Poplar Lake Silverstone more Sensitive Alex Smith 1347248
Structure Plan
Legend
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Industrial Residentialnodes MixedUse Airfield Railwayproposed Clipsolar
Wind Power
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Generation Areas
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Metropolitan_Area Watersource
L.C.D.B. Vegetation Type Broadleaved Indigenous Hardwoods Indigenous Forest Manuka and or Kanuka Other Exotic Forest
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Pine Forest - Closed Canopy Pine Forest - Open Canopy Flood_Plain
L.U.C Land Capability High Producing Land Productive Land Woodbfinal Airsafezone
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Contents Introduction 4 History............................................................................... 4 Context........................................................................... 5 The Site............................................................................ 6 Topography................................................................ 8
Landscape Analysis
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Analysis........................................................................... 10 Results.............................................................................. 11
Design 12 Plan.................................................................................... 13 Perspectives............................................................... 14 Walking/Cycling options................................ 16
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Introduction
Silverdale Village
Previously a structure plan was generated for the development of Silverdale that aimed to increase it’s resilience, by reducing it’s dependance on outside regions resources (See inside cover). This was to be done by providing local employment, energy and resource collection and local waste treatment. Freight and passenger transport was supplemented by a new bus way, railways and a ferry service, used to link the proposed transport oriented developments and areas of employment. The former Silverstone site was chosen due to it’s proximity to large residential areas and potential to provide local employment. The Silverdale region’s population rose by 459 between 2001 and 2006 and this is certain to climb higher with the brand new Millwater subdivision well underway.
History Approximately 30 km north of Auckland City, Silverdale was originally known as Wade, a corruption from the river name Weiti, and was a port for coastal shipping. This was later changed to Silverdale as a reference to the areas Poplar trees. The village of Silverdale grew into an industrial zone which became increasingly separated from the township by the former SH1 (now 17) making access between the two sides of Silverdale difficult, however in 2009 this busy road was by passed by the Northern Gateway Toll Road, lessening it’s flow. The Silverstone site is located to the Northwest of the village and was classified as being a Knowledge Economy Zone under the former Rodney District Council District Plan, meaning a wide range of uses are allowed, including residential, offices, warehousing, light industrial, manufacturing and distribution. An office 4
park development named Silverstone was planned for the site. To implement this design a large amount of earth moving would be require to flatten the landscape, and much of the design was ignorant of the original landform and drainage, while token efforts were made to ‘green’ the development, with few details of their implementation explained to potential purchases. The economic downturn caused a cooling in demand for this type of development, and the site has lain undeveloped as grazing land for several years.
Left: Silverstone Business Park laid on top of the landscape. Were this design to go ahead, a lot of re-contouring would be required. Below, left: The Northern Gateway Toll road the bypassed the former SH 1. Below: SH 17, dividing Silverdale in two.
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The Site
-90 Ha -An expanded version of the Silverstone site -Divided into 2 catchments -Crossed by many ephemeral streams -Currently grazing land -Some native vegetation present -Located to the Northwest of the village -Bordered by the motorway -A new Interchange will be built just north of the site. -Currently intersected by Waterloo Road
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Topography
-Hilly country with slope mostly ranging from 6-67 degrees. -Some particularly steep land to it’s south, some of which is covered in regenerating bush and scrub. -Highest point 66 m, Lowest 24 m.
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Landscape Analysis To find suitable areas for development of any sort, I let the landscape tell me through analysis which areas are suitable for use. First the existing significant native vegetation was mapped, and noted for conservation, as these stands are valuable in a broad scheme for additional habitat and landscape connectivity for native species. Then the streams were added and drawn in cases where they were ephemeral. These streams were buffered by a distance of 20 m to give an indication of the revegetation that would need to be done to establish a riparian zone and restore stream health, by filtering the water, providing shade and habitat and water absorption properties. Finally slopes above 15 degrees were mapped and buffered by 20 m. This was to simulate whether it was practical to plant an entire hillside, rather than just these areas. It was found that 50 Ha of the site were actually suitable for development, centred mainly in areas around Waterloo Road Wainui road, where the ridge lines were flatter and the riparian zones did not cover.
