While I haven’t really got the faintest clue what the real deal is with Wellington’s proposed Convention Centre (and ensuent Hilton Hotel), given that we have had no news except for one article saying that the Cable St site was no longer being looked at, and a waterfront Wharf was instead (come on you guys – WTF is going on??), then instead we should talk about…
Fish
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Leviathan
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Waitangi Day, and thoughts of nationhood… Does New Zealand need a new flag? I believe so, yes. That sort of goes without saying – our present flag is an anachronistic, tired, too same-same as Australia, rag of cloth that bears little relationship to our modern nation. The fact that athletes so happily compete under the sign of the silver fern, than under the NZ ensign states…
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Leviathan
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Seeing as there is a lot of discussion on the best way to house NZ’s growing population, and how to cope with increasing housing unaffordability, it seems like an appropriate time to post this picture. Some things never really change. Photo taken in 1937 with a lovely device (not so sure whether it would pass Health and Safety guidelines now though…) to place your baby in…
Leviathan
2 Min Read
So the National Party’s pet pit bull, Nick Smith, has launched the first attack on the RMA last night in Nelson. According to Smith, the RMA has been the cause of 40,000 houses not being built, and has cost taxpayers 30 billion. As well as that, the RMA apparently adds on about $30,000 in cost per house. Wow. It sounds terrible. Let’s delete this rogue legislation…
Leviathan
1 Min Read
Sad news this morning to hear that Ian Athfield had died. I didn’t know him well – must be one of the few people that had never worked for him – so I suspect that he lives on well in the hearts of many of Wellington’s finest. Ath was, it has to be said, a one-of-a-kind character. I don’t think ive ever met someone quite like…
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Leviathan
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An interesting development: the continued irritation by NZTA and their autocratic methods of planning has spurred the creation of a new Transport group. It’s all rather fledgling at present – no name or website yet, but info about it can be found over at the Strathmore Park website. They say: “Who are we? – We are a group of dedicated professionals and we are setting out…
Leviathan
1 Min Read
Sir Ian, or Sir Ath? Probably, to anyone who knows him, Ath will still just be Ath. It’s a most remarkable transformation really, from a long-haired, large-bearded, rebellious young student of the 60s, building curiously unorthodox structures all over Wellington hillsides; to a well-respected pillar of the architectural community being recognized for a lifetime’s worth of work all over the country. How he got there is…
Leviathan
4 Min Read
It was too soon to shut down shop and say Merry Christmas, it seems. The debacle that is currently underway on the foreshore is too much – it’s hard to believe that the process could have gone so badly wrong, so quickly. Let’s recap: 1. The Convention Centre was to have been on land between Cable and Wakefield St, nestled in between apartment buildings and enjoying…
Leviathan
1 Min Read
It has been a strange sort of end to the year, with me trying to take over from what looks like an abdication by Maximus. Difficult act to follow. But Wellington needs an outlet for discussion on architecture, and urban matters, and this seems to be it – at least, until anyone else wants to take over the role. Not sure quite what, or how, or…