Kai Tahi is a new symbol for Porirua to re-orientate and connect the town to the sea, where previously it turned its back. This meeting place on the water’s edge embraces a diverse range of vibrant offerings and, with its adjacency to Pataka Art + Museum, connects food, wellbeing and cultural activities.
Kai Tahi comprises a 600sqm arcade linked to a 1700sqm retail market hall that initiates a new urban pedestrian system similar to Asian/European covered bazaars and street-market arcades: think Isfahan in Istanbul and Brunelleschi’s urban pedestrian system for Renaissance Florence.
The project is a combination of two design strategies. The first involved the transformation of the existing commercial building, respecting the industrial shed’s material and spatial qualities to improve its performance and sustainability. The second is a new approach, utilising renewable materials and sustainable systems such as renewable energy, water harvesting and digital fabrication.
Reuse of the existing building envelope was a key aspect of the overall design, which minimises the carbon footprint of the building. Kai Tahi’s services were designed from the initial concept to be driven by sustainable design principles, which resulted in the building having sensor-monitored actuator passive cooling and ventilation systems, retro-fitted insulation together with thermal mass within the arcade, and water harvesting to tanks fixed like saddle bags to the existing concrete boundary wall. The system provides grey water to toilets and roof gardens.
Every decision, from soffit finishes to the location of public pathways, reflects a biophilic, site-specific ethos.
Seismic performance has been fully upgraded through additional foundation beams and structural wall and roof bracing. The new timber arcade is extremely light and operates independently, having been engineered to ‘walk’ in any seismic event, an attribute which can be seen in the detailing around the timber legs.
With the quality of water in the harbour being Porirua’s most pressing environmental concern, the flow of stormwater into the harbour has been attenuated by storage tanks and any concrete removed (to allow the installation of new ground beams) was cut out in clean slabs and repurposed for use on the harbour-restoration project being undertaken by Porirua City Council.
Kai Tahi is a welcome step towards transforming Porirua’s waterfront. It’s a transformation that has occurred on a cosmic scale, through connection to the sky and the cycles of sun and moon, on a landscape scale through connection to natural landscape of land and water (whenua), and on an urban scale linking sea to city. Kai Tahi is a gift to the community — a new landmark and destination for locals to mix and mingle.
The large spans of the repurposed market hall provide an expansive space, uninterrupted by structure, that lends itself to a very flexible, multi-tenant environment with few spatial constraints. A clerestory and lanterns bring more sunlight and fresh air to the interior, while the service lane, with a 60m mural by local artist Michel Tuffery, has been transformed into a vibrant, light-filled arcade connecting to nature. It establishes a new axis, like an amphibian walking up from the sea toward the town centre.
Conceptually, the project is inspired by its connection to the sea, from where we all evolved. The central idea is to seed a fresh identity and new meaning for the site and its waterfront context.
KAI TAHI
20 Parumoana Street, Porirua
OWNER THE WOOLSTORE GROUP
DEVELOPER THE WOOLSTORE GROUP
CONSTRUCTION THE WOOLSTORE GROUP
ARCHITECT CMA+U, MACKAY CURTIS
SERVICE ENGINEER 335
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER DUNNING THORNTON CONSULTANTS
MECHANICAL ENGINEER 335
QUANTITY SURVEYOR ORTUS
PROJECT MANAGER THE WOOLSTORE GROUP
CONSULTANTS HOLMES FIRE; TONKIN + TAYLOR
Photo credits: Photography by Chris Burks