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Joint media release

New Zealand Government
Auckland Regional Council
Auckland City Council
30th September 2009

Five chosen for final stage of Queens Wharf design competition

The Opening the Red Gates design competition for Queens Wharf, Auckland moves into the exciting second stage, with the 237 original design entries now whittled down to just five.

The five finalists are design numbers 024 (Andrius Gedgaudas, Architect, Shanghai China), 046 (Den Aitken, Pete Griffins and Hamish Foote, Field Landscape Architecture, Auckland), 170 (David Gibbs and Aaron Sills, Construkt / SVB, Auckland), 195 (John Coop, Tasman Studio, Auckland) and 216 (Simon Williams, Williams Architects Ltd, Auckland). These designs can be viewed at www.queenswharf.org.nz.

The shortlist of designs was approved by Ministers Murray McCully and Gerry Brownlee, ARC Chairman Mike Lee and Auckland City Mayor John Banks, on the recommendation of the chief executives of the Ministry of Economic Development, Auckland Regional Council and Auckland City Council. The CEOs were assisted by expert advice from an advisory panel comprising Prof. John Hunt, Ian Athfield, Rebecca Skidmore, Jillian de Beer and Graeme McIndoe.  

The political representatives were delighted that the competition attracted an impressive 237 designs, including a number from schoolchildren. The selection team reviewed and evaluated all the designs, along with the public feedback. The quality of the entries has been highly praised, as was the innovation of many of the ideas presented.  This has made selecting the finalists an extremely tough task.

The final five designs were eventually chosen for their ability to strike the right balance between meeting the need for a great space for the public to enjoy, the ability to act as a major celebration venue during the 2011 Rugby World Cup (and other future events), and the need for a world class cruise-ship terminal 

In the view of the selection team, these five designs have the best potential to be further developed in Stage 2. As such, they are really a starting point for the work that will take place over the next two weeks until the end of Stage 2 of the competition, on 23 October.

In Stage 2, the finalists will develop their designs further, taking into account public feedback from over 2000 forms received and the 13 specific factors identified by the advisory panel as critical to achieving the objectives of the development

These factors include; how to ensure a great visitor experience, considerations for how the wharf will be accessed from the sea as well as the land, how the public might enjoy elevated views from the wharf and get down to the water’s edge, options for shelter, and how to accommodate future events including RWC 2011.

The competition also invited organisations to submit expressions of interest (EOI) for design consultation services, as an alternative to presenting a particular design proposal.  Of the 25 EOIs received and reviewed, three submissions have been selected as finalists. The finalist teams are Tasman Studios, Jazmax + Architectus and the Water-shed team (see attachment).  It was agreed, that their submissions provided clear evidence of design capability and had carefully considered the particular challenges in delivering the Queens Wharf project when assembling their teams.  

The development of Queens Wharf is just one of a number of initiatives designed to turn the waterfront into a successful leisure destination and economic asset.  Viaduct Harbour, Britomart and Princes wharf are already examples of previous transformation projects, with the preparation of Queens wharf for RWC2011 representing the next key milestone in the development process.

 It is important to view developing Queens Wharf as part of the total revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, alongside the development of Wynyard Quarter, the new marine events centre, and a future Te Wero Bridge.  Prior to hosting celebrations for RWC, Queens Wharf will be the base for Rally New Zealand in May 2010.

The winning design will be announced in November. Visit www.queenswharf.org.nzfor more information.

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