Entrant:
Shaun Hung / Christchurch City Council
Category:
6. Exterior structure design award
Photographed by:
Shaun Hung
Overview
Dallington Landing Shelter Design
Eight Landings were scoped in one of the Christchurch Otakaro Avon River Corridor regeneration objectives. Eight distinctive Landings located at regular intervals along the river would provide places for people to enjoy the river environment together. And Dallington Landing is one of those. The construction of Dallington Landing was completed and opened to the public in March 2022.
Geographically, the Dallington Landing is situated near the center of the corridor. Its features two shelters, public toilets, a koru-shaped pathway, picnic tables, and access to the Otakaro Avon River. This area will be returned to native forests and wetlands in the future. With this in mind, the design inspiration for the Dallington Landing is a ‘picnic in a forest’. This Landing also acts as a gateway to welcome people into the corridor from the south.
Cultural design intent has been written to provide guidance on embedding cultural values and stories into the designs of Dallington Landing. It is intended that these spaces are a reflection of the important relationship mana whenua have to the Otakaro/Avon River and its surrounding environment. Applying Harakeke's growth and establishment phase is known in botanical terms as ‘second growth’.
Design of the shelters
These two feature shelter was designed. The design intention is to reflect the vegetation that once grew on this land before human settlement and embrace the native forests and wetlands restoration in the future while we are waiting for all the new trees to grow into forests.
It also aims to remind the user how humans once interacted under or within the forests to form a healthy community and still do so.
They were designed with the appearance of trees. One shelter was designed to reflect the foliate season with green leaves shape roof. And the other shelter was designed to reflect the defoliate season with timber slats roof. Rainwater is to dripping down from the center of the roof to the ground rain garden in the middle.
The main structure of the shelters was designed to reflect tree branches and trunks. It was formed by repeated pieces of singular-shaped timber in a systematic pattern. Joined together by galvanized steel brackets with a Resene rust effect paint finish. Three sets of the main structure have been put together to support each other to form a small forest for shelter. It also reflects how the community holding together for support.
The reinforced concrete footing was designed as a seating and picnic table. To encourage the community to come together under the forest. This raised concrete footing is also built to mitigate the flooding from the nearby river.
NZ radiata pine Glulam H3.2 timber was used as the structure. Due to its superior fire resistance and lightweight compared to steel. Lower maintenance, Glulam does not rust or corrode. The cost-effective and natural warmth beauty appearance of the timber cannot be reproduced in steel. It gives the user scene of connection to the natural visually and spiritually.