In studio this week, we brought together our research and chose what best depicted what we wanted to portray as a group in our site map. We focused on the natural aspects of the area surrounding our site, especially the waterflow of the Waihorotiu stream below Auckland City and the waterflow after rainfall on the surface. We used our combined research, maps and diagrams to portray our idea and interpretation of the site. This was our group site map.
Group Site Mapping 
Presenting our Group Site Maps
Creating and presenting the group site maps really helped clarify what I needed to do for my own individual site map and how I was going to go about it. A prominent feature I had noticed in our exploration around the site was the movement and flow of traffic and people and how they moved throughout and worked alongside with the surrounding environment. In a way, the surrounding environment was the riverbanks that guided the moving life throughout the city.
Another interesting fact I learnt was that there were streams that used to runn above ground through Queen St and surrounding areas and that when the city was being developed, they were preserved and built on top of. This amazed me and me realise that there are many layers of movement and flow in our city, both above and below ground.
Another interesting fact that I looked more into in my research was the old military tunnels beneath Albert Park. After doing further research into the tunnels I learnt that they were closed after World War II and haven’t been used since. Auckland Council has also talked about for the last year about reopening the tunnels as a public walkway to allow the public to move about our city’s extruded landscape easier and more efficiently. This along with the underground stream, waterflow on the streets of Auckland City and the constant, already existing movement and flow of traffic and people above ground, would help in creating a series of layers of movement to the city, an example of how a city never sleeps. From this research and information, I was able to create a site map that highlighted and depicted the layers of flow and movement in the surrounding area to the St Paul St Gallery Space 3.
In order to represent the layers of the area, I used both white paper and butter paper. On the base piece of whitepaper, I recreated the underground stream to show the flow beneath the surface and the origin and beginning of the city. I also showed the section view of the Albert Park tunnels to highlight the other possibility for flow and movement that we don’t necessarily consider or see when exploring the above surface world of our city. This page acted as the underlay and base for my site mapping.
On the top layer of butter paper I drew some sketches of different views of Albert Park and scenes from when we moved towards the site and positioned them out to create the effect of movement from one space to the next. The fountain, a prominent feature in Albert Park, was the beginning point for me. It created the repetition of the water and flowing aspect of my site map. The bridge depicted in this document not only evoked movement but also represented the threshold between the space of Albert Park and the space of St Paul St Gallery 3. Further though the journey of moving from Albert Park to the site depicted in my site mapping, I focus more on the building the site is situated in and its details.
Together, these documents show the layers of movement and flow in and around my site and also highlights the fact that the space we occupy isn’t solely made up of what we can see, hear, taste, touch and smell.
Spatial Design by Ciara 