Co-designing the future Esplanade and town centre of Pito-one
Hutt City Council wanted to gather ideas and insights from key stakeholders (including council members, community board members and mana whenua) on the alignment of council projects in Pito-one. Their goal was to identify the challenges and opportunities, and to begin to establish priorities for council investment.
A key aspect of the project was to consider how to create better connections and wayfinding around the community, especially among amenities and places of interest. They wanted to consider and incorporate mana whenua sites of significance and storytelling through content and design.
StudioC conducted two co-design workshops with key stakeholders. The first workshop focused on The Esplanade, an area of foreshore with multiple infrastructure projects that needed to be aligned and coordinated. We created a map of The Esplanade to show the current projects in the area, alongside mana whenua sites of significance.
Their recommendations included:
- over time, removing car traffic and buildings from The Esplanade
- prioritising natural habitats and spaces for recreation
- improving the area’s accessibility
- highlighting the history and aspirations of mana whenua for the future
- showing identity and heritage through visual storytelling.
The second workshop focused on ways to strengthen the town centre of Pito-one. Recommendations from this workshop included:
- investigating the best location of the library to create a town centre
- making the town centre more pedestrian-friendly through new walking paths and a laneway
- improving public transport options around the town centre.
Our final report formed the basis of recommendations taken to Elected Members of the Council to inform the prioritisation of projects in the 2024-34 Long-term Plan.
