Quay Street recalibrates the interface between Tāmaki Makaurau and Te Waitematā, converting a traffic-dominated street into a people-priority waterfront corridor. The project transforms the street from a six-lane barrier severing city from sea into a generous public realm that strengthens ecological, cultural and economic exchange at the harbour edge.

The design responds to the historic disconnection between downtown and waterfront, heavy transport flows, coastal ecology and the need to restore the mauri of the harbour interface. Movement systems were rebalanced to prioritise walking, cycling and public transport, while embedding stormwater treatment and native planting as integral components of the street structure.

Vehicular lanes were reduced from six to one in each direction, pedestrian space increased from 40% to 70%, and 100% of surface runoff is treated before entering the harbour. Generous promenades, protected cycleways and a continuous native planting strategy establish a resilient green edge that reasserts the harbour edge as Auckland’s civic front door.

Quay Street operates as Auckland’s waterfront spine - an immersive urban corridor where mobility, ecology and public life coexist. It demonstrates how landscape-led infrastructure can restore connection, reinforce mauri (life force) and transform the everyday street into civic and environmental infrastructure.