Description:

"What if in 2200 there was a new way of life in Te Awakairangi and humans inhabited the sky above the valley, leaving the valley floor to regenerate..?"

The Garden City In The Sky is a speculative new way of life envisioned for Te Awakairangi Ki Tai, Lower Hutt, New Zealand. The project draws on spatial design strategies to encourage shifts towards regenerative futures in the face of climate change. Imagining and dreaming about futures opens space to discuss new perspectives and alternative ways of being. Speculative design unsettles the present, rather than predicts the future, suggesting we need to be more bold with our designs in order to achieve our dreams and a future that cares for both human and non-human life. In this design human life is lifted into the sky to float among the clouds, making way for the whenua (land) and awa (river) to regenerate, taking their desired courses, untamed, on the valley floor below. In the last census (2018) Te Awakairangi housed over 40,000 private dwellings. The Garden City In The Sky suggests these could be replaced by approximately 150 garden towers in the sky made up from modular structures, easily modified to match population growth. Each cuboid is designed to take up as little ground space as possible (being on stilts) yet, still contain all of the essential elements to ensure the health, happiness and well-being of all inhabitants.

The structure acts as a warning against the monotonous effect of our current city design and the damages of unchecked urban expansion on the environment. Within the meta-proposal, plants and people alike live a simple way of life which not only supports the resilience of community but also, its natural ecologies. To acknowledge the past, present, and future human impacts on Te Awakairangi, especially in the face of inevitable climate change, a nature-based approach is adopted, uplifting indigenous knowledge, especially Māori guardianship and care for the land. Urgent adaptation is necessary for humanity, and this supercity emphasises sustainable ways of living and being as its driving design force. Monitoring and controlling water, energy and waste to have a regenerative power on the surrounding environment is essential to the system.

‘Energy trees’ inspired by the native Nikau palm, cluster on the rooftops with bountiful sustainable purposes such as providing shade, water and solar collection. Rooftop farms sprawl across the sky, nourishing the residents both physically and mentally.
Glass is the most dominant material which allows nature into the home and encourages the feeling of encapsulation. From the exterior, the landscape visually merges with the garden city. From the skies, the inhabitants are surrounded by lush forests, meandering rivers, and flourishing wildlife. Through this harmonious coexistence, both humans and the land are revitalised, embracing a future where the sky becomes a sanctuary of human life and the land below thrives with renewed vitality.