Across the Line: reconsidering coastal land settlement

Abstract

Changes are occurring along New Zealand’s coastline. As developments accommodate more and more New Zealanders choosing to live close to the water, we risk devaluing one of our most extraordinary natural assets. Settlements like Papamoa, in the Western Bay of Plenty, were once small beach communities made up of baches and holiday campgrounds. Today Papamoa has evolved into a sprawling suburban housing settlement, spreading both down the beach’s length and layering inland across its breadth. The problems arising from this rapid growth and linear formation do not exist in isolation. These characteristics are emerging nationally and internationally as people move away from the negative attributes associated with cities, in favour of a more balanced ‘work-play’ lifestyle. This thesis reconsiders coastal land settlement and explores alternative forms of development for regions like Papamoa. The first section introduces the reader to the proposed form through an annotated tour. Section two presents three design operations, through which the design process and outcome can be explored and understood. The first of these operations, Rotating, responds to the problematic nature of sprawling linear housing patterns. The second operation, Extending, responds to the problematic nature of the existing housing typology. The third operation, Lifting, outlines the difficulties involved in building on an ephemeral coastal site. Each operation presents the problem, the design response, and the process that generated that response. The final section reflects on the project and process as a whole. This section opens the thesis up by considering new opportunities, questions and challenges. It reviews its potential to be used as a basis for further research along the same or similar line of inquiry. As well as provoking alternative forms, this thesis provokes alternative thinking. With over 15000 kilometers of coastline in New Zealand and seventy five percent of New Zealanders living within 10 kilometers of that coastline, it is time to reconsider coastal land settlement.