Queen Street Parklet
An urban intervention in Queen Street, Richmond
Part of the Streets for People programme, the Queen Street Parklet transforms former car parks into a vibrant public space. The structure creates a flexible, human-scaled place that enriches street life and invites people to pause, connect, and enjoy their surroundings.
The Queen Street Parklet emerged as part of Waka Kotahi’s ‘Streets for People’ program, as Tasman District Council introduced new dedicated cycle lanes to key roads within Richmond. The new cycle lane meant the removal of carparks outside the upper Queen Street shops and TDC wanted to replace these parks with a multipurpose urban space which would beautify the area while allowing people to occupy the street front and spend more time in and around the shops.
The design comprises two parts, a small seating area outside the dairy and a larger covered space outside of the Sprig and Fern and fish and chip shop. Between these two parts is an area for bike parking and space for a coffee cart, which is intended to be introduced in due course.
One of the key intents with this parklet was to introduce greenery into the street, so large planter beds wrap around the external sides of the parklet, providing space for planting while also acting as a safety barrier to the street edge. A range of plants has been introduced, including low groundcovers to cascade over the sides of the parklet, climbers to extend over the canopy and larger trees to provide additional shading.
The canopy has been formed as a simple lightweight structure using proprietary mesh panels. It is designed to filter the light and to provide soft dappled shadows to the occupants. Unlike the base of the parklet, which was intended to feel solid and grounded, the canopy has been designed to feel as lightweight as possible. The connectors and bracing have been expressed as part of the design language. A linear lighting strip runs through the centre of the canopy, creating a safe and useable space after dark.
The primary building elements used are timber framing for the base structure, FRP panels for the flooring surface and shading canopy, and a galvanised steel tube structure with basic scaffolding connectors to support the canopy. GRC planters and seats sit on top of the base structure. These components were all selected due to their robustness but also as they can be removed and reused elsewhere if the parklet is ever disestablished.
