Art/Design Bridges

McLeod's Crossing

For some years now Waitakere has built a reputation for developing 'art bridges' as the terrain of the city is 'cut' by many beautiful streams, mostly flowing from the Waitakere Ranges into the Waitemata Harbour. As Waitakere progressively develops, there is a continuing need for more bridges and therefore an opportunity to create these as unique aesthetic structures.

The Council arts team develops each of these 'art bridge' structures through working closely with artists and their creative concepts. For the most part these collaborations have produced designs for footbridges which offer pedestrians an intimate experience of these arts integrated structures.

Glen Eden Walkway

Local sculptor Stuart Slater was invited to work in partnership with a local architectural firm to create a walkway with an 'in Glen Eden' difference.

Running down the length of the covered ramp that links the main shops to the back street, are hand crafted native trees and hidden away in the stream running under the walkway are a number of creatures, each one with its own unique character.

The glass roof of the walkway is formed from railway tracks and the adjoining walls carry large copper plaques with historic images of early Glen Eden.
Weta in the tree

Great North Road Bridge

During the design stage of the Henderson upgrade project, it was identified that the entry bridge at the eastern end of the town centre provided an opportunity for a significant sculptural feature. Three artists were commissioned to produce concept designs for the site. The designs were assessed by a group made up of Councillors WCC transport , planning and arts staff, and external contractors involved in the Henderson upgrade.

The concept, produced by Jeweller, Jason Hall was selected to proceed to the developed and detailed design stage and ultimately construction.

Jason Hall identified one of the key issue around the bridge was that as a pedestrian, the footpaths were too narrow for comfortable use.

Hall's concept focused on creating a more engaging transition across the bridge. This was achieved by widening the footpaths and using a open mesh to allow views to the stream below. The barrier fencing on the edges of the bridge were constructed using the traditional picket fence style. The tops of the pickets reference common historic detailing that is ambiguous in origin referencing both Maori and European motifs. Extending above the the barrier fence are a series of slender poles capped with a traditional finial detail that is illuminated from within.

Jason Hall is an Auckland based jeweller. His work is featured in New Zealand and International public and private collections.

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McLeod's Crossing

When the need for a new bridge to link Henderson's Cranwell Reserve and Falls Park became apparent, the Waitakere City Council followed the direction already taken by the extremely successful Rewarewa Bridge in New Lynn. Designed by Karekare artist John Edgar, the bridge spans the Henderson Creek between the Waitakere Aquatic Centre and Falls Park (beside the historic Falls Hotel), Henderson. 

Design process

Edgar came up with a concept based on the kauri trees that once covered the land, and the idea that any bridge originally used by Maori and early settlers was probably no more than a log fallen across the stream. The kauri is referenced in the 35m bridge by the smooth deck of bare wood and the green and yellow steel trusses that poke down towards the river like gaunt branches. Macrocarpa decking and a eucalyptus handrail, laced together by wire halyards, honour the site's significance to European settlers. Cone-shaped lights run along the length of the bridge, casting a warm yellow light over the area.

The design was carried through from concept to reality with the assistance of consultant engineer Nick Covich, of Mitchell Vranjes, and architect Richard O'Neill. The whole project took place over 11 months, and once completed, the bridge was transported to the site in three parts. These were welded together on site and, using three cranes, the truss was then lifted into place. 

The artist's signature style appears in a series of inserts in the decking. Thirty-eight argillite disks measure the traveller's stride across the bridge, while larger circular granite-chip terrazzo images of kauri trunks and water sit at the approach.

The bridge was completed in June 2000.

There were two pioneering McLeod's in early Henderson. The one this bridge is named after was Shepherd John McLeod, who farmed the area in the late 1850s. He was also the first licensee of the Falls Hotel, located in Falls Park, which is adjacent to the bridge.

View a location map and information on the Henderson Walkway or you can contact us for a copy of the Henderson Walkway leaflet.

Artists background

John Edgar is a well-known New Zealand artist who works primarily in stone. His sculptures range from large granite and marble pieces, often based on landforms, through to smaller and more personal pieces. He has refined a number of specialist techniques, including the lamination and working of stone and glass. John also makes jewellery, exploring the properties of metal, including patinas and various finishes. 

Opanuku Footbridge

The name recognises an important ancestor of local iwi, Te Kawerau a Maki, went to the Council's Maori standing committee (Te Taumata Runanga) and Henderson High School students for their feedback.

Opened at the end of 2003, the distinctive bridge links the Corban Winery Estate to Henderson Park, situated near Henderson High.

Designed by artist Neil Miller and made by local company Parks and Maintenance Services Ltd, the steel pedestrian bridge continues the City's tradition of building artistic bridges and signifies the transition through railway land, the Opanuku Stream, Corban Estate and Henderson Park.

