Client
Services
Year
Location
: Tātaki Auckland Unlimited
: Landscape Design + Urban Design
: 2024-2025
: Aotea Centre, Auckland
Aotea Centre Nature-based Solutions Feasibility Study
The Urbanist was commissioned by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited to undertake a comprehensive feasibility study examining how nature-based solutions could transform the Aotea Centre, a significant performing arts and events venue in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
The assessment explored opportunities to enhance the building's environmental performance, cultural connection, and user experience while acknowledging the site's relationship with Te Waihorotiu Awa and its strategic positioning within Auckland's evolving cultural precinct.
Currently dominated by hard surfaces that contribute to urban heat island effects and stormwater runoff, the Centre presents substantial opportunities for green infrastructure to improve climate resilience.
With the upcoming Te Waihorotiu Station and Symphony Centre developments increasing the site's strategic importance, the transformation could demonstrate nature-based solutions in Auckland's cultural heart.
The Urbanist team:
Conducted comprehensive site analysis across six key intervention areas, examining structural constraints, maintenance requirements, and implementation logistics
Developed detailed options appraisal methodology evaluating interventions from 'do minimum' to 'aspirational' scenarios.
Assessed technical feasibility for living roofs, façades, and planters while considering integration with planned maintenance works
Prepared detailed cost estimates and implementation strategies for nature-based solutions.
Our assessments confirmed high feasibility for implementing nature-based solutions. The proposed interventions could improve thermal performance, manage stormwater, enhance biodiversity through native plant species selection, and create new revenue-generating spaces from currently underutilised areas.
