Te Rimutahi has been a long, long time coming. The need for this community amenity was first identified by a Boffa-Miskell report in 2000, with the site at 254 Ponsonby Road purchased in 2006 to remedy the shortfall of open space in the area.
In April 2015, due to the high level of community interest and budget constraints, the Waitematā Local Board resolved to set up a ‘Community-Led Design Group’ (CLDG). The directive was to;
Develop a design and an indicative budget for the site using Community-Led Design principles.
And so our CLDG work began.
Now, over 10 years later, Te Rimutahi is open for everyone to enjoy, and we are delighted! Mana whenua generously gifted the name Te Rimutahi with the Waitematā Local Board, formally receiving this taonga at their business meeting on 10 December 2024. We thank mana whenua and acknowledge their tāria te wā and kaitiakitanga (long-term thinking and guardianship) of the project.
The previously unloved and dilapidated site at 254 Ponsonby Road has been transformed into a beautiful and multi-functional civic space. Te Rimutahi is now the common ground that enables everyone to come together; to rest, relax, and recreate. A place to meet new people or catch up with old friends, to enjoy some of the many activities, exhibitions & markets the space will host. These are the very things that build and nurture a community, which is why Te Rimutahi is exactly the infrastructure and amenity that the community has reliably and consistently said they wanted and needed for the site. The realisation of Te Rimutahi has created a new focus for the neighbourhood and is an attractor to the Ponsonby area, which supports the local businesses.
The CLDG is very appreciative of the considerable design expertise that LandLAB and BECA brought to the project. Their substantial existing work within Tamaki Makaurau bears testament to this expertise. It has always been an aspiration of the community for the new civic space at 254 Ponsonby Road to be an exemplar of design excellence and sustainability in urban amenity. And it was this aspiration that the design group, and the CLDG, kept front of mind throughout the decision-making process.
Once resource consent for the deconstruction of the building was granted, parts of the original structure were removed completely, opening up the frontage along Ponsonby Road, thereby creating the ‘flexible urban plaza’ area. Some vertical elements were retained and repurposed, creating the ‘green discovery room’ further into the site.
Sustainability was a core principle in the development. The retained canopy roof was strengthened, with some remedial rust removed from the existing steel structure. The new roof framing with a layer of plywood was then installed. This is where solar photovoltaic panels, which generate electricity from sunlight, are sited. The digital display is a feature that shows the amount of energy the site is generating. The sustainability ethos of the new civic space extends to both education and implementation, with the project seeking to be an exemplar in this area.
The rehabilitation and greening of the Te Rimutahi site enables rainwater infiltration, and this, alongside some of the underlying soil being de-compacted, provides a comprehensive demonstration of the twin approaches needed to mitigate stormwater runoff. This was further enhanced through the capture and reuse of rainfall from the canopy roof for irrigation. The restoration of the site is an exemplar of remediation work.
The repurposed toilet block was delivered to the site, and a new internal fit-out was then completed. The re-cladding work, which cloaks the structure with vertical wooden battens, followed. This was a sustainable repurposing of an existing asset. Public toilet amenities are often reduced to barely functional necessities, attracting a subsequent disrespect of them by users. By creating a beautiful toilet facility, the amenity is upgraded and the overall design of the civic space is enhanced, whilst encouraging more respectful use of the facility.
The drainage and underground services included a 4000-litre water storage tank sited beneath the new floor of the ‘urban canopy’ room, providing irrigation for the gardens.
The Resource Recovery report for the deconstruction of the commercial buildings at 254 Ponsonby Road, which ran from March to June 2024, 186.8 tonnes of materials were removed from the site, and 174.4 tonnes were recovered. The total project resource recovery rate at the end of June 2024 is 93.4%.
We are very appreciative of the significant contribution that BECA has made to the successful realisation of this project. Te Rimutahi is now an urban oasis that is good for the people, good for the environment, and good for Tāmaki Makaurau. Future generations will enjoy the shade of the trees we are planting here.
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