New Auckland footbridge changes colour with the wind
Locals gathered at dawn on July 19 to celebrate the opening of Te Kōpua o Hiku, a striking new walking and cycling connection that links both sides of the lagoon through art, culture, and consideration for the environment.
The 60-metre bridge replaced the original Jubilee Bridge, which was closed in July 2023 after engineers deemed it unsafe. The long-awaited replacement will restore a vital route for walking and cycling around the basin and introduces interactive public art that is powered by the wind.
Delivered under budget and ahead of schedule, Te Kōpua o Hiku reflected a collaboration between Ngāti Pāoa, the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, Auckland Council engineers, and the Public Art team. The project integrated cultural storytelling, functional design, and data-responsive lighting to create a new landmark.
'It adds a little bit of heart to the community'
ADVERTISEMENT
Maria Meredith, chair of the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Local Board, said the project was one of five across Auckland that the mayor praised.
"The overall bridge... was one of five projects across the city that the Mayor of Auckland was really happy with," she said. "Why? Because it was delivered differently and it came under cost."
The bridge was fabricated off-site, assembled in Pakuranga and then lifted into place with a 600-tonne crane in December 2024. Meredith said the successful outcome was due to collaboration across various council departments.
"It wasn't just Auckland Council. There was Healthy Waters, Watercare, Vector, different people all working... to get the area ready for the installation of the new bridge."
On opening day, the bridge quickly became a symbol of connection for the community.
"I met two people that were in their 90s... one lady was 90, the other one was 90... they wanted to be the eldest person to cross the bridge. I met somebody who wanted to be first on his e-bike," she said.
'The new Panmure Basin Te Kōpua o Hiku bridge really adds a little bit of heart to the community.'
ADVERTISEMENT
At night, the bridge glows with moving colour, shaped by the natural elements. (Source: Local Democracy Reporting)
A bridge built for wellbeing and everyday use
Josephine Bartley, councillor of the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward, said the bridge supports community wellbeing and everyday travel needs.
"The bridge plays a major part in people's well-being because so many people use it for exercise and they do the loop," she said. "So many people come, not just the locals, but people come from around Auckland to exercise around the basin."
The bridge is an excellent example of how public art and infrastructure can work together, blending beauty with functionality.
Bartley also highlighted the environmental benefits.
"It's not just a beautiful bridge, but it's got functional purpose as well for people's daily lives.
ADVERTISEMENT
"That particular area... we have one of the only shag colonies left in the suburbs. So it's good that it's finally finished, no more disruption for the birds there."
She said the bridge's design came together through strategic thinking that allowed for more funding.
"In making the bridge a public art installation, we were able to use public art money to go towards the cost of the new bridge. So I think it's a very clever way to have public art in a community, but also for a functioning community."
Where art meets ancestry
Ngāti Pāoa named the bridge Te Kōpua o Hiku, referring to the deep pool beneath it, which has long been associated with the taniwha Moko-ika-hiku-waru.
Meredith said the iwi has always referred to the area by this name.
"That particular area for many centuries has always been known as Te Kōpua o Hiku, which is in reference to the taniwha... The name has never changed," she said. "It was kind of beautiful to attach that name to the bridge when it was completed."
ADVERTISEMENT
The bridge includes 30 tukutuku-like panels that respond to wind and light. Real-time weather data activates kinetic lighting from dusk until 10pm.
"As the wind blows, it actually influences and changes the colours on the bridge," Meredith said. "It actively responds to the environment... During the day it's an awesome bridge to walk over, and by the evening... it changes colours."
The design was created by artists Janine Williams (Ngāti Pāoa) and Shannon Novak (Tararā). Ngāti Pāoa also participated in the opening ceremony.
"They helped to celebrate and mark the occasion when we had a dawn karakia," Meredith said. "They got to share a little bit of history about the area and the rationale behind the naming."
A regional taonga for future generations
Auckland Council invested $1.2 million over nine years into the public art component of the bridge as part of a wider commitment to integrate culture and creativity into infrastructure.
The project represented the fourth major artwork by the Public Art team that used real-time environmental data, joining other installations like Te Ara i Whiti (Lightpath), Waimahara in Myers Park, and Te Hokinga Mahara in Warkworth.
