BRITOMART STATION (AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND)

Symbol of city mixes old, new

Photos by Yomiuri Shimbun Photographer Yasushi Wada

By Masayuki Murata

Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Britomart Station, a fusion of old and new architectural features, was opened in central Auckland, New Zealand, in July 2003.

Although the railway has never been a popular means of transportation in the country, 16 billion yen was spent building the station.

The station's platforms are located underground. The ceiling, walls and pillars are designed to look innovative through the extensive use of stainless steel, without creating a steely, cold atmosphere.

This is largely due to the station's design that reflects the country's historical and geographic features, said Alanjon Voykovich, who runs a coffee shop at the station.

Voykovich said the wave-shaped ends of the ceiling were designed to resemble a Maori assembly hall.

Eleven skylights that flood the station with natural light are symbolic of the volcanic cones that are scattered around the Auckland area. Also on the station's ground-floor level, created by refurbishing the century-old Central Post Office, heritage features have been well restored.

Britomart is not just a station. Graham Long, a city government official who was in charge of the urban development project, said the local community's opinions were incorporated into the main concept of the project.

Long said people increasingly recognized the value in old things and called for ways to revive them to merge into contemporary society. The station is therefore symbolic of Auckland, he added.

Expectations are also high for functionality of the railway system. Locals used to shy away from using the train as the old Auckland Station--the station closest to the center of the city--was located one kilometer from the central business district. Only 3,000 people reportedly used the station each day.

Naturally, the inconvenience led many people to turn to other means of transportation. However, as Britomart station master Ray Steele said, pollution caused by heavy traffic became a growing social concern.

To alleviate concerns, the railroads were extended to build the more convenient station at Britomart.

The station handles 7,500 people a day now, becoming a new mode of public transportation.

The station was built on the site where Auckland's first station stood. It was established in 1885, but was relocated in the early 20th century.

When I visited Voykovich again to have coffee, I told him about the city's railway history, which I had just discovered. He was excited to know that the city had developed around the station, which was built where the railway system began.