Final stage of Tīramarama Way is complete

Its completion brings to life the vision of an east-west laneway through the precinct that has been planned since 2012. It represents the waterfront goal to create a ‘connected and liveable waterfront, a place that is highly accessible, easy to get to and to move around in, where people feel connected by improved pedestrian and cycling linkages’.

The laneway is lined with businesses and homes and is a focal point for the community of Wynyard Quarter. It acts as a spine for the neighbourhood and is a place that people can bump into each other on their way to and from work, or as they go for their daily walk.

On any given day or night, if you walk along Tīramarama Way, you’ll notice people using the space as intended. Cycling through, walking their dog, enjoying a coffee, moving from A to B, there’s a real life to this laneway. It’s designed to attract people, and when you walk down it you naturally take note of your surroundings.

The attention to detail that has gone into Tīramarama Way by landscape architects Wraight & Associates, and artist Lisa Reihana is worth celebrating.

Speaking about the project, Landscape Architect Nathan Young recounts: “We recognised the importance of expressing the site’s whakapapa, the historical and ongoing presence of mana whenua, as well as its future life. Whether it was the laughter of people in the past collecting kai down on the foreshore, or a child playing in a puddle in the future, we wanted the whakapapa of the place to be celebrated throughout”.

The lighting installation you’ll spot above the laneway celebrates constellations specific to Māori astronomy, including Te Puanga (The Southern Cross) and Matariki (Pleiades star cluster). On the ground beneath the nikau and kowhai trees, the native grasses and groundcovers ofkōwharawhara, mikoikoi, rengarenga, shore cotula and remuremu filter the water before it reaches the underground system, helping clean and protect our marine environment.