Princes Wharf, on Auckland's waterfront, was a 1930s concrete warf/warehouse that the Auckland Harbour Board offered for commercial development in 1986. The project promised to be massive - worth over $350 million to the closen developer. The project was put to tender and ten proposals were submitted, of which three were short-listed. I was employed as a design consultant for the final submission by one of the three - MACE Development. I was asked to consult on design content,bulk and location, visual appearance and most significantly social and cultural content. - developing a Pattern Language to guide development. I  also advised on the design and content of the final submission brochure which formed the basis of the finished design.

 

The proposal included a major hotel complex, a theatre, a multiplicity of commercial spaces, restaurants and cafés, a maritime museum and a festival market. The MACE proposal was the successful proposal and was accepted for construction by the Harbour Board. The development  was overtaken by the 1987 stock-market crash and the proposal was shelved. MACE Development went into receivership.

Princes Wharf on Auckland's waterfront