Streetscape wins no compliments

Last updated 07:56 26/11/2014

MARION VAN DIJK

The 'Box Living' complex at Sussex Mews on Nile St. The project has been designed by Auckland design and build firm Box.

MARION VAN DIJK

Isn't it a lovely time of year to stroll around the streets of central Nelson? Fresh-minted spring foliage on trees, blowsy roses lolling over fences, mauve lilac and golden kowhai competing for attention and everywhere the buzz of rebirth, green and carefree, galloping joyfully along.

And the walk along Nile St from the School of Music towards the Cathedral grounds is one of the prettier locations in central Nelson. Or at least, it used to be. Take a walk along the street now the Sussex Mews development is in its final stages and see if you don't agree with me that something is terribly awry with the streetscape.

At first glance it looks as if Port Nelson has established a rather neat storage site for their more ritzy containers, stacking them behind a high concrete wall. But as you move closer and peer down the central alleyway you will realise this is a residential development.

I wrote about Sussex Mews, designed by Auckland firm Box Living, in June last year. I didn't like the prospect of it then and I like it even less now it's appeared in its 'boxy' chocolate brown and slab concrete reality.

The problem with this development is not the design itself. Box Living's container-like modular system looks terrific in other contexts, such as the up-market "lock and leave" holiday homes on bush-clad sections shown on their website.

The problem is the siting of the design. This design just doesn't work in this streetscape.

Good urban building design takes its surroundings into account: the scale and appearance of other buildings, the angle of the sun, trees and vegetation that affect light and shade, the scale and sightlines of the street itself, the spaces created and defined by the new building and its neighbours - all these are important factors in designing for a particular site.

On the face of it, these considerations appear not to have influenced Sussex Mews' design.

The worst feature of the development is that it completely turns its back on Nile St, orientating itself inward towards its central laneway. The blank wall facing the street is a profound rejection of its environment and effectively obviates any potential relationship between Sussex Mews and the rest of the street.

On this side of Nile St pedestrians now pass a car park, Bishop's School, Marsden House, the Mews' concrete slab wall and another car park. The green vine planned to drape the grey wall will add to the dank atmosphere as the sun moves west later in the day.

This wall and the large, darkly framed window modules that look down on the street give the cold shoulder to the cottages on the other side.

Box Living uses a modular system that is described on their website as "architectural pre-fab style building". Standing across the road on the south side of Nile St you can clearly see the external load bearing framing, supported by stainless steel cross braces. The design, inspired by 1960's modernism, according to Box Living's architect Tim Dorrington, openly mocks the modest colonial pretensions of the cottages on the opposite side of Nile Street.

And then there's the colour. Dark brown was part of the Victorian and Edwardian palette, but as a trim, not as a dominant colour. According to their website, Box Living's modular system can easily vary cladding material and colour. Why wasn't a more sympathetic colour at least considered?

NCC's zoning and urban design policies have no teeth at all when it comes to the look of developments like Sussex Mews.

In this case, the land was zoned commercial and I suppose we must be grateful that a "big box" retailer or a lurid green Countdown supermarket did not end up on the site. The city council has published a Nelson Inner City Design Guide whose intention is to "ensure that new building development is sensitive to the existing visual qualities of our city." Amongst these qualities is "an attractive legacy of Victorian and Edwardian buildings".

The guide does not rule out modern buildings but states they should be in sympathy with the existing streetscape. Unfortunately, the design guide covers only Trafalgar, Bridge and Hardy streets.

The NCC also has an Urban Design Panel. Developers can make use of the services of the panel members to critique plans and give advice on designs. But this is an optional service. No developer is required to consult the Urban Design Panel.

It's a real shame that Sussex Mews was not designed with more consideration for its surroundings. And it's equally shameful that the Nelson City Council is toothless in its response to inappropriate development.

I believe good policy on urban design can deliver to community interests and the "bottom line", a natural and justifiable concern for developers. While taste in architecture is undeniably subjective, the community that has to live long-term with a development must surely have some right to moderate urban design proposals through its elected representatives. It's time we saw more teeth in NCC's approach.

- The Nelson Mail