38 LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE AOTEAROA
ABOVE : Auckland-based company Coffey worked closely with Isthmus Group to produce the detailed design of approximately 400 linear metres of curved timber crib retaining walls for the pond areas of the reserve .
He said the iwi groups had slightly different priorities that covered planting , ecology , restoration and also included an eel gathering area at the lower end of the site , which led the designers to reinforce the hinaki ( eel pot / basket ) references in an area known to have been a good tuna ( eel ) gathering site . The designs are not traditional patterns with particular meaning but are rather abstract , contemporary interpretations of basket weaving or woven rope patterns .
Two storm water ponds are now open and the third is yet to be constructed in a neighbouring residential development . The different programmes for each pond include a skate park and kick-ball space at the top pond and a weaving garden and event space planted with harvestable harakeke species inside the central basket . The ponds provide an arrival experience into the town centre and one of the crib walls forms a gateway across a road , also acknowledging the stream that runs beneath .
“ Internally [ the walls ] create a contained space , spaces that can be occupied and vantage points you look out from . They are retaining the land and concealing