Kumutoto, Wellington Waterfront
Winner International Federation of Landscape Architects Award - Asia Pacific Region, 2010 Winner NZIA Local Award, 2008Winner New Zealand Contractors Federation Hirepool Construction Awards, 2008
Winner NZILA Supreme Award, 2008
Winner NZILA Gold Award, 2008
Winner Wellington/Wairarapa Contractors Federation Award, 2008
IES Lighting Awards - Award of Excellence, 2008
Kumutoto is a newly opened section of Wellington’s waterfront, masterplanned by Studio Pacific. The area, formerly a carpark in front of the heritage buildings Shed 11 and 13, has been transformed into one of the more popular outdoor areas on the waterfront by means of careful design measures such as timber walkways and seats, a stunning new sculptural bridge and the extension of Wharf Plaza outwards to link with the ferries that dock nearby.
The design, developed in conjunction with landscape architects Isthmus, also features the declamation of the Kumutoto plaza, letting the water from the Kumutoto stream be revealed and celebrated in a ziggurat of steps down towards the harbour.
New seat types and light standards complement the hardy pohutukawa planting in the two plazas that surround the new Site 7 building for Meridian, also by Studio Pacific. The bridge replaces a section of ageing promenade walkway and sits in the water, resting its weight at one end on a piled cradle structure, while to the south an elegant pair of concrete columns suspends the bridge end, framing the walk through.
