Drury South Precinct, South Auckland

The Drury South precinct in South Auckland is a 361-hectare mixed-use/major urban development rezoned under the Auckland Unitary Plan. It includes a 42-hectare residential subdivision, a 178-hectare industrial subdivision and significant green space and flood management areas.

We mobilised a large team and covered all key engineering design aspects as a “one-stop shop”. As the Lead Design Consultant for the industrial subdivision, Tonkin + Taylor is responsible for the design of all civil works, including three waters, all dry services, flood management assessment and design, wetland and stream diversion and design, roads, bulk earthworks and terrain design. This also includes management of other design consultants responsible for landscaping, pavement, structural and lighting design. We provide MSQA and construction support services throughout all work, followed by certification, and then manage the close-out and vesting of assets back to Auckland Council and their relevant CCOs, and the titling process through to LINZ.

This included the provision of a project office during the main design period to ensure effective coordination and foster innovation.

For the design of the large wetland, the project team discarded the conventional survey-analysis-design approach in favour of a novel metaphor-based design approach to maximise creative outcomes. This collaborative process, guided by symbolism and metaphor, delivered an innovative design for this significant wetland, while 3D modelling and machine control were critical for efficiently constructing the complex, curvilinear earthworks.

Māori history was of particular importance to the Drury South area. It was important that Māori culture define a significant part of the landscape. The project teams engaged Mana Whenua groups to reference and integrate significant historical elements of the area into the wetland design, including Tohu, Ahi Ka, Mana, and Mahi Toi design principles. For this ongoing project (started in 2017), Tonkin + Taylor, as the lead consultant, worked alongside Boffa Miskell and Mana Whenua to ensure the design represented and recognised local iwi matāuranga māori (Mana principle).

Tonkin + Taylor, together with Boffa Miskell’s landscape architects, worked alongside Ngāti Tamaoho artists Ted Ngataki and Maaka Potini, Ngāti Te Ata, Ngāti Tai ki Tāmaki, and developers, Drury South Crossing Ltd, to incorporate Tikanga Māori and the concept of a tuna (long-fin eel) into the wetland design. The entire design of the functioning water-cleansing wetland was based on the tuna’s sketch. This resulted in a unique aesthetic for the wetland, while giving the Drury South site cultural identity and meaning.

Drury South Crossing features over 17km of walking and cycling paths, more than half a million native plants, hundreds of street trees, and 90 hectares of developed open spaces/parklands (the majority of which provide public access). When combined, these features promote exercise, mental well-being, and immersion in nature.

Our online project information management platform (ProjectOrbit) was used by the multi-consultant team to manage and distribute multiple drawings, technical documents, and other documents, including numerous revisions. It was also used to manage all construction-related communications, including RFIs, Instructions, NCRs, and close-out information.

Our 3D modelling capability has been essential. To design and construct the works efficiently, including avoiding costly clashes during construction, the existing terrain and proposed earthworks and infrastructure have been extensively modelled and made available to the design and construction teams.

Key to enabling the project was an extensive flood and hydrological modelling capability that allowed us to derive a solution and gain approval from the Auckland Council to develop the site within an existing floodplain without adverse effects outside the property boundary.

The flood models covering the project precinct area and managed by Auckland Council were suitable for the large catchment-wide (macro-scale) modelling used to confirm the feasibility design and gain resource consent for the precinct.  However, they were not suited for the detailed design of the floodplain and related features, as they were too coarse for that purpose. Our modelling specialists developed an equivalent project-specific model in alternative software, which was much better suited to the required level of detail, and the Auckland Council approved its use going forward. This significantly improved the efficiency and accuracy of the modelling, allowing Tonkin + Taylor to develop more innovative and refined designs that produced excellent results for the client.