Quite alot happens at the edges of our roads. More »

He might not be well-known, but if he was it would be for the design of the Freyberg Pool (1963). More »

A mid-1960s Archigram film announced: “When it’s raining in Oxford Street the architecture is no more important that the rain.” More »

There’s something pretty wonderful about St Kevin’s Arcade on K’ Rd in Auckland.  I think the coffee even tastes better because of the intricacy of the architectural space.  More »

Almost every time I catch a bus the thing that strikes me (other than the almost always lateness of Wellington buses), is how inadequate bus stops are  in their design for shelter.  It seems that I’m not the only one thinking this way …. More »

Just as Manners Street is being ripped up (with the sort of silliness which means that the sunny side of the street will have the smallest width of footpath) it’s perhaps timely to have a think about the role the road has played in Wellington’s history. More »

So, I’ve just finished reading China Miéville’s novel The city and the city - the first novel I’ve actually made it through in quite some time.

Courtesy of Wikipedia, here is the low-down on the dual cities that are the main character/s of the book:

The City & The City takes place in the cities of Besźel and Ul Qoma. These two cities actually occupy much of the same geographical space, but via the volition of their citizens (and the threat of the secret power known as Breach), they are perceived as two different cities. A denizen of one city must dutifully ‘unsee’ (that is, ignore, or fade into the background) the denizens, buildings, and events taking place in the other city — even if they are an inch away. This separation is emphasized by the style of clothing, architecture, gait, and the way denizens of each city generally carry themselves. Residents of the cities are taught from childhood to recognise things belonging to the other city without actually seeing them. Ignoring the separation, even by accident, is called “breaching” - a terrible crime by the citizens of the two cities, worse than murder. More »