s population continues to
grow, can we repair the open wound in its urban fabric, and reconnect
a severed community, restoring its sense of place in the process?
This thesis investigates ways this could be done using an urban design
framework. It proposes a new built form over the motorway to restore
connections with the whenua, the site’s history, and the existing
motorway system. This is achieved through proposing new building
forms, structures, and community spaces to allow a vibrant inner city
community to reconnect and thrive.