It’s Christmas time – it must be mid-summer as the pohutukawa are flowering, the storms are raging, and the norwester winds are blowing a (severe) gale. We need some good news and some bright and happy images of a successful architectural outcome. So, as a Christmas Special, here’s some pics of a partially finished Erskine development down in Island Bay.
Although the initial pictures we saw had horizontal boxes rather than these gable-ended turrets, certainly the current phase nearing completion is very pointy. Pointy seems important with Erskine, having itself been a gothic pointy, evocatively scary as background for the Frighteners, and being a Catholic school for young Girls, I’m pretty sure some genuine scary Gothic frightening things have gone on down there. So: pointy is appropriate.
It’s definitely not open to the public yet, although stage one looks so almost complete, so I had to peer through the trees.
Designed by LAB from Christchurch (no, I’m not sure either why Cassells did not get a Wellington practice to design it), they’ve done a good job so far – it looks crisp, varied, exciting.
I’m intrigued by the timber that has been used on the south wall of these units – looking suspiciously perfect. They either have the best timber supplier in the history of the world, or it is something else. Is it painted plaster with stripes? Or a plastic-timber composite? And what are those twin pipe-holes doing exiting the building? Why didn’t I pay more attention at the time?
The piece d’ resistance of course will be the last remaining remnant of the original Erskine: the magnificent Erskine Chapel. Kept in perfect order for years, and then partially destroyed by vandals, it is now under scaffolding and presumably extensive strengthening is underway.
Stage Two housing is only just getting underway, with giant precast concrete inter-tenancy walls standing proud on site and an enticing vision of a road that curves gently up the road. Roll on 2020 !!
blah
So – that’s it for the year – its been a long and exhausting one for me, once again I’m not 100% sure that I can (or should) keep this going, but its time for me to have a break over Christmas, so: have a great holiday everyone. I’m off to the beach, to wait for good weather!
Thanks for your posts through the year, also that chapel is as haunted as all get out
Footsteps, doorslams, temperature drops, the whole shebang
Please keep it up, Levi – we need doses of fishy reality!
Merry Christmas Levi and readers!
See you all back next year!
Thanks for sticking your head above water to give us the good news every now and again Levi, it is truly appreciated.
Stay safe over the holidays fellow EotF readers, writers, commenters and lurkers, and see you next decade!
Happy holiday Levi – and thanks for all the fish!
Same to all the regulars and occasionals, too.
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky-tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same
There’s a green one and a pink one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same
And there’s doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school
And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university
Where they are…
Well Mary, I take it that you’re not a fan of the Erskine development – or that you are a big fan of – umm, who was this? Peter Paul and Mary? But if only: “There’s a green one and a pink one, And a blue one and a yellow one” – these look like there will be:
There’s a white one and a white one
And a brown one and another brown and white one
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same
And there’s a chapel
And there was a school
And there once was a movie-set
But there was Jackson
And all the Catholics left
And the memories were of naughty schoolgirls instead
And the people in the houses
All went to the university
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school
And then there’s Mister Cassells
And now there is a hole instead
Where there once was a piece of Gothicness
And instead there is just a big tree
And a little tree
And a path through to Island Bay
And there’s no more pointy gothic roofs
In the phase two
And there’s flat roofs by LAB instead
And they’re all made out of ticky-tacky
And they all look just the same