Auckland Waterfront launches new online platform for Wynyard Quarter via Method Studios
Capturing data to measure the sustainability credentials of a neighbourhood is the focus of a new website which has launched via digital agency Method Studios, as part of the continuing urban renewal of Wynyard Quarter.
The online platform is believed to be the first of its kind in the country and is the first tangible output of an approach that will see the Auckland waterfront space become a smart precinct that communicates everything from energy use to air quality to the public.
The Wynyard Quarter Smart website is the first expression of the approach and captures and analyses data tied to ambitious sustainability targets for the area in building performance, climate change mitigation, resource efficiency, environmental quality, and transport.
Waterfront Auckland chief executive John Dalzell says the approach is unprecedented in this country in terms of scale and scope and the website’s ability to make the invisible visible is a great first step.
Says Dalzell: “Influencing building owners, tenants and even visitors to the area to modify their behaviour in the interest of sustainability is no mean feat but with a great design that brings Wynyard Quarter Smart to life, the website provides the right vehicle to make complex data sets easily digestible by everyone.”
Sam Ramlu from Method Studios says the digital agency is proud to be involved in such an ambitious project by Waterfront Auckland.
Says Ramlu: “We are firm believers in the power of a web experience to inform and connect with the reader. In the case of this project we were able to create a quasi-replication of the precinct using 3D imagery and drill down into the various inputs using clear visual cues as part of an overarching social change narrative for Wynyard Quarter.
“The dashboard experience is one that has huge potential not just on the Auckland waterfront but other similar urban regeneration projects.”
The first sets of data in the Wynyard Smart website come from live pedestrian data in public spaces and hardware and sensors in the recently refurbished character Lysaght building that will soon be tenanted and become a cornerstone for the Grid – innovation precinct for Wynyard Quarter.
The information will be later supported by data as buildings and assets get constructed, and will eventually include data relating to spaces between the building such as air and water quality.
The Government agency EECA Business has provided assistance to Waterfront Auckland for the website and on the wider Wynyard Quarter Smart project in the form of energy management strategy, monitoring and targeting, innovation and leadership, project implementation and design review.