Te Whau

The Whau River forms part of a historic Maori portage route that links the Waitematā and Manukau harbours in Auckland. The thirteen kilometre Te Whau Pathway traces this important lineage and provides a public means of moving between harbours. The project is conceived conceptually as an abstract form or line that resonates with the wild and unique nature of its context. It is an elegant and sleek piece of modernity, contrasting with the mangroves and mudflats it sits above and is adjacent to. The form and materiality of the boardwalk are therefore integral to the reading of the project. Because of its scale, the project has to operate at two distinct levels - the macro and the micro levels, both being critical to the success of the project. The serpentine horizontal alignment of the boardwalk was taken from the many rivulets that cover the mangrove mudflats at low tide, and the meandering alignment of Te Whau at a macro level. These became a metaphor for the effortless and almost whimsical nature of the boardwalk as it floats above the mangroves. The alignment of the boardwalk consists of a series of simple radii that meet tangentially to create a smooth and seamless trajectory. The radii used were 30 metres, 60, 90, 120 and 210 metres. The materiality of the project is critical. The project needs to resonate with its context but also juxtapose it in a sensitive manner A contrast of modernity and nature. The conceptual allusion for is the shimmer of water - to contrast with the mud and mangroves and will give the shared path a lightness and allow it to visually float. To achieve this the balustrade is conceived of a marine grade aluminium while the deck is a crushed glass coating over the glass reinforced plastic structure. The dusk lighting is through the handrails and is a continuous cold white LED strip to reinforce the floating contrast of the boardwalk over the mangroves.