Well connected

In many of the world's big cities, transport infrastructure planners are encouraging city dwellers to embrace public transport. One of the major incentives to use public transport is a well-integrated system, with efficient transfers possible between bus, train and boat.

This was one of the major objectives for Brown Day Architects when upgrading Auckland's downtown ferry terminal at Piers One and Two. Architect Murray Day says Auckland Regional Transport Network Limited (ARTNL) wanted to encourage more people to use the ferries.

"Their mission statement was to increase ferry patronage by upgrading the convenience of the services and the comfort of the passengers.

"They also wanted to create a building that linked the three main berths that operate for the Waiheke Island service," he says.

Making the terminal easier to access from Britomart train station was an important way of increasing convenience for commuters. ARTNL negotiated with the Ports of Auckland to acquire an extra piece of land on the eastern side of Pier One. This extra land was used to increase the number of access points into the terminal from Britomart and to expand the vehicular drop-off and pick-up facilities. To ensure safe passage into the terminal, diagonal pedestrian lines were created between Britomart and the ferry terminal. Pedestrian access was also separated from vehicular access.

The new development increases the ferry terminal's capacity, which will ultimately allow services to be extended. Day says future services are being considered for several other locations. The terminal is designed in such a way that future expansions including improvements like intelligent ticketing will be possible.

"The building is able to accommodate future intelligent ticketing as it becomes economical to do so. It's designed for that technology they can just take out the gates and put in turnstiles instead," Day says.

Passenger comfort was just as important to ARTNL as passenger convenience. Sheltered, well-lit waiting areas that feel secure were a priority, as were good public toilets. The new toilets are located at the base of the turret structures.

"The toilets have always been a bone of contention, but now they're contemporary and easy to maintain," Day says.

The terminal with its sail-like roofs and turrets is designed to create the appearance of two ships parked outside the old ferry terminal. It was necessary to create low roof profiles so neighbouring buildings' views weren't blocked, but the roofs also needed to create enough volume inside for trucks. The seagull roof shape meets both these criteria. The design is basically a shelter with elements such as the ticket office sitting freely inside, Day says.

"The structure itself forms most of the architecture. The steel frames and the way they are detailed are very much part of the design and decoration of the building," he says.

The open structure is very easy to wash out, and has exposed services so everything can be easily retrofitted as things change and expand.

Part of the design process involved working out how to include a historic wooden shelter within the design. After consultation with heritage architects and the Urban Design Panel, it was decided to change the dog-leg shape of the historic shelter into a straight line, meaning more of the shelter could be saved.

"The final answer was that we reoriented the structure in order to make it function as part of the main entrance," Day says.

Story by: Trendsideas