Wairepo Swamp Walk

The Wairepo Swamp Walk lane needed excellent lighting to ensure a strong visual connection between drivers and pedestrians - a feature of shared spaces - and to ensure safe passage of high volumes of foot traffic on game days at Eden Park.

A critical aspect of the design was to retain existing native pohutukawa and titoki trees that stood on the residential properties converted to make way for the lane. The lane was designed around these large trees, which provide identity and amenity. Their location within the lane also served to slow traffic.

Auckland City appointed artist Billy Apple to provide concepts for the lane and corner plaza to incorporate into the overall design. The artwork took the form of paving and was developed around other landscape features of the new lane – new planting, rock walls, retained trees, storm water treatments (planted swales and rain gardens) and lighting.

We carefully designed the lighting layout to integrate with the artworks. The lighting is maintained at ambient levels, then increased on game nights. Lighting poles are strategically placed to direct vehicle movement through the space.

The design adopted local materials in the form of basalt walls to line the lane and provide privacy and security for neighbours. Native planting lines new storm water treatment swales. This provides amenity to the local community and reinforces the local lane and slow speed concept.

Sustainability is a key feature in all aspects of the design. We designed stormwater, paving, lighting, landscaping and construction materials to minimise environmental impact and reduce ongoing maintenance inputs. Low maintenance species and surface treatments ensure a self-sustaining vegetative cover is quickly achieved.

The corner plaza continues the use of local materials and extends the artist’s concept, providing both a static space and improving pedestrian flow.