Tapoa Naval Point.

The 7000m2 project area includes new courts, a change pavilion serving the adjacent sports fields, a nature playspace and a 200m long landscape featuring cultural narrative, storytelling and over 2000m2 of biodiverse plantings.

Developed with Christchurch City Council and Ngāti Wheke, a key cultural landscape narrative is Ki uta ki tai – ‘From the Hills to the Harbour’. Over 70 species are planted as an ecological transect, creating a flourishing ecosystem that educates and guides visitors through a locally indigenous landscape.

The design draws on the local vernacular, repurposing LPC wharf timbers, using rusticated metals, and yellow handrails that echo nearby tanks. Wharf timbers express the original seabed depths, while the wheke (octopus) inspires a mounded playspace which was designed through collaborative workshops with the adjacent Sea Scouts. It is a project designed for the locals, with the locals – people and wildlife alike.