Here deep below the harbour waves at the Eye of the Fish, the recent discussion on Domes, Power, and the Judiciary set us thinking: What exactly is our self-image as reflected through our National architecture? Why do we have an emergent dome just peeking up out of a box, as a undefined symbol of our highest legal power? We had an extended discussion on symbols of power, mostly between M-D and Jayseatee, but a very telling quote comes from local commentator Honeywood:
I am intrigued by the dome, its burial in the podium, its cross-section and what all this says about…
read the full entryA local community pressure group, Rongotai Revived, has been set up to counter the proposed Wellington City Council proposal to limit the growth and zoning of ‘big-box’ bulk retail shopping. There have been a number of community pressure groups over the years – Waterfront Watch being amongst the more successful in recent years, but others include the Mount Victoria Preservation League, the Oriental Bay Rich People’s View-Keeping Organisation, the Aged Person’s of Wadestown Social Club and Toilet Lobbying Facility – or names and concerns to that effect. Curiously, most of them seem to include Pauline Swann, the indefatigable fighter at…
read the full entryAlthough the Dompost has reported on it already, just a reminder that there is the most amazing piece of floating architecture anchored at Queens Wharf at present. The Masquerade, a 5 year old Dutch boat, is waiting here for its owner to come and join it this weekend. It is the most extraordinary piece of marine architecture – obviously money was no object, but its worth a saunter past.
The stern of the boat is sculpted with cutouts and a jaunty flippy hat thingy
read the full entryHere at the Fish, we’re doing our best to be as nice as we can be this year, as it’s going to be a tough year for all of you architects out there. So therefore we’ve been avoiding reviewing some buildings altogether as there may just be nothing good to say about them at all. Honest, I’ve been biting my tongue so much that the water round me is turning red. I mean, have you seen the size of that thing next to the Railway Station? Good grief, and its not even finished yet.
What a monster! And yet, in…
read the full entryAmerica’s New Zealand’s Next Top Model is coming to TV3 and launches tonight. Not much reason to watch it unless you are interested in a bunch of pretty, vacant, stick insects walk down a runway. Except… tonight, the launch night, there may indeed be a small reason to watch: the NZ launch appears to have been filmed at the fantastic Peregrine Winery complex in Queenstown, by local architectural supremos: the Architecture Workshop. The bare, simple, skeletal, largely vacant, and yet somewhat beautiful structure of the winery should make a perfect backdrop for the women parading up and down, who themselves are…
Aren’t you bored with all the talk of the recession / depression already? No one knows what’s going on, no one knows whether we are coming or going, down or up, or just remaining to go sideways. Our NZ press is woefully ignorant, having sacked anyone capable of independent thought, and just fill their pages with articles taken straight from overseas journalists. One minute we see a headline saying “Is the Recession over yet?” and “Housing Recovery Seen” and the next minute headlines claim that we are next in line to Iceland for total bankruptcy, and hence just about the…
read the full entryJust a quick post – There is a silent protest planned for tonight – rain or shine – in Manners Mall, between 5pm and 7pm. This is for everyone who opposes the proposal to run buses through Manners Mall, and to “save the heart of the city”. As they say in their flier – “the city is ours”. And tv3 is arriving and broadcasting live at 6.15 or so. So, it would be good to see the masses massing if you’re keen on keeping Manners Mall for Mankind, and not for a bus-route…
read the full entryIts full steam ahead here at HMNZS Eye of the Fish, but every now and then I need to swim upstream and spawn, mow the lawns and trim the hedge, you know, that kind of thing. There may be the occasional drop in transmission whilst that’s underway, unless Philip steps once more into the breach and blogs on, but I suspect that he may be somewhat busy too, revamping the Fish eye with a shiny new set of scales. At least I hope that’s what he’s doing. And Aron – we had another wee fish called Aron, but he seems…
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