I’ve never yet been invited to the Property Council Award night, despite my leading position in the Architectural media sphere, and so I wasn’t there the other night when Press Hall was awarded the grand winner prize. That’s a pity, as I would have liked to be there – to have applauded like crazy with everyone else, as it is such a good development. It’s a…
So the news that the former BNZ building on Waterloo Quay is coming down is perhaps not really that surprising – it has, after all, been sitting empty, externally unscathed, for the last two years. But is demolition really the best thing for it? There are no doubt many reports floating around the back corridors of power about the state of the building – upon which…
Buildings as in plural, because, dear friends, there are more than one. Let’s start with the announcement in the weekend paper, of a new office block by Studio Pacific, to replace the former ICI house that got demolished after the Kaikoura earthquakes. There is a link to the Stuff article here, but in a truly retarded move, they have cropped the picture so you can’t see…
Prescient timing from our last post, saying that I Like to Move It, Move It!! – it appears that our beseechment has been heard, and our prayers are due to be answered. Yes, in a DomPost front page report on Saturday, an article appeared that announced: “Fast-track for light rail to fix congestion“. Young cub reporter Damian George (the Transport reporter) announced that: “Light rail could…
In the immortal and well-crafted words of American electronic and reggae-influenced duo Reel 2 Real: I like to move it, move it I like to move it, move it I like to move it, move it Ya like to move it! So – what is Lets Get Wellington Moving actually planning to do? I feel a bit let down that the real discussion on this subject…
The Eyes of the Fish are everywhere, so we can report with a reasonable amount of accuracy that there have been some pretty fantastic wins from Wellington architects and engineers at the NZ Wood 2018 Timber Design Awards tonight (Thursday). Timber design in this country is clearly doing well, judging by the abundance of talent on show at the awards. There’s creative solutions, awards for excellence,…
I’m confused – and I think that Wellington City Council might be a little confused as well. We have a great little capital down here at the end of the motu, which is growing at a steady rate. Those extra people and extra houses need to go somewhere, that’s for sure, but surely the “where” is as important as the “what”. We’ve got additional extra apartment…
I’m rooting for the boys. The boys on the Block that is – yes, one of those terrible reality TV shows, heavily sponsored by the companies they repeatedly promote. This year it’s in Hobsonville (it’s always in Auckland, of course, where property renovation and house ‘flipping’ has become the main religion). This year, also, it has a pair of highly irritating people from Gisborne, a hopeless…
New Zealand doesn’t really “do” public plazas very well, in the overall planning of our cities: we’ve tried, but they really haven’t worked. Each city has one: Dunedin has the Octagon, Christchurch has Cathedral Square, Auckland has Aotea Square, and Wellington has Civic Square. Continuing on from that, Palmerston North has The Square, Napier has Clive Square, and most of the rest of our towns have…
National Land Transport Programme – 2018 to 2021. We’ve had NLTP before, but this one is different. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that the NLTP has so openly included not just transport solutions for cars and trucks, but has also included funding for cycleways, footpaths, public transport, and most importantly: including trains. Yes, you read that right: funding for public transport including trains….