The Legacy of Water

Revolutionizing farming and tourism in the Mackenzie.

The vision is one that seeks to become a catalyst for a resilient, community driven, sustainable, and productive landscape change. It will foster a symbiotic relationship between the community and the iconic Mackenzie landscape.

The proposal will create a new and engaging type of interaction with the landscape, where an increase of humans in the landscape is of benefit to the Biodiversity, Production and aesthetic values of the landscape. This is achieved by the catalytic intervention of a Campsite around Kellands Pond, South of Lake Ruataniwha, along SH8. This camping experience has one key difference, the exchange is not of NZD: it is of time, energy, and investment in the landscape. For every night spent in the site, an individual must plant, or mulch, or otherwise contribute to the management of this landscape. Through this the visitor forms a more tangible connection to the landscape. This blurred the definition between someone who is visiting, and someone to whom the site holds a deeper connection, causing them in turn to value it.

The scale and sizes of the spaces within the site change as the user moves away from the water. This is both for climatic reasons (Shade and Wind Shelter) and to contrast the intimate spaces with the extreme “Big Sky” of the Mackenzie. Another feature is the creation of an entry experience that epitomizes the experiences available through the landscape and leaves emphasis upon the expansive sky and distinctive landscape.