The Architectural Centre Inc

Category: RANTING

  • Good Manners – Just mind your step….

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    Following the councils decision to ignore everyones advice except from those that agreed with them they have lost no time in commencing the change process in Manners Mall. New pedestrian calming measures have been introduced into the centre of the mall which also perform more than adequately as holding pens for paving contractors looking to…

  • That other New Zealand city of some little significance…

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    Just to show that we are not completely parochial here at the Arch Centre, from time to time it is necessary to cast our eyes south of the Strait and north of the Tararua Ranges and acknolwedge that building activity does take place in various regional centres… such as, say, Auckland – the City of…

  • Is housing really an issue for architects?

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    Life in the outer suburbs has never been so tight.

  • On “How ‘smart growth’ made NZ section prices and housing unaffordable”

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    It has been a while since property developers and their supporters last came out publicly against contemporary urban planning practices, but yes, it is time to roll your eyes and mutter: “here we go again”. Rodney Dickens, posting on the popular interest.co.nz blog, takes aim at “government-imposed town planning regulations, often dubbed the ‘smart growth’…

  • Best of the Decade – You choose!

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    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…

  • Architecture of the Basin

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    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…

  • Grumpy old bloggers

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    If you thought that sometimes the writers at the Architectural Centre get grumpy about Architecture, then its time to show you that we aren’t nearly as harsh as some others around the world. First up there is a site called Bad British Architecture, in which the critic certainly pulls no punches. Sample diatribe: “one of…

  • Nine Eleven Architects

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    Richard Gage is an architect in the USA, and the lead promoter of a theory that the collapse of the twin World Trade Towers (and WT-7) in New York, was not caused by islamic fundamentalists after all. We’ve added a poll that you can vote on here, just to the right of this article. Please…

  • Fashion offensives

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    Architecture has historically had a difficult relationship with fashion, and, despite the challenges of the Urbis generation, it continues to perpetrate an image of consistent fundamentals, along with its younger siblings: Urban Design and Town Planning.

  • Fantasy Chairs

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    For the ultimate office reception: Looking through my latest version of Architects’ Journal I came across this little beauty! The office photocopier need no longer tremble at the thought of your next office party…