ADVERTISEMENT
Around 430 native plants have been added to the site, and a new 380m² pathway invites further community connection. The bridge is designed to last 100 years, with the artwork maintained separately for a decade.
Meredith said the structure now serves not only Panmure, but also visitors from across the region.
"This particular asset... will serve the local area as well as the wider region and any international visitors."
- LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
20 hours ago
- RNZ News
Auckland environmentalist wins battle to protect urban style jungle
A long time Auckland environmentalist has won the battle to protect a number of berms he has planted in an urban style jungle over decades. But plants on another grass verge will be removed by Auckland council after complaints from some residents in nearby apartments. Freeman's Bay resident Mark van Kaathoven has worked on the berm gardens outside his home and neighbouring properties for more than three decades. They are a colourful lush blend of natives and sub tropical plants that almost form a covered walkway or canopy over the footpath. He uses green waste to fertilise the gardens, that also act as sponges in extreme weather . Auckland Council has now given most of the berms protected status under its restorative gardening initiative, meaning they can't be removed. Mark van Kaathoven told Checkpoint the victory was very special. "Nothing like this has ever been done before, and it's not just a first for New Zealand, but I think actually it's a first for all of Australasia." He said the scale the berms had reached was all thanks to nature. "I've just quietly done my little bit. just putting a tree on the berm and then extending it with more planting ,and then lo and behold mother nature is along with me helping me," van Kaathoven said. Auckland Council has now given most of the berms protected status under its restorative gardening initiative. Photo: RNZ/Lisa Owen He said the protected status meant the berms would now be viewed like a park or garden, with similar maintenance to be provided by the council. "Along the way I'll be educating the council or the contractors how this whole section's looked after and how to maintain it, and it's very easy." Now at age 63, van Kaathoven is keen to pass his knowledge and care for the garden on to the next generation. "I have to show the next generation how this whole process looks after itself in many ways. And you just have to give it a a helping hand to make it look after itself as much as you need to help it as well," he said. When it comes to the look of the berms, van Kaathoven has opted for more is more. "I don't know if anyone's ever been to the Amazon. It's very much like that. I've got layers of foliage in the trees, on the ground," he said. "It's just a whole mixture of plants... on different levels. So, you walk through there and it's a completely different journey from what you get in other areas of the streets in Freemans Bay... We have a real ecosystem that's working so beautifully" He said the sub-tropical plants thrive in this climate, most of them looking after themselves. "In the 15 years that I've been doing landscape gardening, I've taken three or four bags of rubbish to the tip." Green waste was the key to keeping the berms growing, van Kaathoven said he puts just about any green waste on the plants. "Tree logs, lawn clippings, hedge trimmings, palm fronds, vegetable scraps... so I use everything in a positive way." van Kaathoven is also a big advocate for green infrastructure. "We need a combination of sponge gardens, wetlands and good infrastructure, and the three elements will work really well with the weather events." He said he's now on the hunt for new berms he can grace with an urban jungle. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
21 hours ago
- RNZ News
Auckland environmentalist wins berm battle
environment about 1 hour ago A long time Auckland environmentalist won the battle to protect a bunch of berms he has planted in an urban style jungle over decades. But plants on another grass verge will be removed by Auckland council after complaints from some residents in a nearby apartments. Freeman's Bay resident Mark van Kaathoven has been working on the berm gardens outside his home and neighbouring properties for more than three decades. Auckland Council has now given most of the berms protected status under its restorative gardening initiative, meaning they can't be removed. Mark van Kaathoven spoke to Lisa Owen.
