Building a community
The Sandhills: A master-planned community in NZ that will focus on placemaking and new urbanism.
JKP had the pleasure of creating an overview of the Sandhills Community vision for our client to present to the Tauranga City Council and community members.
“A city is not an accident but the result of coherent visions and aims!”
Leon Krier -The Architecture of Community.
Build a sustainable community. Provide a high standard of living for a large cross-section of the community and supply housing options for various incomes and demographics.
Increase residential density through a range of residential typologies. A mix of residential building types includes single-family homes, apartments, townhouses/duplexes, courtyard houses, and multi-family residences; this will incorporate studios and one and two-bedroom accommodations.
Support the delivery of SmartGrowth’s Strategic principles, including the ‘live, learn, work, and play philosophy. SmartGrowth provides a unified vision, direction, and voice for the future of the Western Bay of Plenty. As well as taking into account a range of environmental, social, economic and cultural matters, the strategy identifies opportunities for building our community. It has a 50-year horizon focusing on the next 20 years.
Implement placemaking and create public spaces that promote people’s health, happiness, and well-being. Create squares and parks as multi-use destinations to help the community feel better connected to their surroundings.
Design the streets as comfortable and safe places for everyone - for pedestrians and cyclists as well as drivers. Ensure the human experience is at a premium with great cycling and pedestrian provisions.
Create a highly liveable environment that celebrates the proximity of the sea and the river.
Provide diversity and open spaces for the public - a strong neighbourhood focus.
Good connectivity within the development and to Rangiuru Business Park and surrounding areas via The Kaituna Link and Tauranga Eastern Link.
Create a ‘fine grain’ pattern of blocks to create a visually interesting environment to promote walkability, community interaction, vitality, and safety. A ‘fine grain’ (pattern of blocks) is essential as it makes for a visually exciting environment and encourages walking. If buildings provide active frontages to the public realm, there is more interaction, vitality, and safety. Blocks shouldn’t be too big and impermeable. Widths are determined by typology, and block lengths are more arbitrary. Residential blocks should ideally range between 120-140m.
Green streets and pedestrian networks that allow high-quality walking and cycling experiences.
A pedestrian-friendly feel for this community, walking to amenities will be 5-10 minutes, minimising automobile usage with cafes and convenient shopping to meet your daily needs.