In recent weeks (something about tragic airline promotions), the notion of the cougar has been roaming the airwaves (probably more than our streets).  Rather than Baudelaire’s notion of a flaneur (the more placid experience of the city through walking), a more aggressive and sexually-charged urban exploration is gaining currency in our city’s lexicon. Read the rest of this entry »

EARTHQUAKE PRONE BUILDINGS: HOW READY ARE WE?
New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering
Technical Conference and AGM
MARCH 26 – 28, 2010 | WELLINGTON

Conference Website

Conference Location: Te Papa Tongarewa
Architects: 80 CPD points

Presentation topics
– Pathways to Earthquake Resilience
– Lessons from Earthquakes through Time
– Mitigating the Social and Economic Impacts of Earthquakes
– Advances in Hazards Definition
– Advances in Earthquake Engineering Practice
– Planning for Earthquake Response and Recovery
– Recent Practical Projects

On Sunday 7th March we’re having a Site Visit to visit a couple of special Bill Toomath houses, for the first 30 people to rsvp to arch@architecture.org.nz – we’ll be taking off from the City Gallery at 2.00pm and returning you about 4.00pm. There’s a small $5 cover charge, and afternoon tea will be provided.

This is part of the events to tie in with the Bill Toomath exhibition at the City Gallery in Wellington (well worth a visit – fantastic little exhibition in the newly revamped Michael Hirschfeld gallery). You can read more about it here, or here, and even here. We’ll see you there.
toomathtwohouses

Bus tour and afternoon tea.
Sunday 7th March 2.00pm only
Two Bill Toomath designed homes in Mt Victoria will be open to view.
Catch a bus up to the house for afternoon tea for just $5.
Places are limited to 30 seats RSVP to arch@architecture.org.nz
Starts at the City Gallery

If you’ve come here today from reading the Capital Times – then welcome! We’ve been around since 1946, and provide a voice on architecture, design, and urban issues in Wellington. The current issue of the Capital Times has picked up on our submission for Wellington 2040 – a Council run call for submissions on what the city might look like in another 30 years time.

While no one knows for sure, in about 30 years, there are bound to be a few changes. We’ve put together a scenario of what the city might be like then – and included some nice big images for the Council, hoping that they will be as excited by the future possibilities as we are. Read the rest of this entry »

I remember many years ago there was a death in Cable Bay in Northland.  The area was deemed a wahi tapu.  There was to be no access to the restricted area, and the death was communally acknowledged through this marking of space.  I think this was the first time I had heard of this practice of temporarily and formally making a space restricted after death.  It seemed to make alot of sense. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s the start of a new decade (well, a month in already) and I got to thinking – what are the architectural achievements we’ve seen over the last ten years? Were they good for you? Or did they pass by in a miasma of non-events? Te Papa – always a contentious subject – is outside the 10 year cut-off (but even then, would it be nominated as one of the best architectural achievements in NZ?). We’ve had a decade of boom time, in which surely some architectural gems have been created. The NZIA has given literally hundreds of awards all over the country in the last decade – are any of them valid? Has there really been any architectural quality achieved? We’d like you to nominate your favourites inside NZ, from the last ten years. The more the better – and a few descriptive words why you like it would be good too. Read the rest of this entry »