Comments on: Taxing Behemoth http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/ A wide-angle view of architecture, urban design and life in Wellington Sun, 05 Sep 2010 21:44:55 -0700 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Maximus http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8178 Maximus Sun, 10 May 2009 20:09:41 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8178 Good question Mr D P. The IRD used to have provincial offices in smaller cities, but these appear to have been closed down now. Certainly Dave Henderson has kicked them out of his building in Christchurch! Can anybody tell us whether they still do have them, or have they indeed concentrated every single job in Wellington, on prime land by the Railway Station? Good question Mr D P. The IRD used to have provincial offices in smaller cities, but these appear to have been closed down now. Certainly Dave Henderson has kicked them out of his building in Christchurch!

Can anybody tell us whether they still do have them, or have they indeed concentrated every single job in Wellington, on prime land by the Railway Station?

]]> By: davidp http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8160 davidp Sun, 10 May 2009 07:35:05 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8160 I would have thought that only a few (policy) IRD jobs would have needed to be located in close proximity to the rest of government. Most of the rest would be process related. So why do they need to be located just a few hundred meters from Parliament? Wellington commercial real estate prices are amongst the highest in the country. If IRD had distributed their operations in to a few provincial cities, then they'd support jobs outside of the capital, make a couple couple of NZ's smaller cities more interesting and viable, and lowered the cost of collecting tax. I would have thought that only a few (policy) IRD jobs would have needed to be located in close proximity to the rest of government. Most of the rest would be process related. So why do they need to be located just a few hundred meters from Parliament?

Wellington commercial real estate prices are amongst the highest in the country. If IRD had distributed their operations in to a few provincial cities, then they’d support jobs outside of the capital, make a couple couple of NZ’s smaller cities more interesting and viable, and lowered the cost of collecting tax.

]]> By: Rondo http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8101 Rondo Fri, 08 May 2009 07:51:29 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8101 Mobsta. Thanks for the info re MFAT etc. I didn't know that. And good job winding up Maximus. Gotta make them check those figures! My suspicions on the layout of columns within: the carparks. They tend to have a fairly rigorous effect on layout and from the promo pic it looks as though at least the whole first floor is given over to Parking. Mobsta. Thanks for the info re MFAT etc. I didn’t know that. And good job winding up Maximus. Gotta make them check those figures! My suspicions on the layout of columns within: the carparks. They tend to have a fairly rigorous effect on layout and from the promo pic it looks as though at least the whole first floor is given over to Parking.

]]> By: mobsta http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8096 mobsta Fri, 08 May 2009 04:52:49 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8096 Maximus - I hope you didn't spend TOO long on the Pentagon website.... I understand they don't really like it. You will be getting a knock on your door in 5.... 4.... 3..... Maximus – I hope you didn’t spend TOO long on the Pentagon website….
I understand they don’t really like it.

You will be getting a knock on your door in 5…. 4…. 3…..

]]> By: jayseatee http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8092 jayseatee Fri, 08 May 2009 01:37:32 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8092 I was just looking at some additional photos of the IRS building outside washington dc - check out this aerial photo. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X7igbyFfqhw/SFZOjJUrjxI/AAAAAAAAAYU/AX-SgQ4tRiY/s400/IRS+AERIAL.jpeg There is a metro line that runs diagonally across the lower right hand of the photo. How strange is it that the building wraps around the residential neighbourhood and that the centre of the whole development diagram is one of those individual houses. Talk about feeling unfairly ruled out by the government tax man. It's hard to tell exactly where the centre of the circle is exactly, it probably is the centre of the street intersection - still strange. The parking lot/garage sector (the upper part of the complex, looks like a funnel leading into the street - or perhaps a vacuum sucking the money from the public (for those who want to see such imagery?...) I was just looking at some additional photos of the IRS building outside washington dc – check out this aerial photo.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_X7igbyFfqhw/SFZOjJUrjxI/AAAAAAAAAYU/AX-SgQ4tRiY/s400/IRS+AERIAL.jpeg
There is a metro line that runs diagonally across the lower right hand of the photo. How strange is it that the building wraps around the residential neighbourhood and that the centre of the whole development diagram is one of those individual houses. Talk about feeling unfairly ruled out by the government tax man. It’s hard to tell exactly where the centre of the circle is exactly, it probably is the centre of the street intersection – still strange.
The parking lot/garage sector (the upper part of the complex, looks like a funnel leading into the street – or perhaps a vacuum sucking the money from the public (for those who want to see such imagery?…)

