He Puna Taimoana Hot Pools & Splash Park – Christchurch, NZ.
Civic Recreation + Tourism.
A civic wellness anchor that helped revive a coastal community after decades of decline.
Client
Development Christchurch Ltd. w/
Select Contracts Ltd.
Architect-of-Record
AW Architects
Project Lead
Tom Kenny, Design Manager
Liz Francis, PMP (Select Contracts Ltd.)
Budget
$20M
Status
Completed (2021)
Awards
2021 NZIA Canterbury Award in Public Architecture
Civic wellness on the coast.
In New Brighton, a seaside suburb heavily impacted by economic change and earthquakes, the city sought a catalytic public project to restore identity and year-round activity. Working with Christchurch City Council and delivery partners, BOS Studio led early visioning, feasibility, and engagement to set the trajectory for an award-winning hot salt-water pools and foreshore.
The concept was simple and powerful: pair a community-scaled wellness facility with a re-made coastal landscape that shelters people from wind and reconnects them to the sea. The result – now beloved by locals and visitors – proved that strategic design can shift a place’s story: from empty storefronts to a civic destination with pride, jobs, and everyday use.
Coastal resilience through landscape-led design.
Strategic design impact:
We tied ecology, comfort, and experience into one plan: dune restoration for resilience, landscape forms to mitigate coastal winds, and an intuitive promenade linking pools, play, and food. Early business case work clarified phasing and operations, ensuring a project that could be procured, built, and sustained over time.