As part of our final studio project for Planning 123 a couple of years ago, we had to develop a report and produce a model on the redevelopment of a study site in Freemans Bay, Auckland. This is post is a summary account of the report done by my group.
Freemans Bay is one of the suburbs in Auckland that has undergone constant urban reclamation and urban renewal. The end result of this left the area in a poor condition, with many inadequate housing constructions and unused open spaces.
A site development potential map was produced by the group indicating the opportunities and constraints for redevelopment within the study site. In accordance to the site development potential map, a development brief was prepared supported by a model of the proposed redevelopment. The development brief of the proposal is aimed to achieve more sustainable outcomes for the future of the residents in Freemans Bay.
Development Brief:
- A net density of 86 dwellings per hectare.
- A mixture of terraced/row houses and medium rise apartment dwellings of 2-4 storey throughout the site.
- A minimum dwelling size of 70sqm (7m by 10m).
- A mixture of small dwellings (1-storey) to larger dwellings (2-storey).
- All dwellings to meet the criteria for a good quality of life within them.
- Bottom floor of he buildings on the corner of Franklin Road and Wellington Street are to be of commercial use.
- Communal space for the residents of the medium-rise apartment buildings.
- Private outdoor space for each unit (including back yards/front yards and balconies).
- A more permeable road system. Gwilliam Place and Sheridan Lane extended.
- Trees and vegetation lining on the roads and walkways.
- Security gate across the road entrances and parking facilities, ensuring only residents have access to these roads and parking.
Site Plan (how the proposal achieves more sustainable outcomes for the future):
The redevelopment proposal aims to achieve a more sustainable outcome through incorporating the principles of quality of life within and outside the dwellings. The dwellings within the site are mainly facing north-west and north-east. This is important because it allows for maximum sun exposure in certain periods of the day and is therefore energy efficient.
All of the dwellings within the site offer the inhabitant a choice of orientation between two cardinal directions. This is important as this provides the residents a range of choices and alternatives.
The proposed dwellings within the site have a four-storey limit. This is significant because having a four-storey limit provides a connection between the building height and the health of a person. It is also important to keep the buildings more to human scale.
The dwellings within the site also offers its residents positive outdoor spaces as seen in
the picture. Positive outdoor spaces are important make people comfortable when they use these spaces. It is therefore important to incorporate positive outdoor spaces in urban design as it provides a more sustainable outcome instead of having left over spaces that are not used.
The principle of robustness and variety are also applies in the development brief in order to achieve more sustainable outcomes. The proposed site will have a mixture of terraced/row houses and medium-rise residential dwellings as it is seen in the photo, thus allows the principle of variety to be enhanced.
The quality of robustness will also be
increased through the integration of commercial establishments along sections of Franklin Road as seen in the photo. This is important as the shops will increase the potential robustness of the outdoor spaces as the shop windows will increase visual contact and therefore will tend to attract a variety of users, hence enhance the level of activity along Franklin Road. On the other hand, the preservation of communal spaces within the site as private outdoor spaces are also important in maintaining the level of robustness of the surrounding dwellings.
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