Tonight, coming at you Live and Direct from New York City, the greatest city in the World…  Yes, there are other great cities apart from Wellington, and it’s interesting to compare how the original Gotham city stacks up to our own mini-Manhatten. Read the rest of this entry »

Sitting in Mojo’s in Dunedin last weekend, sheltering from wind and rain, a chance glance at the ceiling revealed the ominous black perspex globe hiding a security camera.

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While Laugier’s Primitive Hut is frequently looked at as the dominant myth of architect’s beginnings, millions of children around the world are told of more appealing origins for building.

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The Architectural Centre has made the following submission : Manners Mall Carpark on the WCC’s proposal’s for the redevelopment of Manner’s Mall. As you may note from the written and drawn information, we were very much less than impressed. We are calling for the WCC to scrap the current scheme owing to its predominate use of car parking, and to re-design the spaces for the use of people, not cars.

Wellington deserves better than this from our Council, especially at such an important, central city site.

Arch Centre proposes that Dixon St is made a part of the south side of Te Aro Park, and is not made into a giant car park:

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Actually, neither a classic, nor Mediterranean, but I guess Real Estate Agents run out of descriptors fairly quickly when a house doesn’t have conventional character appeal, nor potential to stamp your own personality on it (via the insatiable kiwi attitude for DIY of course). “Outstanding views” (back across the harbour to Wellington City) are of course the opening words of the ad’s script – the house does at least offer something that can be recognised as value-enhancing in a conventional sense. Read the rest of this entry »

OK, Warren and Mahoney were only one of a number of practices from different disciplines involved in the New Zealand Shanghai Expo 2010 pavilion, and the rather blistering attack is not aimed at NZgovt’s favourite architectural practice alone, but there is certainly little holding-back in Byron’s critique over at the Productspec website).

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We’ve probably all seen this by now, but if you haven’t, it is that classic Simpson’s episode…

I can’t find a better online version, but here you go anyway (click on the image below to get to the video page…)