Reactive River Realms: A Regenerative Approach to Designing Urban River Infrastructure

Abstract

Many New Zealanders have a strong affinity to the rivers that weave through their urban landscapes. Various cities developed on riverbanks, due to water trade, transport and industry. Each river has its own unique personality which shapes the character of the surrounding landscape. Rivers are an exceptional aspect of nature, which can be thriving, living entities crucial to the survival of many diverse ecosystems. However as our built environment has and continues to rapidly expand there is a tendency to cut the river out of urban life often through excessive straightening, transportation infrastructure and the orientation of buildings. This separation doesn’t just deprive the public of recreational enjoyment it has also led to numerous negative ecological and biological implications such as habitat and biodiversity loss, changed patterns of sediment deposition, heightened pollution levels and a declining state of the riparian edge.

Blenheim is a small town located within the Marlborough Region of the South Island of New Zealand. Marlborough has an approximate population of 42,300 while Blenheim has an approximate 28,200. Originally a provincial service town to the farming community, it is currently shifting focus towards urban living, visitor engagement and supporting the viticulture industry. To the north of Blenheim is Picton, a seaport gateway between the north and south islands of New Zealand. Blenheim’s town centre is divided in two by the Taylor River and the area itself is part of a larger flood plain.

This has meant that over the past century the Taylor River has been heavily straightened and built up to protect the township from flooding. While some areas along the Taylor River have been landscaped for public use and enjoyment most are monotonous grass walkways blocked by stop banks which make access to the river difficult for the public. The proximity to old factories, commercial and industrial zones has also left some areas along the river in a state of degradation due to a build-up of weeds and litter. The Doctor’s Creek Catchment which feeds into the Taylor River has increased pollution levels due to outer lying farmlands, which affects biodiversity and water quality. As the township of Blenheim expands it imposes further environmental threats on the Taylor River’s ecology such as, sediment build-up which slows the river’s natural flow, habitat loss and erosion of the riparian edge.

There is recent interest from the Blenheim community to rediscover their urban-river as a place of recuperation, remediation and recreation. Therefore the opportunity exists to test how architectural interventions can engage with the Taylor River’s ecosystems and contribute to a more enjoyable and thriving public space, while addressing a potential ecological regeneration agenda.

This thesis proposes that this can be achieved by creating a framework for regenerative urban river design. This framework will incorporate and contribute to a river’s natural ecology while enhancing the architectural experience for the user further promoting connectivity between the urban landscape and the river realm.