Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 1. This series of posts about Wellington's waterfront visually analyse what I see as a very successful and popular people's waterfront. There are several themes in these posts. This first one is permeability portrayed in these 7 pictures. Urban transparency.
This first one shows the closeness of the city, and its connection with the waterfront...
Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 2.
This is another point of linkage and connection between waterfront edge and city behind. Close, direct, desire line evident. Showing the way...
Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 3.
And here's a wet day, cold and grey, access easy to the waterfront. Shelter above. Buildings ahead. But gaps in between. Not walls between you and the view....
Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 4.
...stepping forward a bit, turning left, a variety of buildings, some old some new. Gaps in between revealing new surprises. New views. And always the water the sea. Distant views. Not walled away...
Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 5.
This view is tighter. Interesting sights to look at, some near, and some far. Ways to continue - various. But not walls. Not closed off. Pathways to the distance, to the next place, the next interest, near. No need to walk backwards...
Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 6.
Substantial waterfront building to the right. But more than compensated for, by the space ahead, by the open view to the heads ahead. No sense of enclosure. Places to walk. Public places to go. No sense of invading the private...
Wellington Waterfront. Midwinter pictures. Permeability 7.
And inside the private for a coffee. The building itself is permeable, see through. When a wall is not a wall. Maintaining that sense of distance protecting and preserving distant views, even for those not inside, and access to distant treats and pleasures.
Almost an anti-climax to be allowed to walk over Queens Wharf today. I feel as if I know it like the back of my hand, but there's nothing quite like a walk over. We were only allowed to look inside Shed 10. That's the one nearest Quay Street. The shed shown here is at the end of the wharf. It's just one storey in height, and is currently let to a cool store company. Guess it's full of fruit...
Close up of the bollards, shock-absorbers and timbers and rail sections on the surface of the wharf. One of the Ports workers with us mentioned that in the old days a few of these bollards actually got ripped out under the strain of ropes tied to ships. One got flicked all the way to Quay Street...apparently
Here's the site visit team at the end of Queens Wharf. This area feels very big and wide. Exposed on a day like this...
But there are these interesting nooks and crannies you get to see when you stand at the end. Nothing like a bit of rust on some steps, and watching the waves lapping there.
And there's plenty of timber and concrete and ironwork that give the wharf that feel, and Aucklanders that opportunity to touch and enjoy something maritime and old and authentic. Without being close to a pumping restaurant and bar complex...
You'd expect the views to be good. And they are. North Head and Mount Victoria are easy to see. This would be a great vantage point to watch the big ships come and go...
The Harbour Bridge - so often missing from Auckland CBD's downtown view is great from Queens Wharf. You can see Chelsea Sugar Works underneath...
So that's the cool store shed to the right, and Shed 10 to the left ahead. You can see that Queens Wharf is split level. The Cool Shed and Shed 10 sit on wharf structure about a metre above the access level that runs up the middle of Queens Wharf....
This is a close view of that metre rise. You can see the sea through those gaps at the bottom. Perhaps this low wall would be a good place for a few seats...
And here's the eastern edge of the Queens Wharf. Bollards are white here...
These floats lie beside Shed 10. Maybe get dropped in the sea next to the wharf when a ship ties up....
And right at the Quay Street end of Queens Wharf, you are painfully aware of the tacky red fence between you and the ferry terminal. (This is a cheap and nasty bit of fence - not like that wonderful wrought iron stuff that adorns Quay Street.) You also notice the unimaginative and shut in concrete block wall of the ferry terminal additions. Note to all: get rid of those car parks. There is no room for private office carparks here. Lose the cheap red fence asap. Nor is there room for Fullers rubbish. And those buildings need to be opened up so they spill onto Queens Wharf.