]]> By: MAXIMUS http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8091 MAXIMUS Fri, 08 May 2009 00:50:11 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8091 Mobsta - a quip? A QUIP ?! Have you any idea how long I spent on the Pentagon website last night converting feet to metres and acres to sq metres ? Hrumphf Mobsta – a quip? A QUIP ?! Have you any idea how long I spent on the Pentagon website last night converting feet to metres and acres to sq metres ? Hrumphf

]]> By: de minimis http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8089 de minimis Thu, 07 May 2009 22:32:02 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8089 " I don’t know how it got past the watchful eyes of the Council’s Urban Design team, who will normally pounce on anything that looks tedious and rip it apart with their bare hands until the blood starts streaming from the eyes of the Architects concerned - but here, big and boring and bland seems to be quite the acceptable thing. " This would have been before Plan Change 48, when a building within the height limit would have been a Controlled Activity, rather than Discretionary (Restricted) as it is now. In other words, the urban designers could argue for changes and impose conditions up to a point, but council couldn't actually refuse consent on the trivial grounds of it being butt ugly. Nowadays, the blood can start streaming :-) ” I don’t know how it got past the watchful eyes of the Council’s Urban Design team, who will normally pounce on anything that looks tedious and rip it apart with their bare hands until the blood starts streaming from the eyes of the Architects concerned – but here, big and boring and bland seems to be quite the acceptable thing. ”

This would have been before Plan Change 48, when a building within the height limit would have been a Controlled Activity, rather than Discretionary (Restricted) as it is now. In other words, the urban designers could argue for changes and impose conditions up to a point, but council couldn’t actually refuse consent on the trivial grounds of it being butt ugly. Nowadays, the blood can start streaming :-)

]]> By: jayseatee http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8087 jayseatee Thu, 07 May 2009 21:24:26 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8087 sorry mobsta- I cringe when I hear people repeat incorrect facts (like when I heard a colleague proclaim that Australia was larger than North America). Was just trying to keep a misnomer from being spread. sorry mobsta-
I cringe when I hear people repeat incorrect facts (like when I heard a colleague proclaim that Australia was larger than North America). Was just trying to keep a misnomer from being spread.

]]> By: mobsta http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8086 mobsta Thu, 07 May 2009 21:10:15 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8086 "I’m wondering - is this building bland, because it is for the tax man; or did the taxman want it because it was bland?" If anything it will be the latter (But I doubt aesthetics had anything to do with it). The building was designed and the site was being cleared before the IRD even signed up. There were a number of organisations interested in taking space in the building, including ANZ, MFAT (amongst others, however IRD won out because they wanted the most space....) Apparently (according to a couple of designers that I have spoken to) it is a bit of a bugger to plan inside - column spacings and mullion spacings and core location and all that). It's proving to be a bit of a handful. I don't think that there's any excuse for that - WAM have an Interiors team, surely they could have been consulted about an effective way to plan a space - although it could have something to do with IRD requirements... Nice John Galt reference BTW. Less obvious that a Howard Roark one..... “I’m wondering – is this building bland, because it is for the tax man; or did the taxman want it because it was bland?”

If anything it will be the latter (But I doubt aesthetics had anything to do with it).
The building was designed and the site was being cleared before the IRD even signed up.
There were a number of organisations interested in taking space in the building, including ANZ, MFAT (amongst others, however IRD won out because they wanted the most space….)

Apparently (according to a couple of designers that I have spoken to) it is a bit of a bugger to plan inside – column spacings and mullion spacings and core location and all that). It’s proving to be a bit of a handful.
I don’t think that there’s any excuse for that – WAM have an Interiors team, surely they could have been consulted about an effective way to plan a space – although it could have something to do with IRD requirements…

Nice John Galt reference BTW.
Less obvious that a Howard Roark one…..

]]> By: mobsta http://eyeofthefish.org/taxing-behemoth/#comment-8084 mobsta Thu, 07 May 2009 21:01:03 +0000 http://eyeofthefish.org/?p=695#comment-8084 Um... The Pentagon statement was a quip... a joke. The Pentagon Building has the largest floor area in the world... nothing in Wellington is going to compare to that. It was a comment on people saying "IT"S GOT THE LARGEST FLOOR AREA IN WELLINGTON!" (as if that was some claim to fame). Um…
The Pentagon statement was a quip… a joke.
The Pentagon Building has the largest floor area in the world… nothing in Wellington is going to compare to that.
It was a comment on people saying “IT”S GOT THE LARGEST FLOOR AREA IN WELLINGTON!” (as if that was some claim to fame).

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