The only way is UP, baby, for you and me now… So sang Yaz and the Plastic Population back in the 80s, and it’s what we are going to be singing now as well. Put your dancing shoes on and smash out the House music classics. There’s no doubt that the densities of our cities are going to be intensified, but we are left to discuss…
heritage
Wellington’s main (only?) central Railway Station has been getting a lot of press recently, mostly over the intransigence of the Heritage NZ lobby who are, to be honest, being silly over the heritage of this building. They’ve only just today approved the installation of a pedestrian ramp out the front doors – the disabled have been forced to use the side door for the last several…
Not sure if you realise this yet, but the proverbial cat has just been thrown amongst the proverbial pigeons. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (what used to be called the Historic Places Trust) has just announced three new grade 1 heritage listings in Wellington: Trades Hall, Wellington Central Library, and a combined Gordon Wilson and McLean flats as well. Trades Hall was the site of NZ’s…
Something has passed the desk of the Eye of the Fish, and I thought that maybe I would pass it on to you as a wider audience. It is a survey regarding the protection of heritage buildings, being undertaken by the Ministry for Culture and Heritage. It is not on their website however – its a very targeted exclusive survey aimed at stakeholders – i.e. organisations…
I’m not sure whether to be horrified or to applaud the idea that buildings could be required to compete against each other in a sort of “Heritage Idol” as indicated in the paper today. Just how close to the idea of the Reailty TV show are the Council prepared to take it? I’ve always enjoyed the first few weeks of American Idol more than the later…
I’m quite interested in New Zealand’s old architecture, particularly those old colonial buildings that we haven’t preserved much of, but can still be found. So I went to Glenside, near Tawa to see an old colonial house. Apparently the suburb of Glenside used to be called ‘Halfway’ back in the day because it was located right in the middle between Wellington and Porirua. What a cool…
Christchurch – there’s just so many things I want to write about down there, and sadly, not really that much going on up here. The Government announced yesterday that three suppliers of temporary portable housing have been named: “Three kiwi-based companies were selected to provide the temporary accommodation. A consortium of Hawkins/Spanbild/Fulton Hogan; Jennian Homes; and New Zealand Transportable Units were the chosen providers out of…
I saw the headline and I was packed and ready, to answer the call of the nation. Normally they just send up the Fish signal, much like the Bat symbol, but this is the first time my moniker has made it to the front page of the DomPost. Had my site boots, hi-vi and my hard hard ready for action too, until I saw that they…
It is lovely to hear and to see that the current WCC roads department has undertaken to supply Wellington with a new Fountain. Trialled briefly last night, its magnificent spout put a sparkle in the Fish’s eye, a flick in my tail. I love a good soaking. Digging the preparatory hole in Manners Mall on Tuesday afternoon, it seems that a digger unearthed the gusher in…
It is good to see that Christchurch has kicked off the post-quake blues and is fighting back. The shops have reopened, the schools will be back on Monday, the water is fit to drink once more, and even the CheeseMongers shop looks like it might be saved. Once they’ve got their city scrubbed up and the trains working again, perhaps its time to take a scenic…