Subscribe to RSSQueens Party Central To Be ‘The Cloud’
The Government’s new design for the redeveloped Queens Wharf has been released and it’s called “The Cloud.”
Prime Minister John Key says it’s “an exciting design.”
It features landscaped open areas and a multi-purpose temporary facility named The Cloud.
The Cloud will be able to hold almost 6,000 people and will be used for concerts and festival events, as a fan zone during RWC matches, and for showcasing and hosting.
The mezzanine space at the harbour end of The Cloud will be used as an international media lounge and for VIP hosting.
The Cloud will also host a Tourism New Zealand i-Site, where trained staff will help to promote the accompanying RWC New Zealand festival and regional and national tourist attractions.
The prime minister says: “This is an exciting design, which alongside developments in the Wynyard Quarter will do a great job opening up the Auckland waterfront to the public and the 85,000 overseas visitors that will travel here for the Rugby World Cup.
“Queens Wharf will be at the heart of the celebrations next year. The facilities on the wharf will not only enable the public to enjoy the games in a unique atmosphere, but offer live events and a great venue to showcase the best of New Zealand.”
Mr Key says redevelopment work is already underway and on schedule to be finished in time for the Rugby World Cup.
Shed 10 will also be refurbished and remain on site.
Work has just begun on dismantling the other shed and that will be put in storage for up to two years.
The government statement says that Queens Wharf will be open every day from late morning throughout the 45 days of the Rugby World Cup. (It’s been pointed out the wharf is now already open 24/7 since the ARC’s Mike Lee  “opened the gates” in April).
It’ll be interesting to see what they do with the inside of the shed:
22 Comments
Cant wait to have this done, along with the Wynyard Quarter it should really open up the waterfront. Now all we need is a tram from there along Tamaki Drive.
On another note look at how friggin ugly those sheds are.
Will any exterior refurbishment be done to Shed 10?That fugly piece of crap could do with a fresh lick of paint, or better, demolished.
Again have either of you seen the insides of shed 10?
Some new cladding and a new roof would do wonders to its exterior appeal. On the inside there is huge potential with the way the metal beams are laid out and with the right fit out could be spectacular.
(I used to think it should be demolished until I actually saw the thing in person)
As for the temporary structure, it still looks like a slug regardless of the spin the government try and out on it. Will it ever be able to be used again after the RWC or is it going to just be taken to the tip?
@Matt L The govt today says the Cloud may live on beyond RWC.
“Will any exterior refurbishment be done to Shed 10″
There will be both interior and exterior refurbishment of Shed 10, as per one of Jon C’s recent posts.
The new structure looks alright to me - opinions can differ - but admittedly, the two don’t harmonise well together. In my opinion neither the shed currently being dismantled nor Shed 10 need to stay exactly where they are now in the long run, but they should be part of the waterfront.
@Matt L - I have seen and smelt the Shed 10 and want it gone before my tax money pays anything towards it.
Shed 10 is fantastic IMO, they plan to replace the exterior cladding and remove the fake ceiling on the inside. However, as it is it has a great atmosphere and the wood and metal work is amazing.
to refurbish it you pretty much need to replace everything but a few steel columns, surely it would have been more beneficial to demolish it and just use the steel columns in a new design, even though no historical significance. Now our taxpayers money is getting wasted on spending twice as much to do the same job. Typical Auckland I guess, when something of value is there we tear it down, when it’s of no value we try to preserve it.
Assuming there will be computers there somewhere, is this what they mean by cloud computing?
Good to see one of the sheds go. The cloud is a great structure, but i wouldnt want it to be there for too long.
After they have some plans for a permanent iconic feature for Auckland waterfront, the temporary cloud should be dimantled and taken down to a smaller city like Tauranga who could potentially benefit from it, by using it as a cruise terminal or event centre (festivals/concerts/etc.)
why does it have to be temp? moving it has mentioned above is a great idea.
if they are going to spend that much on it, rather call it temp why not call it” transportable.
I still think the sheds should be demolished but used i the building of this structure.
there is a similar structure like this in the states somewhere, or mooted, that had the roof section as the american flag.
Jon can you get us any more info on it? like its actual size?
this thing could really be used a ferry terminal somewhere once its done with.
I just don’t understand why designs can’t be drawn up so that it can reused somewhere else… aren’t we suppose to be a clean green land?
@Carl There have been no official decisions post RWC except the prime minister did suggest that the shed “may” be used for the cruise ship terminal handling facility which is the next step but plans are publicly vague.
