Warren and Mahoney’s design response for a ‘bascule’ bridge in Whangarei seeks to develop a design language of sculptural and structural clarity. The design response is informed by the following:

 The Hatea Bridge symbolises Whangarei as the portal to one of New Zealand’s fastest growing tourist destinations. The new bridge is not merely efficient and functional, it is also a regional symbol of identity and character, confidence and community pride.

 Dynamic and fluid in form, the bridge symbolises the connection with the city as a port town surrounded by rolling landscape. The construction and form of the bridge is further informed by local industry, reflecting the connections to both boat building and specialised steel fabrication.

 The bridge connects land and sea transportation modes and is equally expressive of both. Its form responds to the ‘cross axis’ of movement by ‘symmetrically centring’ the operational bridge element in a fluid continuum which reaches from shore to shore. The bridge is also an extension of the local land- and sea-scape. The rolling hills that characterise Whangarei are extended into the form of the bridge, while the constant movement of the harbour is captured in the fluid form of the bridge’s primary structure.