(Re)Blurring Coast: Architecture Within the Coastal Threshold of the Waitematā Harbour

The coast is the threshold between two distinct zones: land and sea. In an island nation, architecture so often finds itself in a position where, through time, it can occupy both. Hence, the architecture of the foreshore is subjected to the duality of these zones. Time is the contingency which regularly transforms the surrounding site of the architecture and thus regularly transforms its context. This research asks to what extent architecture can expand on the temporal condition of the coastal threshold, and make it spatially appreciable to people? Architecture is a key tool in creating static boundaries, but what if buildings could call attention to blurred boundaries? How might it respond to the dynamics of the foreshore? How might it be blurred by the coast?

This research builds on the work of Jacky Bowring, Nancy Vance and Mick Abbott in ‘Living with the Sea: Knowledge Awareness and Action’ (Brown & Peters, 2018). The authors discuss how coast- situated architecture can challenge the binary oppositions of land and sea, by treating the shared space as a liminal zone. This thesis also draws on the ideas of David Leatherbarrow and Mohsen Mostafavi, whose work discusses how material weathering indicates time and change. To expand upon this theoretical base, an iterative design process of drawing and physical model-making is employed. A sequence of designed experiments are tested to illustrate how architecture may contribute to a greater collective understanding of the temporal coastal space.

This design-led research discusses how key architectural characteristics could modify temporal conditions of the coast, such as rhythm, reflection translucency and weathering. These characteristics are examined as interactive phenomena through three design stages. These stages are iterative, progressively introducing scale and architectural complexity. An installation explores qualities of the coastal threshold through a design test at the scale of the body. A pavilion series highlights the possibilities of mid-scale architecture, while a larger scale building tests ideas through the design of a residence, amphitheatre and jetty. This research begins with a macro-level analysis of the New Zealand coast, then develops a particular focus on the shallow bays of the Waitematā Harbour in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland). The design propositions in the second and third stage are sited amid the foreshore of Fitzpatrick Bay in the Waitematā.

This research proposes that architecture can resonate with the temporal phenomena of the coastal zone, which invests it with a contingency of time and a liminal presence. This resonation is distilled as an architecture, with design explorations engaging form, journey, materiality and temporality. Consequently, a dialogue about the architecture, the coast and person’s passage through its temporal and spatial dimensions is communicated.