The Hutt is an extraordinary place when you think about it. An alien settlement on a far corner of the earth. Started by Colonel Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a chap not entirely free from avarice, under the guise of the New Zealand Company. A grand idea for settlement when you think about it, pushing the British Government’s hand into doing something it did not plan to do….
Maximus
549 Articles
A Wellingtonian, interested in architecture and design. But enough about me, what about you?
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Maximus
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One of the curious things about the modern architectural world is the art of the computer renderer. A friend of mine once worked on a project where the computer renders of the building were surrounded by a carpark which contained only Lamborginis. This, despite the building being designed for lowly polytechnic students in a poor part of town, and highly unlikely to ever sight a single…
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Maximus
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…and so the process starts again. Athfield Architects, and Willis Bond, have put in another proposal for the Site 10 site at Kumutoto, presently the site for around 40 slumbering campervans, bang slap in the middle of the waterfront. It’s not the best use of the site, although understandably quite popular for visiting tourists to have waterfront accommodation without the humungous waterfront hotel bill. WWL have…
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Maximus
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Hysteria grips the nation. Foolish words are said by foolish people, about mediocre fontography. But what do others have as a logo? How do we compare? What does Auckland have? Oooo, that’s boring. Official though. Their PR campaign is separate: What about over the ditch, in the West Island? That’s, ummmm, boring, and simple at the same time. But I guess it is recognisable. What about…
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Maximus
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Things more important to be concerned about, than a logo: • Sorting out the Public Transport route and getting on with it. • Deciding whether we are going to have buses or light rail. • Implementing a complete separated cycle network throughout the city. • Providing a workable answer to paying for strengthening EQP buildings. • Lengthening the runway, or not. And then doing it anyway. …
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Maximus
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It appears that I will have to eat my words, or eat my hat. A couple of years ago, when Transmission Gully was being talked about, I remember somewhere quite confidently stating that Transmission Gully would never go ahead, because it would never make economic sense for it to do so. Seems that I am wrong – and right at the same time. It still makes…
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Maximus
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You never forget your first time. The first time you listened to Lou Reed. That deep, gravelly voice, resonating with the smoke of a thousand cigarettes. Clear speech, good diction, great lyrics, hardly singing, more poetry set to laid-back music then words set to song. For me, inevitably, it was Sweet Jane, with a roomful of wannabe stoners singing along in unison, reveling in the music…
Maximus
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I’ve been reading the new Booker Prize winning novel, having just purchased one of the last copies in hardback, and so I may be out of action, doing a spot of reading. It’s ….. Lovely. Absolutely lovely. A rich tapestry, a convoluted murder mystery, set in a foreign land (to the rest of the world), and written in really beautifully crafted prose. I should just shut…
Maximus
2 Min Read
In the continued absence of any building related news to discuss this week, and while recovering from A) the monster big blow storm thing on Monday, and B) the gorgeous full-on summer of the last two days, all I can think about is that I’m glad I’m not in Auckland right now. There is the whole shoddy sordid affair of Len Brown going on in the…
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Maximus
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So, we have a new Council. And a new chance for Wellington. And, just perhaps, a Council less inclined to squabble. I’m really glad that Leonie Gill has been ousted – some people can’t take a hint that they should enjoy their retirement. I hope she can enjoy it now it is compulsory. And of course John Morrison has done his chips – at last Wellington…