荣誉奖

Orongo站Conservation Master Plan
新西兰北岛贫困湾

Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects,Charlottesville, VA USA

The Orongo Station Conservation Master Plan for a 3,000-acre sheep farm in New Zealand establishes a vision for the extensive regeneration of a devastated ecology while expanding agricultural production and revealing a cultural landscape rich in history. Completed in collaboration with a team of public officials, private stakeholders and local experts, the project serves as an important model that can expand the current definitions of sustainability and landscape architecture.

2003年，奥隆戈车站（Orongo Station）是新西兰北岛东海岸的典型绵羊农场。放牧的绵羊和牲畜由于在裸露的斜坡上的残酷盐喷雾和侵蚀而艰难。该车站唯一的臭名昭著来自其北部半岛上的著名悬崖 - tekuri a a paoa，也称为年轻尼克的头。这个海角对新西兰的历史很重要，既是Horouta独木舟的着陆地点，将毛利人带到了岛上，也是库克上尉的船员发现的第一条土地，这是1769年第一批访问该岛的白人。

自从13世纪人类到来以来，奥隆戈站的生态学与新西兰大部分地区一样一直受到攻击。郁郁葱葱的温带雨林覆盖了北岛，并充满了多样的鸟类，两栖动物和无脊椎动物。早期毛利定居者将大部分森林砍伐，以供火，庇护所和农业。后来的英国殖民者的到来使森林进一步破坏了木材和放牧的森林，同时引入了老鼠，猫，鼬鼠，兔子和其他外来哺乳动物，这些哺乳动物迅速消灭了本地鸟类和两栖动物。

在一支才华横溢的生物学家和生态学家团队的协助下，该团队为年轻尼克头部半岛的主要野生动植物保护区提供了独特的机会。景观建筑师在三个侧面受到陡峭的悬崖的保护，策划了捕食围栏的安装，为筑巢的候鸟创造了庇护所。消除了现有的啮齿动物和害虫，并种植了沿海林地树苗的密集种植以建立栖息地。庇护所的最终目标是重新引入Tuatara，这是一个极为濒临灭绝的史前爬行动物，曾经居住在北岛裸露的悬崖。恢复工作的有效性得到了警惕和激进的害虫防治制度的支持。改善的栖息地和减少的捕食已经吸引了新的到达和筑巢，包括蓝色企鹅和飘动的剪力。播放录制的鸟类电话的音频系统吸引了濒临灭绝的灰色果皮石油巢和繁殖，这是世界上同类产品的第一个成功。

支持大蜥蜴的努力保护,the landscape architect initiated an extensive plan for restoring the adjacent Orongo wetland, a once-vibrant tidal wetland that previous landowners drained for grazing. To provide a diversity of habitat, the master plan proposed the restoration of a saltwater wetland and the construction of a freshwater wetland. A large sinuous earthen embankment divides the watersheds and diverts rainwater to the inland freshwater wetland. While the saltwater wetland is tidal, the freshwater wetland is designed to accommodate seasonal flooding. A winding ribbon of water flows year-round and the broad flats flood during the wet season. To create and maintain habitat throughout the year, islands were designed and shaped from fill created by excavation of the channel. The islands' slopes and sizes are carefully calibrated to provide protective habitat for specific amphibians.

Reforestation on the uplands above the wetlands is part of a larger effort that extends southward from the Tuatara Preserve five and one half miles along the coast. These highlands are exposed to battering winds and rain and are slowly eroding into the sea. Reforestation helps stabilize the vulnerable coastline while creating valuable habitat and increased connectivity through wildlife corridors. To date, 500,000 trees have been planted at Orongo Station.

Orongo站的土地是神圣的地方Maori tribe—the Ngai Tamanuhiri. Remnants of earthen defensive structures, fishing encampments, and pits created to store the staple food crop (the Kumara) are found throughout the landscape. The master plan engaged the tribe to restore a cemetery on the property which suffered from poor access and neglect. Simple design strategies raise the prominence of the cemetery in the river valley and protect adjacent historic defensive structures. These efforts have fostered a positive relationship with the tribe and create a regional model for integrating agricultural practices with the restoration of Maori cultural landscapes. Moreover, the ecological restoration projects are a source of pride for the tribe. The design team worked with the Ngai Tamanuhiri to start a nursery that allows the tribe to supply some of the trees required for the reforestation effort. This provides much needed employment and invites the community to share their wisdom of local plants and participate in the ecological regeneration.

The efforts to celebrate the Maori cultural landscape and to restore ecologies and habitat for endangered species are unique in their integration with an active, working, and profitable agricultural operation. In their search for more balanced farming practices, the designers sought methods to integrate these efforts while designing some of the primary functional pieces of the farming operation. The architecture of the farm, the shearing sheds, vehicle and equipment storage, and staff housing have been composed to create a multifunctional courtyard. A bridge and road over the Maraetaha River were designed by the entrant not only to provide improved farm connectivity but to compose the river floodplain in a way that celebrates the surrounding physical and cultural landscapes. The road and bridge strike a straight line across the floodplain to align with the peak of the enormous hill of Taranaki beyond, a site of sacred significance to the Maori. Also, the designers collaborated with farmers to lay out the flat's citrus fields and inscribed a sweeping arc of shelterbelt trees to mark its outer boundary. A journey across the field pierces the broad arc which parallels the natural course of the river and serves as the site for a major riverbank restoration planting. The bridge design keeps a low, elegant profile to respect views from adjacent properties and roads.

Finally, the efforts to knit ecology, farming, and the cultural landscape together have been distilled into a series of gardens and buildings at the residence of Orongo Station's owners and their family. The complex is anchored by a historic house, the Homestead. The gardens and buildings create formal and informal spaces for entertaining, for play, and discovery. They are rich in narrative, using plants and earthworks to tell important stories about New Zealand ecology and culture. The gardens look back through the island's environmental history, distilling the primary forces at work, and recomposing them in a contemporary language. The gardens create a lens for visitors to understand the efforts of the nationally important conservation efforts on Orongo Station and the new vision that they represent.

美国景观建筑师学会