Isthmus' Kopupaka Reserve in Auckland, New Zealand was named World Landscape of the Year 2016 at the 2016 World Architecture Festival. The judges particularly appreciated the way the architects managed to capture the soul and the nature of the place in the creation of the landscape, translating a traditional Maori construction technique into architectural elements.
Kopupaka Reserve in Auckland, New Zealand, is a hybrid park designed by Isthmus incorporating a number of different elements. The park combines an infrastructure for rainwater collection with natural elements such as typical wetland vegetation. The reservoirs for collection of rainwater also fit into the park's urban dimension, with paths, playgrounds and a skatepark.
Isthmus' project was named World Landscape of the Year at the World Architecture Festival in Berlin November 16 through 18, 2016. The architects successfully incorporated their reinterpretation of local traditions and the memory of the place into the project, transforming them into elements of the landscape.
To contain the ponds in which rainwater is collected, the architects of Isthmus designed conical structures inspired by the woven baskets the Maori people use to catch eels. Not only the shape but the construction technique used to build the wooden containing structures is inspired by Maori weaving and braiding.
These original structures connect the pools in a path through the park, helping to create an interesting, highly varied experience, completed by a cultural garden of plants traditionally used by the Maori for weaving and braiding, a playground and a skatepark.
(Agnese Bifulco)
Design: Isthmus
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Images courtesy of World Architecture Festival
www.isthmus.co.nz
www.worldarchitecturefestival.com
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