Concrete Anamnesis: Tracing Material Narratives Along Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland’s Original Shoreline

Abstract

Urban histories are textured histories—narrative threads, natural and human, woven together over space and time in a dense fabric. Concrete Anamnesis is a spatial design research inquiry into urban place-making which traces the thread of Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland’s original shoreline. Through a wandering/wondering methodology and a focus on the material imaginary of concrete, a series of public spaces which activate three vertical remnants of the lost coastline emerge.

Reacting to my experience of walking in the city, where the car dominates and sensations of place are fractured, this research centres on human-scaled environments and sensitising the urban pedestrian to the landscape. Engaging with coastal memories, this project proposes an alternative pedestrian route following the old shoreline. Along the way, a series of spaces conceived as urban interiors articulate the material histories of the sites. These settings are sensuous and invite the city-dweller to slow down and engage with their surroundings, forming a deeper connection to place.