site introduction of kumeu, huapai and the north west.
1:50,000.
kumeu.
1:10,000.
kumeu.
80kph speed limit.
motorway extension. hobsonville shopping centre.
motorway extension.
auckland CBD. 100kph speed limit. westgate shopping centre.
Kumeu and Huapai are adjoining rural villages that lie on State Highway 16, 25 kilometres North-West of central Auckland, New Zealand. Throughout the past century the villages were well known as the hubs of the surrounding agricultural and horticultural industries, particularly dairy farming and wine growing. Today, Kumeu and Huapai are more recognised for lifestyle block living, small scale produce and the nearby recreational locations of Woodhill forest and Muriwai Beach. Something that interests me about Kumeu and Huapai is that their reputations of are based around processes that surround the villages and nothing that takes place in the villages themselves. Kumeu is now a 17 minute journey by car from Auckland’s CBD with the North Western motorway extension complete. This improved accessibility coupled with Auckland’s current growth rate will cause the population of Kumeu and Huapai to almost double over the next 10 years. As it is now easier and quicker than ever to travel to the city and other parts of Auckland, I believe the village centres themselves are in danger of fading even further into insignificance. New, nearby shopping, commercial and business areas that once completed, will be easily accessible due to the North Western motorway extension are being developed at Westgate and Hobsonville. These developments have been planned on clear, flat sites and most probably designed with public open space and social interaction and programming in mind. I think the people of Kumeu and Huapai will naturally gravitate to these centres if they are well designed and their local alternative is not meeting their needs. Spatial structure and landscape systems can be developed to help the businesses of Kumeu and Huapai gain clientele away from these nearby developing centres, cater for growth and at the same time nurture the rural village character of Kumeu and Huapai.
10.