Robert Pak, finalist
Robert Pak
Photo by Simon Wilson
Robert (Heachoon) Pak, from the University of Auckland School of Architecture and Planning, a finalist for his project, ‘Post Civic’.
Project description
The old Auckland Railway Station was a Modernist monument to civic pride and architectural ambition. At the end of the twentieth century it met its Post-modernist fate – sold off and re-purposed as accommodation in another indifferent development in a neighbourhood of architectural mediocrity. Instead of pinning hopes for revival on some grand project, this proposal envisages multiple, smaller-scale interventions and additions, which will provide “micro public spaces” sited alongside declamations which reconnect this part of the city to the harbour.
Citation
This project is an enthusiastic engagement with a damaged section of Auckland’s urban fabric. Starting with the realisation that decades of development have substantially degraded the local public realm, the author proposes some urban repair work. It’s a bold move to flood the railway track leading into the old Railway Station and so re-connect the area with the harbour. The introduction of water and the restoration of circulation routes is provocative, but consistent with Auckland’s ambition to be a most livable city.
