Napier's Marine Parade redesign wins national accolade

Napier's redesign of Marine Parade has won the waterfront area a national accolade.

It won an Award of Excellence at the Resene New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture (NZILA), on November 8.

The award was presented to planning and design consultancy Boffa Miskell.

The judges said the design exemplifies excellence in integrated design, bringing together people and place.

The redesigned section of Marine Parade opened to the public in August 2017, launched with a family fun day.

Before the project, the section was a car park, screened off from the sea with a two-metre hedge.

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Now the area has a basketball court, water play, sheltered seating, street skating, water features and stories celebrating the area's Māori heritage.

Napier City Council Director of Community Services Antoinette Campbell said the redevelopment had given new life to Marine Parade.

She said the area is more popular than ever with both locals and visitors.

"We are so pleased that the project has been recognised with this award by the Institute of Landscape Architecture."

Senior principal landscape architect at Boffa Miskell, Nik Kneale, said the team is thrilled to have been recognised by NZILA.

"Designing the project with the wider team, including Paris Magdalinos Architects and Jacob Scott, has been a pleasure, sharing stories of place and delivering a new, yet familiar aesthetic for central Napier," Kneale said.

"On top of this, the community's enthusiastic adoption of the coastal park has been incredible. We're both proud and honoured."