City-shaping

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An aerial view of Te Tōangaroa (Quay Park), the proposed downtown stadium and neighbourhood precinct for Auckland.

An aerial view of Te Tōangaroa (Quay Park), the proposed downtown stadium and neighbourhood precinct for Auckland. Image: Render HKS

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An interior view shows how the stadium’s ‘U’-shaped form frames the outlook to the Waitematā Harbour and to Rangitoto Island beyond.

An interior view shows how the stadium’s ‘U’-shaped form frames the outlook to the Waitematā Harbour and to Rangitoto Island beyond. Image: Render HKS

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With distinctive architecture inspired by Aoteroa's indigenous culture and landscape, the stadium and its surrounding precinct, if realised, is expected to garner worldwide attention.

With distinctive architecture inspired by Aoteroa’s indigenous culture and landscape, the stadium and its surrounding precinct, if realised, is expected to garner worldwide attention. Image: Render HKS

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Te Tōangaroa sits on 30 hectares of land owned by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and, if developed, will be Aotearoa’s first urban tangata whenua precinct.

Te Tōangaroa sits on 30 hectares of land owned by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and, if developed, will be Aotearoa’s first urban tangata whenua precinct. Image: Render HKS

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A global consortium made headlines recently with the release of the HKS design for a proposed downtown stadium and urban neighbourhood precinct in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

The consortium’s vision for Te Tōangaroa (Quay Park) includes a 50,000-seat, U-shaped stadium as well as four hotels, bars, restaurants, retail, commercial office spaces, apartments, education and health facilities, and open public spaces, designed to “enhance the mana of the whenua”.

Working closely with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and New Zealand Rugby, the consortium, led by Jim Doyle and Paul Nisbet of Cenfield MXD, has brought together both international and local players in the sports industry to help turn their vision into a reality. International sports architecture firm HKS is leading the design, in collaboration with precinct architecture and design practice Buchan, local studio TOA Architects and landscape architects Boffa Miskell.

HKS director Andrew Colling says the stadium design, inspired by the taiao (natural environment) and the history of Tāmaki Makaurau, could become “Auckland’s version of the Sydney Opera House”.

“We want to help create a uniquely Auckland and New Zealand experience that is a reflection of the community and culture,” says Colling: “a visionary concept that provides the All Blacks, the New Zealand Warriors, The Blues and the new Auckland FC franchise with a world-class home, unlike any other in Australasia.”

The stadium forms the centrepiece of the proposed 15ha urban precinct, which ties together surrounding neighbourhoods with activated public spaces.

“More than a ‘downtown stadium’ that activates the eastern approach to Auckland’s CBD, the proposed design will revitalise existing industrial areas into an engaging neighbourhood precinct and destination that provides genuine activation year-round,” says Phil Schoutrop, Buchan Principal and Precincts Sector Lead.

Tracy Davis of TOA Architects says Te Tōangaroa will leave a legacy for future generations, “both for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and the people of Aotearoa, creating outcomes for Māori and the wider community and providing a fan experience unlike anything in the world”.

The project design and delivery team includes HKS, Buchan, TOA Architects, Boffa Miskell, Aurecon, Robert Bird Group, Barker & Associates and Turner & Townsend.

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