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Te Hā Noa

The transformation of Auckland City’s Victoria Street into a linear park

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A vibrant and connected city centre

Set to become a distinctive urban corridor, the Te Hā Noa Victoria Street linear park will create a thriving outdoor space supporting walking, cycling and public life to enhance the wellbeing of people and the city’s natural environment.

Addressing the current deficit of attractive, safe, pedestrian friendly urban spaces in the central city, Te Hā Noa is part of a future ‘Green Link’ that will extend from Wynyard Point to the Domain, a key component of the Auckland City Centre Masterplan’s midtown precinct. The design delivers on the vision for a more vibrant and connected city centre by transforming the six-lane road into a two-lane vehicle thoroughfare with wide footpaths for pedestrians, cycle lanes, shade trees, furniture, and native planting for stormwater management, ecology and beauty. The linear park stretches from Waikōkota (Freeman’s Bay/Victoria Park) to Rangipuke (Albert Park) and will showcase the cultural heritage and unique identity of Tāmaki Makaurau.

The project is also integral to supporting the increased public realm requirements for the new Aotea Station, part of the City Rail Link network, projected to be New Zealand’s busiest public transport hub. With station entries on Albert and Victoria Streets, the project will provide a plaza-like public realm to support the major increase in foot traffic.

A healthy urban environment

An exemplar of a more regenerative approach to design, the public realm design strategy has been developed in partnership with mana whenua and Auckland Council through a ‘Community of Practice’ to support an increase in multi-modal approaches to transportation including green infrastructure. The success of this relationship led to the name Te Hā Noa being gifted to the project by mana whenua, which evokes a sense of freedom in experiencing one’s surroundings; to breathe and acknowledge the sights and sounds whilst journeying within the city centre and the link between Waikōkota and Rangipuke.

Incorporating ecological and biodiversity principles to enhance environmental sustainability, urban landscaping is crucial to meeting project objectives which include improving the quality of life and health of residents, enabling significantly increased foot traffic in support of growth, providing a gradation of recreational spaces, and uplifting the visitor experience. Large-stature native trees, sunny open spaces, native planting beds, seating elements and paving design will all be key in generating the park-like character reflecting Auckland’s natural landscape.