For the last two years since the demolition of the antiquated Wellington hospital, a massive construction has been taking place in Newtown, balanced on its giant rubber base-isolated foundations. Yes it’s too late to ignore it anymore – the hospital has reached a state of completion that, while still some way to go, affords us a chance to review the progress so far. After a number…
Fish
1,099 Articles
Maximus
3 Min Read
In what seems like a record fast time for Public Consultation, Greater Wellington Regional Council and Transit have turned out results from the public consultation round. As Transit’s “Phase 2 Consultation Report” notes, there was a total of 4673 submissions, including 3750 Option 3 “Green Alliance” postcards and 482 Chamber of Commerce postcards received, and a mere 71 actual written submissions from various bodies and organisations….
Philip
3 Min Read
The Courtenay Place Park seems more-or-less finished now, having recently unveiled the second and final stage of it’s development. A very minimal and very urban park, it’s strengths lies in the quality of the finish and detailing, as well as the enhancement of pedestrian flow within this highly-traffic area. The park creates two axes, each in parallel to the adjacent street or footpath, resulting a wedge-shaped…
Philip
1 Min Read
It seems that the roadmap to congestion pricing is itself congested: gridlocked by an array of obstacles and opinions. We have a $200k report/proposal, dense legal obstacles, technical challenges, a mayor that is “not even lukewarm”, and a public that is overwhelming against the issue. So what happens next? Nothing? The first hurdle seems to lie with parliament, in the resolution of the various legal issues…
Maximus
1 Min Read
Wellington City Council has launched a survey to find out who is living in the inner city, asking questions such as how long inhabitants have been there, how big their apartments are, and if / where they park their car. About 6500 surveys have been mailed out (which perhaps gives us a clue as to how many apartments are there already) according to this council link,…
Maximus
1 Min Read
All this talk of budget entry-level apartments has got me thinking: what’s the best small apartment you know of? Tempted as I am (not) by the prospect of living forever in a cube, I can none-the-less recognise genius in small apartment design when I see it. My first pick would have to be the apartment of Korben Dallas in Luc Besson’s “The Fifth Element”, where he…
Maximus
2 Min Read
Following on from the No Affordable Housing post, this is perhaps a somewhat provocative stance, yet it is one that I shall endeavour to put forward in a series of broadly sweeping generalizations such as: As far as I am aware, give or take a handful of people in Cuba Mall, or under Grafton Bridge, there is no shortage of housing in New Zealand. There is…
Maximus
1 Min Read
Chews Lane is open, today, at last. The development, under wraps (of sorts) for the last couple of years, has been opened back up to public view, at least on the ground floor. The historic Lane itself has been re-opened, and businesses are poised to open their doors. Some are open already – witness this photo of a gang of supremely fit joggers poised to purchase…
Maximus
6 Min Read
On Thursday, Wellington held the Inaugural Housing Policy Forum. Admirably timed to help debate housing policies before the election, the Forum set out to examine New Zealand’s peculiar obsession with owning your own home: especially your own, detached, quarter acre, 4 walls and picket-fence type home. The range of speakers included the right wing: Don Brash, Phil Heatley, Owen McShane, and Hugh Pavletich – and their…