Lake Pupuke

The natural crater Lake Pupuke in Takapuna Auckland, is adjacent to a historical basalt quarry excavation site. The original quarry area has since been filled with fresh water and together with Lake Pupuke, is utilised as a public amenity area with activities such as diving, windsurfing, rowing, kayaking, canoe polo and model sail boating all forming part of the recreational activities in the area. The Quarry Lake is separated from Lake Pupuke by a basalt rubble formed bund. Many of the local community use the bund as a walkway to get from the rowing club on the southern side to the hospital area to the north, or as part of a walk around much of the perimeter of Lake Pupuke. During rowing regattas and other events, the bund and surrounding park areas are used by spectators.   Parts of the bund wall had begun to show signs of failure and collapse. Auckland Council’s Parks Department commissioned ARAL and Bespoke to develop a design to restore the bund wall, incorporate a walkway for public use, formalise the spillway between the two lakes, improve the amenity of the site, remove exotic species and incorporate native planting both along the bund and in Quarry Lake itself to improve the ecological value of both the park and Quarry Lake.   The project required consultation with multiple stakeholders, including Auckland Transport, the North Shore Hospital and the recreational users including the Rowing Club, Kayak Club and model sailing club.   The project construction has only recently been completed with a cantilevered jetty structure to be constructed at a later date. The scope of work included Concept and Detailed design work, development of documentation to support the required consents, assistance with tendering for construction, construction supervision and fulfilling the engineer to contract role.