QUEENS WHARF DESIGN COMPETITION

Our entry for the Queens Wharf Design Competition:

Auckland IS the city of sails. A city of sailing! It therefore seems
legitimately obvious that the representation of Auckland could
only ever take the form of a sail and lets face it, nothing says
isthmus paradise like sail cloth.

The use of more than one sail form depicts a yacht race. A yacht
race on Queens Wharf. Which one will win? Well, none of them,
they are buildings……

Each building takes the form of either a billowing spinnaker or
tacking mainsail encapsulating the upwind and downwind
nature of a yacht race. The space within each sail is at such a
height (15m) as to potentially allow for up to 5 occupiable
floors. Sails (buildings) can also be added and removed based
on requirements. This is great.

The sails are tensile membrane structures that are supported
by a light weight steel mast and skeleton and connected to the
wharf itself. These tent-like (that is to say “sail-like”) membranes
are made of a lightweight and translucent material,
which will allow light to pass through creating an illuminating at
night, which in turn creates a lantern effect. These lanterns
will appear to float along the water beneath the wharf. The
chiaroscuro will be worthy of a Caravaggio painting.

We do not claim this idea is entirely new. The use of sails for
inspiration in form takes precedence from buildings such as Jorn
Utzon’s Sydney Opera House. However, that is in Australia and
this is in New Zealand. There is also the Burl Al Arab in Dubai,
but again, our scheme is in New Zealand so instantly more
awesome.

This is quite a great idea mostly due to the fact that sails are awesome.
Auckland IS the city of sails! There is nothing quite like a
sail to depict a city of sailing. Auckland: Sail of the century.