Kumutoto, Wellington, New Zealand

I found this company in the Landscape Institute Journal, as they had won an award for this space in New Zealand. The website is clean and simply laid out, the pictures are nearlly crisp and to the point which I really liked.
The company is based in New Zealand and was formed in 1988. They have 3 offices accross New Zealand, they work with the govenment to improve the richness of the cities. They take in to account the context of each place they design.

The Kumutoto project on Wellington’s waterfront – a collaboration between Isthmus and Studio of Pacific Architecture – has just won an International Federation of Landscape Architects award. Kumutoto was one of four Landscape Design projects from around the Asia Pacific Region awarded by a jury of seven international members to recognise outstanding examples of landscape architecture. The award was presented at the IFLA World Congress in China on 30 May.

 This project involved rebuilding a precinct on the Wellington Waterfront. It includes the development of 2 new plazas linking the city to the sea. The project includes the declaiming of existing reclaimed land at the mouth of the Kumutoto Stream and returning it to the sea. In so doing this creates a focus for the public seating and the “Kumutoto plaza”. The project also includes the building of new laneway that forms a positive space between the historic sheds 11 and 13 and the new Meridan Building. This forms a strong contrast between the modern aesthetic of the new Meridan Building and the old sheds, while functionally mediates between the pedestrians and the vehicles obtaining access to the underground carpark.

 http://www.isthmus.co.nz/?action=project-detail&id=1

Their Approach

Our values at Isthmus have developed through a commitment to design leadership. They are where we come from, where we stand, our turangawaewae:Place:  searching for the essence of the site, its real character and natural attractions
People: revealing a relationship with the land and defining a sense of New Zealand style
Culture: representing our shared identity and the ongoing evolution of a design language
Environment: creating meaningful, contemporary and sustainable places



I agree with serching for the essence of a place, this is the identity of the people who live there. The space for me should work for the area and be simple but behind it complex research and meaning, this does not need to be know to the people using the space, but if you sat down to look at what was there, you would understnad that the space a been thought about.

Their Design Values
Our design values influence our design approach. All stages of our projects are design led, with a commitment to balancing cost and program with design outcomes.
Creative: an instinctual response combined with an analytical approach
Questioning: enquiry by design and challenging assumptions
Rigorous: balancing design integrity with pragmatism to develop a buildable and appropriate solution
Engaging: a clear and common vision developed through engaging with the client, the community and other disciplines
Design qualities and the physical and experiential outcomes of design values combined with a design approach. They are the key attributes of the designed site; how it looks, feels and performs on a visual, social and functional level. Design qualities are enduring, vibrant, sustainable and have integrity.