The bridge was constructed as part of the upgrade of Corban Estate and improved pedestrian access to Henderson Park, the surrounding residential area, Great North Road and the Henderson town centre. 

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Paramuka Bridge

The Paramuka Road Bridge was constructed across Paramuka stream, as a link between Summerland Drive and Munroe Road in Ranui. This was the first Road Bridge in the city to receive the Arts integration process.

Three artists were engaged to produce concepts for proposed artwork integration on the bridge. The three concepts were assessed by a broad group consisting of community board members, councillors, council staff and contract engineers.

The selected concept was produced by Waitakere based artist Chiara Corbelletto.

Corbelletto's concept looked at the meaning of the name Paramuka. Local Maori referred the area as Paramuka as this was a place where they collected and prepared flax. Muka is the word for flax and Paramuka means to scrape flax.

Corbelletto has created a 60 meter long, horizontal band of tessellated forms that interlock in a seamless fashion that references weaving on both sides of the bridge.

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Piha Eel Foot Bridge

Artists Vision for the Piha Domain Footbridge

In designing the Piha footbridge, artist Mandy Patmore has attempted to create more than just a pathway across the water. The bridge provides a quiet, contemplative and usable space incorporating key visual elements of the local environment.

The Design pays homage to New Zealand’s endemic long finned eel and tells the story of the eel’s life cycle. Eels are remarkable and often misunderstood creatures that deserve our utmost respect. The flowing form of the bridge represents a migratory female eel moving through the reeds, which are represented in the railings. A depiction of the four stages of the eel’s life cycle has been inlaid into the pathway using various cast metals.

With the combination of commercial fishing, loss of habitat and very low replacement rate, our long finned eels are under threat of becoming endangered.

Eels are a taonga which need to be treasured, respected and protected.

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Rewarewa Footbridge

The Rewarewa Footbridge was one of the early jewels in the crown of the eco city.

It is a pleasant way to get to New Lynn Town Centre.

The footbridge is a work of art turned, by engineers, into a physical reality. It is simultaneously beautiful and utilitarian. It is "different" and yet it enhances safety. It spans a creek and yet it delights the eye and enhances its environment.

This is a principle of the eco city, where utility does not have to be ugly; where beauty does not have to be costly.

The design concept sprang from the creek name, Rewarewa. The bridge form is based on the twisted triangular canoe form and of the Rewarewa seedpod. The flower provided the motifs for balusters, light standards, and lights. The strong visual impact of the bridge enhances the creek experience, providing views of the creek. It has resulted in a planting programme of Rewarewa trees and other native species along the adjacent banks. It has also focused attention on the stream, not as a backwater, but a valuable urban feature.

The project was an outcome the Council's "Urban Villages" strategy, which promotes the creation of high quality environments for residents within existing urban areas. Whereas before, residents were reluctant to use the previous footbridge located deep in the stream gully, the Rewarewa Footbridge enables a safe and accessible link between a retail centre and a residential development. In so doing it provides a pedestrian shortcut to shops and services.

The Council conducted extensive community consultation to determine what form of crossing would best serve the growing residential area of New Lynn and its town centre. The result, commissioned by Waitakere City Council in 1996 and completed in September 1997, has received national attention and a national accolade in the form of a Judges Citation at Creative New Zealand's Creative Places Awards in July 1999.

Making it all happen

The project team consisted of the artist, City Design (architects) and Waitakere City Council.

Artist Virginia King produced the concept design in response to the following Council brief:

'The footbridge is to be an artistic statement, a sculptural form which relates to the environment. Waitakere City has a well-developed partnership with the arts and would expect to see these talents integrated into the project.' 

Virginia focused her research on the Rewarewa Stream and the Rewarewa tree motifs of seed-pod and flower, as well as the incandescent qualities of the wood, the burning of which was used as a source of lighting by pre-European Maori. The canoe reference has obvious significance for Maori but also builds on Virginia's own work that has often alluded to vessels and passages of transit. Her concept drawings were developed into architectural form by John Anderson from City Design. 

Andrew Jackson is the engineer credited with understanding, interpreting and fabricating an extremely difficult 3-D puzzle.

The project's chief engineer, Simon Guillemin, said that: "Andrew Jackson of Global engineering, deserves a special mention. The work he and his team did was outstanding and the end product is largely a result of their input. One very interesting aspect was the manual bending of the 200mm diameter main truss. This was achieved by applying controlled heating to the tubes in specific places so that expansion and contraction forced bends in the tubes."

This project took Waitakere City's well-developed partnership with the arts to another level that has since been replicated and developed in other civic projects.

How to get there

Access to this walk and footbridge is at the end of Hugh Brown Drive, off Delta Ave, New Lynn. Viewlocation map.