You not only want to live there, you want to get involved now to help make it happen. Read on...
The village is divided up into neighbourhoods called plazas - since they focus on their central plaza where the public life of that neighbourhood (shops, cafés, benches, places to connect) happens. The village is expected to have about 20 neighbourhood plazas and one central village square. Each plaza will have about 200 households, perhaps 25 workplaces on the plaza and an additional 25 workplaces along the primary pedestrian streets. A workplace is a place where people work, and it can be attached to a private home... office, shop, workshop, cafe, restaurant or pub, etc.
Each plaza is intended to be different, so when one takes an evening stroll from plaza to plaza, as one crosses through the gate that marks the transition the look and feel of the walk changes. To get that difference, we do not intend to do a Disneyland fantasy where designers create an imitation of real life, but to engage the people who will live there to press their own distinct character during the design phase. For example, for one potential South Island site we have a plaza coordinator from Germany who is recruiting people from his homeland who want to live in New Zealand (and qualify for immigration). "What is the essential character of a German plaza", we ask. The answers emerging are not stereotype, but reflect a heritage in shape, scale, form and types of activity... not to mention German food and drink. Another plaza under discussion involves what might be called trendy, or pumping... a high activity place with cutting edge architecture and placement in the higher end of the noise overlay (the whole village has a noise overlay so noisy activities, such as the youth zone are at one end of the village, and those who like peace and quiet build at the other end).
To manage this, plaza coordinators emerge. If you are reading this, you may be one of them.
A coordinator gets the opportunity to shape (but not dictate) the look and feel of a plaza by setting a theme and then enrolling 200± heads of household who will purchase the buildings and workplaces. Those heads of household then participate in a dynamic engagement process whereby they set out the character of that plaza.
The relationship begins informally, but when a coordinator proves their ability to enrol people, it may morph into a formal working relationship with the Village Organising Company. No promises at the beginning, because we are seeking people passionate about the idea, not people primarily driven by pecuniary interest.
If you want to shape not only your future home, but your future neighbourhood, click the contact button and let us hear from you.
