In what may be viewed as the last gasp actions of an arts-loving Prime Minister, a massive refurbishment of the National Library in Wellington has been unveiled by Helen Clark today. The ever-present “Government Architect” Warren and Mahoney have pulled off an audacious move to the formerly venerated building that holds our national collections. Even though there was a large renovation to the Library in the…
architecture
25 Articles
Maximus
3 Min Read
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…
Philip
1 Min Read
While vaguely in the political arena, I thought I would take a moment to help propogate a recently written address to the New Zealand Institute of Architects. The address follows on from the (relatively) recent Pacific Students of Architecture Congress, and details some of the problems surrounding the disciple of architecture that were explored by the conference. My knowledge on NZIA matters is fairly limited, so…
Maximus
4 Min Read
Hot on the heels of the Barrio development comes another development of inner-city apartments (first blogged on WellUrban). This one is designed by Archaus – the most prolific architects in Wellington. The site has had a couple of schemes proposed for it previously: one by Abri Architects of Auckland which was shot down in flames pretty quickly, and the other, curvy one that never really saw…
Philip
1 Min Read
The potential Hilton hotel has had the appeals against its consent upheld, signalling what is likely to be the end of the controversial waterfront proposal. Having started the applications process back in later 2005, the news seems like it will be a decisive blow to the project; although an appeal is possible, it must go through the High Court. The presiding judge cited all the usual…
Maximus
3 Min Read
Just as the press is all about the coming end of the property market, and the apartment market crash in Auckland, another development appears on the horizon. Barrio is the latest high rise apartment building designed by architect Campbell Pope, interestingly just next to his previous work: the Bellagio. While Bellagio seemed a random choice for a name, implying an Italian background, Barrio seems outright wrong…
Maximus
3 Min Read
Watching TV on Saturday night, I spotted two things that are doing marvellous PR for Architects in New Zealand. Forget about the inept and unregistered on Mitre 10 Dream home – producing the sort of tat we’re all trying to avoid – over on Grand Designs Abroad, the host Kevin McCloud is possibly the best advert for having an architect in NZ, even if it is…
Maximus
4 Min Read
It’s a lonely life being an architectural critic in New Zealand. An art form that’s not so much dying as nearly not born at all, there are precious few who will stick their head above the parapet to comment on the equally few works of architecture we have that appear in the pages of the press. And it is a situation that is going to get…
Philip
2 Min Read
Late last year, I had an amazing opportunity to meet Bill Toomath, and explore his Roseneath house. In particular, the building features a dramatic addition – a study room that was designed to replicate a scene from the 15th century painting, St Jerome in his Study. My impressions of the ‘design den’ were that it seemed very functional, easily storing a huge array of books, as…
Philip
4 Min Read
Today Wellington Airport unveiled the design for “The Rock” — an addition to the international terminal. However this is not just a simple expansion/addition, this is to be “New Zealand’s newest icon“. The $39 million project promises an array of improvements to the airport experience, having doubled the traffic capacity of the international terminal and added many new facilities. But the pragmatics of the user experience…