Isthmus

Services

Design Planning.

We use our appreciation of place, process and project to navigate the Resource Management Act (RMA) consenting and planning process. Our extensive experience enables us to de-risk challenging projects, delivering a pathway to consent by considering each proposal and its planning context concurrently. We call this integration of design thinking and planning tactics Design Planning.

Right Tauhara II.
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We work at a range of scales – national, regional, district and site – dealing in the big picture by regarding landscape as the relationship between people and place. Landscape is conceptualised as having three main dimensions: physical, perceptual (aesthetic) and associative. Firstly, we unpick and scrutinise the various components of landscape; then we reassemble and interpret the landscape as a whole. The critical task of putting it all back to together again requires a convergence of evidence from different perspectives to gain a deeper, multi-layered appreciation of the land and the appropriate design response.

Left Tauhara II. Steamfield design protocols integrate the steam pipes into the rural environment.
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We blur the boundaries between policy, assessment and design to deliver an integrated consent package. We work with public and private clients to deliver policy advice, design guidelines, development strategies, urban design and landscape assessments, 3D visualisations, geographic information system (GIS) mapping and expert evidence. In recent years, we have been involved with the consenting of many of New Zealand’s most complex and challenging projects.

Right and above Vinegar Lane,
the result of a sophisticated understanding of the local urban form.
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Our design planners specialise in resolving complex resource management issues as they relate to our areas of expertise in landscape, urban design and architecture. As a group, we offer an unparalleled level of experience and understanding in taking projects through the RMA consenting and planning process; we design and deliver the best possible outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand.

Left Contoured landform, architectural criteria and revegetation of washouts are all designed to anchor the power station to the horizontal dimensions of the plains in counterpoint to the Mount Tauhara volcanic cone.
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Design Planning Projects:

Maungawhau Tihi.

Dominion & Valley Road Apartments.

Vinegar Lane.

North Island Grid Upgrade.

Napier Landscape.

Waitahora Wind Farm.

Mokihinui.

Tauhara II.