@ Matt L: Yes, I was unfortunate enough to see this atrocity on the waterfront about a month ago. The sheds just don’t harmonize well with the serenity of the sea, and no amount of refurbishment to these fugly sheds will justify its embarrassing existence to this day. At least pigeons were making good use of Shed 10 as a nesting and pooping ground. Hopefully after the RWC an iconic permanent structure will grace Queens Wharf and make Aucklanders feel proud of their waterfront.
Suwoop, that assumes we aren’t already proud of the waterfront. I certainly am, whether or not that makes me in sync with those people who have come down on one or the other side of the “It’s dreadfully, ABSOLUTELY important that Shed 10 stays/goes”.
Karl, Auckland infrastructure is of great importance to me, so I guess I’m just really passionate about the aesthetic side of things. I’m of the belief that Queens Wharf should be the location of a future architecturally beautiful structure to rival the likes of Sydney’s magnificent Opera House. I just can’t, and WON’T settle for mediocrity.
I think Queen’s Wharf is to small for that - something like that should go onto Wynyard Point, in the new quarter. I certainly don’t think a cruise ship terminal will change our city, even if it were pretty stunning (don’t get me wrong, I am happy to have a new cruise ship terminal, its an important economic factor - but it will not change anything for Aucklanders).
And I don’t really think we need (more) Opera Houses or Sports Stadia, waterfront or else, so I am a bit at a loss as to what we should build. Maybe that is an example of the mediocrity you decry, but I see little reason to spend what is likely to be hundreds of millions “just because”. Before you can get people on board (and before one demolishes sturctures permanently), a great new concept should be proposed.
I actually liked some of the past concept for Queen’s Wharf. Some were grand schemes (notably, the ones that I liked weren’t very rounded - I just don’t think that fits well with the area), and I would have been happy to see the sheds moved elsewhere or incorporated into them to see those realised.
But the “Cloud” in my opinion doesn’t rise to the Opera House level of awesomeness you wish for, and I think it looks only a little better than the “Slug” of earlier designs - so I remain of the opinion that a temporary spruce-up would have been fine for the RWC. This is supposed to be an outdoor country, celebrating an outdoor, “manly” sport - why do we need a pretty permanent (and “permanent-level expensive”) indoors facility to have a party?
Whoops, that got longer than I thought it would.
Karl - Were talking about winter/spring timing on Queens Walf, we are going to need a indoor area for this event. Rain and heavy winds are not unusal at this time, heck just look at the weather we had this September/October.
Also having a decent Crusie Ship Terminal is vitial for our tourism Dollars, If we get it right we could become more than just a stop over, which means more money into the city. (BTW - thats good for Aucklanders)
Wellington an Picton desperately needs a new Interisland terminal. The current terminal in both Picton and the city is run down, crowded and uncomfortable.
Maybe they could use half and half for that?
I often hear we would like an iconic structure like the Sydney Opera house. But how many people know it cost $100 million in 1970′s dollars, 14 times over budget. Also it took 15 years instead of 5 to build.
Many have tried and failed to build something similar for their city so I wouldn’t count on easily finding an affordable iconic building to put on the site.
The sheds at least are unique structures, and I doubt any other world class city would demolish the sheds, especially with no plan to do anything with the site afterwards.
Lets hope from now on the govt stops imposing the personal view of a couple of Ministers on Auckland, and lets the people and council prepare a proper waterfront masterplan to ensure appropriate development.
Luke - How are they Unique? They are actually quite common it’s litterally steel members with corragated Iron Roof. They get dismantled all over the world because they are cheap. Most of the world try to protect things that really are Unique or historical, not tin sheds.
they can’t be unique, because the term unique can really only mean one thing.
as I keep suggesting, pull them apart and with this new piece, infuse it in to it. seriously we are talking about a couple of sheds that have been around since the begining of time, what would happen if one was to collapse during the “fixing” or the use of it? Imagine if someone died or get seriously injured? you’d never hear the end of it.
guys lets all be serious here, if we are going to be on the world scene do we really need the british press wanking on (because they will) about these shitty sheds, or these two “dogs” of structures?
drop them, reuse them and make something great.
not awesome, not over hyped, just great.
oh and btw, we don’t require an opera house either, for anyone who thinks thats what nz needs.
we don’t have the population, or the need for it.
we have the vector arena (which is in the wrong place) and we have plenty of other great venues in the city al ready.
they should be fixing the ST James and have that ready as well, imagine staging something there during the WRC. now that would be amazing!