CityTown recognised in regional architecture awards

Thursday, 9 May 2024

The Timaru District Council announced Auckland-headquartered design studio Isthmus Group as the urban design consultant for the overhaul of Timaru’s CBD in November 2021. (File photo)

A controversial project to reimagine Timaru’s CBD, part of which was sidelined by the council more than a year ago, has been recognised in the Canterbury architecture awards.

Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects Awards, which were announced at an event at the Christchurch Town Hall on Thursday evening, recognised 25 projects from across the Canterbury region.

The Timaru CityTown Regeneration Strategy, by Isthmus Group and Gap Filler, was awarded in the Planning & Urban Design category for its renewal plan for the Timaru town centre.

Sebastian Adbulranen, then aged 7, using a new view finder which was installed at Timaru’s Piazza as part of the CityTown trials in 2023.

In November 2021, the council announced it had appointed the Auckland-headquartered design studio Isthmus Group as its urban design consultants for the first major overhaul of the CBD in 25 years, and that it would work in collaboration with Christchurch-based place-making social enterprise Gap Filler.

The $34 million project included a series of ‘activations’ known as the CityTown trials, which started with the installation of a temporary stage at Strathallan Corner.

Since then there has been an outdoor escape room, a giant tetherball installed under Strathallan Bridge, an outdoor table tennis set up, an Instagrammable large pink chair moved about the CBD, and an interactive inner city beach set up.

In launching the trials, the council’s development manager Rosie Oliver said they would help the council try out ideas before committing to any big-ticket items.

Timaru’s new Christmas tree was installed for the first time ahead of Christmas 2023.

Speaking at a stakeholder update in June 2022, Gap Filler director Ryan Reynolds acknowledged spending thousands on trials which may not be adopted was “an uncommon way to work” for councils, but said it might avoid spending even more money on the wrong thing, or on things that later have to be reversed.

Speaking in October 2022, CityTown design team leader Helen Kerr said the project had a clear priority to increase the number of people living in the CBD and the “bite-sized recreation installations” aimed to make it a more vibrant space.

The project also included the opening of a downtown office space, work to address Timaru’s long running slippery tile issue, and the purchase and installation of the region’s largest, and most expensive, Christmas tree.

As part of the work, the council also launched a website which featured project updates and background documents.

The layout of George and Station streets has been altered as part of a trial deemed a “total failure” by Timaru’s mayor.

In March 2023, the trials were put on hold following a trial to alter the layout of George and Station streets being labelled a “total failure” by mayor Nigel Bowen.

The trials, which had cost $787,500 as of March 2023, remained on hold, with some small linked projects labelled “quick wins” by the council’s group manager infrastructure, Andrew Dixon, to go ahead.

In February, Dixon told a council meeting that aside from $1.5m, budgeted in the next financial year for minor enhancements, no other work was planned. He said the upgrade of the Strathallan Corner toilets was included in that budget, as was a new digital information kiosk on Stafford St, treatment of the town’s slippery tiles and new plantings in the CBD.

A giant tetherball game, installed under the Strathallan Overbridge in 2022 as part of the project.

A citation for the project said the work not only advanced the profession, but also “demonstrated unwavering diligence and passion” and the projects served as catalysts for “profound urban transformation”.

“Through meticulous research and robust community engagement, they demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the intricacies of place with this project, laying the groundwork for impactful interventions.

“By skilfully distilling complex concepts into accessible ‘kits of parts’, their ideas are swiftly translated in to action, facilitating rapid implementation of experimental urban projects.

“Success can be measured here by the willingness of Timaru council and stakeholders to adopt and actions the strategies provided.”

Trying out the Codebreakers outdoor escape room are, from left, Ray, Jo and Jessica Tanouye and Riley and Ashton Wentworth-Smith in April 2022.

A statement, released by the institute ahead of the awards, said Isthmus Group created the plan in collaboration with tangata whenua, businesses and community stakeholders, and that demonstrated the transformative power of architecture projects.

With many heritage buildings remaining vacant or threatened by earthquake strengthening issues in Timaru, the architects’ tactical approach to community-led placemaking would create a healthy and resilient future for the heart of the town, it said.

Jury convenor Maria Chen, of Athfield Architects, said judges heard first-hand the impact the winning projects brought to clients.

“Architects demonstrated their ability to think beyond conventional boundaries, from navigating tight budgets, to accommodating intricate and demanding programming, to crafting a space.”

Chen was joined by four other judges: Nicholas Stevens, of Stevens Lawson Architects, Vanessa Carswell, of Jasmax, architecture graduate Sarah Burns, and lay juror and landscape architect, Adrian Taylor.