The Architectural Centre, having just put in a submission on the future of Wellington in the year 2040, where we had the pleasure of looking at the city as a whole, are of the opinion that in 30 years time the city will be very different from what we have now. Traffic needs of the city, currently throttling it to death in various places, need to be reassessed - and with a free mind.

Things like the Basin Reserve for instance, may not need to be continuously ringed with roads for traffic. Indeed, we are most concerned that the Basin Reserve is currently reserved mainly for use as a giant traffic roundabout - there are better uses for a Basin than that, and there are certainly better roundabouts. But what if the traffic was to go elsewere? While the traffic planners at Opus and the NZTA are crying “OverPass”, what if the traffic was to go in a tunnel?

Like just about any idea in the world, someone else has thought of it all before. Read the rest of this entry »

Not just any old New Zealand house, this is about THE New Zealand House.

Hitting the news this week, and probably the gutter / talk back radio as well:

Taxpayers face a $150 million bill to renovate New Zealand House in London - $23m more than the building’s book value.

The newspaper seems Read the rest of this entry »

A nice reminder of that there’s potential and merit in almost every architectural addition … or “repurposing” … Compelling juxtapositions and more!!

Those of you with sharp eyes, or even sharp ears, will have seen, or heard, of Deidre Brown’s new book Maori Architecture. Read the rest of this entry »