Today’s post is a special one, contributed by regular reader Starkive By 1972 New Zealanders were questioning the environmental impact of humans and their engineering. A plan to further raise Lake Manapouri – already flooded for Comalco power – triggered a national reaction. The proposed extra dams were damned by hundreds of thousands of petitioners. An advertising jingle for fibreglass batts went to Number 1 on…
The following is a Guest post from Dominic Kelly, the Director of Hashigo Zake: For a year and a half, the conversion of the Manthel building on the Taranaki/Wakefield St corner into Xero’s headquarters caused substantial damage to my business, Hashigo Zake, and to that of our fellow tenant, Zibibbo restaurant. During the period of the work, both businesses suffered a significant downturn in trade, which…
I’ve just returned to Wellington for a brief break from the bleak north. When I’ve been away for a while it’s always fun to wander around and see what’s changed, catch up on the news, and read all the fish posts I’ve missed (nice to see new contributors). I think the best news (possibly the best Wellington has had in decades) was finding out that mouldy…
I must confess that I don’t really understand what is the plan around the new road up Transmission Gully, but having been reading about the new proposed route up Takapu Valley, it got my interest up. I’d never even heard of it before – seems like I am not alone there – I’ve not yet met anyone else who has been up there. So, last weekend…
Happy New Year everyone! Â I realise it’s mid February so the New Year is far passed in reality, but in mind, it seems like it was only a couple of days ago. Over the past few months I’ve come across some links that related to urban design that I thought people might enjoy and I’ve filed them away with the intent that over the Christmas break…
Hi, Sav here subbing in for Maximus briefly.. Over the holidays I ventured to the Denniston Plateau. I’m interested in conservation as well as other things, and I wanted to see for myself how special a place it is or isn’t, before pieces of it start getting carved up for the coal lying beneath. For a start its only 20km north of Westport, so pretty…
Going for a walk this morning, making the most of the absolutely Wellington GORGEOUS weather, I came across a row of new containers parked along the waterfront walkway down near the lagoon. Apparently, they will be pop-up shops, over the summer, as a sort-of continuation of the Underground Market that exists under Frank Kitts Park. They’re very neat and tidy grey containers, and although I’m a…
Hi there. My name is Gloria, and I thought that I would answer the call for writers. I’m going to try and post on the Eye of the Fish for a while, while the other writers are on holiday. Lucky for some. I thought that I might just start off gently, with a post on dream beach-side houses, as that is what I would really rather…
I’ve done a quick google review and I believe what you are about to read is a true EYE OF THE FISH EXCLUSIVE! This week I’ve had the opportunity to go on site and look inside Shigerua Ban’s Transitional (Cardboard) Cathedral here in Christchurch, and I have to say what I’m writing weighs heavily on my architectural conscious. Since moving to Christchurch I have encountered a…
I’m quite interested in New Zealand’s old architecture, particularly those old colonial buildings that we haven’t preserved much of, but can still be found. So I went to Glenside, near Tawa to see an old colonial house. Apparently the suburb of Glenside used to be called ‘Halfway’ back in the day because it was located right in the middle between Wellington and Porirua. What a cool…