Drews Ave

The Waka Kotahi programme supported 78 projects through 32 different councils across the country, all aimed at making our streets safer and more accessible for all users. Working with a budget of less than $100K, and a very short timeframe from design to implementation, this project replaced a small number of car parks with covered seating, planting, table tennis, drinking fountains, bins and bike racks.

The design strategy avoided the makeshift pallet-and-astroturf construction that can often be present in these projects. We used heavy concrete troughs, corten steel, macrocarpa decking, and recycled hardwood sleepers - materials which give a sense of what a more permanent intervention might look like, and mean the temporary version will stand up to the wear and tear it gets in a well used public space.

Located adjacent to the best coffee shop in town (shout out to Article!) and near the Saturday morning riverside market this intervention has transformed the street - allowing for public gathering and an enhanced sense of community.