Manukau South, City Planning
This research project looks at the impact of the State Highway 20 on the urban edge of Manukau City, Auckland. We decided to focus the study on a two- hectare site, an area between the existing Puhanui stream to the south and the new motorway in the north. The research proposition was to develop an extension to the public housing on the southern side of the city, maintain and strengthen connections to the city and park, and provide public space. On a wider level, the project was about developing a new model of housing that avoided the standard suburban model; provide a denser housing framework, while ensuring a good ratio of green space.
Using GIS analysis, all the landscape conditions of the site, streams, overland flo paths, and contours were examined. The massive disruption both to the ecological systems and the urban networks that the construction of the new highway will cause was also modelled. The first step, the privileging of hydrological system takes the existing overland flow paths and stream system and buffers them
with indigenous riparian planting. The overland flow path is collected in wetlands before being discharge into the local stream system. This analysis, plus the establishment of path network through the site helps link the stream and city to the housing establishment. Housing footprints are simply established in the left over spaces. The resulting housing configuration is four, roughly rectangular blocks running west to east. The blocks all-open to private space to the north while the north/south streams of the overland flow paths and accompanying planting bisect them.
The resulting urban diagram shows a new kind of urban configuration that has the possibility of escaping the high green space but low density of suburbia while avoiding the equally problematic high density but low green space model advocated by New Urbanists.
Using GIS analysis, all the landscape conditions of the site, streams, overland flo paths, and contours were examined. The massive disruption both to the ecological systems and the urban networks that the construction of the new highway will cause was also modelled. The first step, the privileging of hydrological system takes the existing overland flow paths and stream system and buffers them
with indigenous riparian planting. The overland flow path is collected in wetlands before being discharge into the local stream system. This analysis, plus the establishment of path network through the site helps link the stream and city to the housing establishment. Housing footprints are simply established in the left over spaces. The resulting housing configuration is four, roughly rectangular blocks running west to east. The blocks all-open to private space to the north while the north/south streams of the overland flow paths and accompanying planting bisect them.
The resulting urban diagram shows a new kind of urban configuration that has the possibility of escaping the high green space but low density of suburbia while avoiding the equally problematic high density but low green space model advocated by New Urbanists.