A POCKET OF PARK
When central Christchurch’s Victoria Street was upgraded, 81 Victoria Street, one of the triangles at the intersection with Peterborough Street, was not included.
The adjacent Black and White café was leasing some of the space for outdoor seating, which consisted of a patch of lumpy AstroTurf and a couple of outdoor tables. Seeing the need for a facelift, the building owner approached Rough Milne Mitchell Landscape Architects (RMM) to prepare a landscape concept for a ‘Pocket Park’.
Director Tony Milne of RMM describes the collaborative design process. “RMM worked closely with the building owner on the initial concepts. Following this, to enable the development to proceed, the design needed Council’s Parks to sign off, followed by Community Board approval and finally, resource consent was required. A lengthy process.”
In December, Morgan + Pollard were engaged to undertake the construction, which has recently been completed. They brought to life the fantastic landscape plans drawn by Rough Milne Mitchell.
The space blends well with an existing large tree and grassed area and gives people a refuge to enjoy some fresh air and shade. The angled arrangement of the street furniture has been placed to encourage group interactions while not obstructing people.
The site’s existing forms and materiality and the recent street upgrade were all considered: the curved kerbs around the lawn edge, the paving bands and patterns, and the style of street furniture. Sketch alternatives based on the concept ‘embrace’ show a space enclosed by the building and the London Plane tree with sheltered places to sit and linger.
RMM worked with Urban Effects to design custom bench seats based on their Liffiton bench, which was used in the Victoria Streetscape upgrade. The Holland Sett and Piazza pavers from Firth tie in the design masterfully with the existing streetscape. The mature London Plane was considered in the design with effort made to minimise the impact on the tree.
“We are excited to see the mid-morning hustle and bustle of takeaway coffees and will enjoy seeing people sitting in the space, with the speckled morning light filtering through the London Plane tree. The planted areas we installed after a few growing seasons will further frame the area.”
Adam Pollard from Morgan + Pollard mentions the space is successful due to the careful execution of all the different construction elements.
“The intentional angular paving was a chance for our construction team to showcase their craftsmanship. With the added complexity of the angled paving, we are particularly proud that we were able to achieve the bold design as originally intended by RMM,” he said.
This renovation of a small urban park has a big positive impact on a local scale. The new space is vibrant and welcoming, with people already using the space.