The Spinoff
a day ago
- The Spinoff
If the council wants to plant a tree on my berm, at least make it a native one
Last month, Auckland Council planted a tree on my berm. It's an exotic tree. On a berm that I maintain. I'm not happy. Planting a garden where I live is hard. Our neighbours' houses block a lot of the sunshine that we would otherwise receive. Swapping a large north-facing property that had all-day Northland sun across the entire section to a shadowy house in South Auckland with not a single blade of grass, except for the roadside berm at the front, has been difficult. Our garden in Whangārei was a greenfigers' dream. We had two mandarin trees, apples, feijoas, lemons, limes, guavas, figs and a blueberry bush. I had a perennial patch full of rhubarb, strawberries and asparagus. Bronze fennel and corn salad grew wild alongside different types of mint. There were five varieties of taro, gardenias, frangipani, rose bushes, a herb garden and more. A glut of seasonal produce was constantly being cycled through. Unfortunately, our house in Māngere is short on suitable garden space. The berm is one of few spots on our section that receives a decent amount of sunshine – enough to grow anything requiring substantial light anyway. The small patch of clay between our front fence and the footpath was quickly claimed by my mother-in-law, who planted gardenias and a couple of other mementos to her tropical roots. While it's a beautiful ode to her Pacific whakapapa, it hasn't left me with many options for an appropriate space to scratch my greenthumb itch. Not long after we moved in, desperate to recreate something even slightly akin to our garden in Whangārei, I researched whether or not we could grow a garden on our berm. It didn't take me long before I discovered the council not only discouraged people from planting things on their berms, but also expected us to maintain them at our own cost. Basically, I was financially and morally liable for the upkeep of the berm, but the council had final say on what happened with it. As annoying as the discovery was, I have obliged with the upkeep since we moved in almost two years ago, mowing the berm whenever the grass starts getting a bit too long. I even brought an electric weedeater and hand mower just for the berm. Being surrounded by state housing, it has been interesting to note that the council provides complimentary berm mows for their own housing stock, but not for the one or two privately-owned berms on the street. I don't have a major issue with the council's expectation that I will maintain my own berm. In fact, over time, I've become fond of the small patch of grass at the front of my property. I've spent countless hours trimming and maintaining the berm, picking up any wayward rubbish that finds its way onto the grass, and ensuring that people don't park on it when it has been raining. I think it's natural to become attached to something you have cared for over a sustained period of time. I'm proud of my berm. Unfortunately, that pride and connection was severely disrupted by Auckland Council last month, after they decided to plant a tree on my berm without any prior consultation or notice. Instead, I found out via a security camera notification alerting me that someone was on our roadside. Much to my horror, I opened the app to see two men in bright orange hi-vis jumpers digging a hole the size of a large tire on my beloved berm. As they had recently been in our neighbourhood planting trees on the other side of the street, I instantly knew that a tree was being planted on our berm and there was nothing I could do to stop it. However, the biggest shock of all came that evening, when I arrived home and inspected the new addition to the berm I had been painstakingly maintaining for the last 18 months – the tree the council had planted was exotic. My heart sank. If the council insisted on planting a tree on the berm, why could it not have been a native species? I wouldn't have minded a kōwhai, totara, or puriri – but I struggle to understand why it had to be a foreign tree. In 2023, the Māngere-Ōtāhuhu local board plan found the average canopy cover in the area was at 8%, well below the minimum target of 15% under the Urban Ngahere Strategy and below the urban Auckland average of 18%. The Urban Ngahere Strategy was released in 2019 and aims to increase canopy cover to 30% across Auckland's urban area, and at least 15% in every local board area. There are nine principles identified in the strategy – the first being the right tree in the right place and the second a preference for native species. Two principles I would argue the tree on my berm fails to honour. The right tree in the right place? A preference for natives? This tree is the exact opposite. Firstly, it's an exotic tree that will grow ridiculously high with a vast root system, eventually posing a risk to my house and likely destroying the footpath. In fact, part of the footpath just metres away from my house has long been ruined due to tree roots running underneath it and a failure from council to address the problem. It is impossible to navigate with a pram, let alone a wheelchair, and poses a serious risk to the elderly residents of the pensioner flats down the road. So what was the council's solution? Plant another, similar, tree right next to the footpath. If the council truly cares about what we plant on our berms, then why aren't they planting native species, in accordance with the second principle of their own Urban Ngahere Strategy. I would have loved to have planted a fruit tree, or perhaps my own roadside herb garden, some perennial flowers for the insects, or maybe a harakeke bush or two. Instead, I found myself mowing my new look berm over the weekend, carefully navigating my weed eater and push mower around the new unwanted wooden feature plopped oddly in the middle. They say rich are those who plant trees, under whose shade they will never sit. I'd say even richer are those who tolerate trees they never wanted in the first place.