Above: the existing vegetation and the sites heights.
steep slopes and also existing bush.
At the sites base, a storm water lake and a zone of bush around it have been suggested to be the final stage of water treatment and deal with potential flooding if the culvert becomes blocked. Finally it was decided to revegetate most of the southern part of the site. This land is all south facing, contains a large amount of
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Analysis
-Hilly country with slope mostly ranging from 6-67 degrees. -Some particularly steep land to it’s south, some of which is covered in regenerating bush and scrub. -Highest point 66 m, Lowest 24 m.
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Results
Following analysis it was found that 50 Ha of the 90 Ha site was actually suited to development. These areas were mainly found along the ridge that Waterloo Road runs along and along the sites boundary with Wainui Road. The riparian zones have been applied to suit the contours of the site. At the sites base, land has been set aside for a storm water lake, which will also deal with flooding in heavy rains, giving the water a space to go if the culvert under the motorway becomes blocked. Forested slopes have also been adjusted to suit the landform
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Design Conservation and Restoration The extensive landscape remodelling of the original proposal for the site has been avoided, with the Poplar Lake development being shaped around the existing landscape features. Existing native vegetation and some large trees and shelter belts are to be retained as they play an important role in the connectivity of the landscape for native fauna and the ecosystems they support. The major streams and flood zones are to revegetated as riparian zones, with predominantly native species such as Carex, New Zealand Flaxes, Cabbage Trees, Mahoe and Karamu being planted as a nurse crop to larger species. The seed will be sourced locally where possible. Due to the visibility of these areas in the design their edges could be formalised, while their canopy structure has the potential to be varied for aesthetic values. Ideally a mixture of plants may be found that will attract native wildlife year-round.
Steep land prone to erosion will be retired to native bush, species being chosen to ensure that they bind the slope. These may include Tanekaha (already present on the site), Kanuka, Manuka, Kohuhu (also present) and Lace Bark. For Purposes of Aesthetics, Poplar trees in conjunction with native tree species will be planted as street trees and as shelterbelts, which will be arranged to reduce the buildings visual impact between each other. Kohuhu is one native able to be used as a shelter belt, while native specimen trees may consist of Totara, Tanehaha or Rimu as they are already present and tolerant to some exposure. Through these vegetated areas, walking tracks have been placed to provide leisure opportunities, connections across the site and to enhance the conspicuousness of the vegetation. An artificial lake is to be constructed at the base of the site to provide the final stage of storm water treatment and to provide aesthetic quality to the site. Initial treatment of storm water will be done upstream in smaller ponds, which are easier to maintain. Development on North Facing slopes will be encouraged to allow Architects to take advantage of the lighting and heating potential. These buildings will have height restrictions in some places to ensure that they do not shade out those on the southern slopes. These buildings and slopes may used to generate electricity or heating from solar panels or Ground source heating systems.
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The Site as seen form the Air, the building shown are only indicative, development on the site will likely occur according to the need of each client. The general size, likely shape and density of the business park buildings is what is being illustrated above. The total floor area of the illustrated buildings is 14.2 Ha. Seen to the right is the proposed railway passes through the site. 14
This will be catered for in the design by a reserve of land,until built. Running through the site are two roads. The one on the right, an extension of Waterloo Road is the primary circulation, and will tie the site together with it’s surroundings as a bus route.
The secondary circulation road (seen running up the valley) will provide access to carparks and building on the lower slopes of the valley. Some carparks may be able to be built under buildings. Also seen here are the smaller walking and cycling tracks that tie the site together and provide a route for pedestrians across the site. They also highlight the stream planting and may
be used for leisure. Finally street trees and aesthetic shelterbelts will be made up of a mixture of exotic and native trees. The Poplar was chosen as it gave the area it’s name and reflects the sites history. 15
Walking and cycling Poplar Lake in it’s surroundings. The red lines map direct walking and cycling routes. The centre red line represents the distance covered walking 5 minutes from the sites key buildings. The next line is representative of a 10-15 min walk. The outer red line is representative of a 1020 min cycle (if you are fit). All of these distances don’t take into account obstacles. This reveals most of the Millwater and Silverdale are within walking distance of the Poplar Lake, making walking and cycling a viable option for commuting.
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