Monthly Archives

March 2010

Mar 26 2010
Love0

Wind and Hills: Have Traffic Engineers Noticed?

By Comment

There’s a lot of information on the design of cycle lanes about – basic principles that most roads in Wellington contravine.  Examples include that they should be continuous, 1.5m wide, conspicuous at road crossing and not abandoned when roads get narrow.  I’ve borrowed these words from Cycling England, but other guidelines exist, such as the Nottinghamshire Cycling Design Guide – here’s the link to Chapter 4 on cycle lanes.  There’s even a what-not-to-do site from Croydon on Crap Cycle Lanes (Sadly our NZTA (Waka Kotahi) seems to be extremely poor at providing such resources). Read More

Mar 24 2010
Love0

For He’s a jolly good Fellow!

By Uncategorized


It’s official our President is a Fellow, and the NZIA have also realised this.  Well done Guy – you are now a recognised part of the NZIA institution.  Our official word (if a word can be official without being sanctioned by the President) is congratulations for having become a Fellow of the NZIA at the Wellington AGM last night.  Unofficially, of course, we’re expecting revolution from within their ranks – nothing like a good architectural uprising (or a party!) – we’ll be there to help out!


Mar 19 2010
Love0

Another restructure – Should we care?

By Comment

It’s inevitable, given their political nature, that governments (local and central) are subject to “restructuring” more than most institutions. Anyone involved in architecture and urban design in Wellington will have known, for a little while now, that the urban design bits of our city council have been, and are in the middle of, such a political reshuffle. All the positions with staff with any design background (architecture, landscape architecture, industrial design) have been deleted, and staff required to apply for positions with more generic job descriptions. Well that’s my understanding at least – and apologies if I’ve got it wrong – do tell me if that’s the case! Read More

Mar 15 2010
Love0

Tsunami Box

By Lectures

On Friday 26 March, the Architectural Centre and the Wellington branch of the NZIA is delighted to launch the latest book from Gerald Melling, Tsunami Box.

poster

Tsunami box tells the story of an architectural journey into the heady tropics of emergency housing in Sri Lanka, following the Asian tsunami of 2004.

With tenacious commitment, an eye for detail, and a reckless sense of humour, architect and author Gerald Melling launches fundamental ideas about architecture onto the troubled waters of post-tsunami re-construction and hopes to see them float.

They sink, of course, but not without a trace – this book offers genuine insight into the nature of ‘good intentions’ and the anatomy of a useful architecture.
Read More

Mar 15 2010
Love0

Cut and Cover

By Comment, News

In a surprise move, the possibility of lowering State Highway One past the National War Memorial was announced on the front page of the weekend paper. At the Architectural Centre, we have been advocating this for a number of years now – we hosted a Symposium on the design of the ‘Memorial Park’ in 2007, and the over-whelming feedback from the group of assembled experts was that the roadway through the park should be lowered. In our feedback to the City on the Ngauranga to Airport study, we also noted that the Memorial Park should be lowered. Recently, during the vision for Wellington in 2040, we again pressed for the roadway to be lowered, to give the Memorial due respect and space. We’re very pleased that this is now, at last, being addressed with the respect it is due.

The present strip of pseudo motorway that sidles past the base of the National War Memorial, and incorporates two or more steeply climbing driveways up to the front of the old Museum building (now Massey University), is not so much a National shame, but very much a National lost opportunity. Read More