NEW DREAMLAND: A panel discussion Mark Southcombe (VUW)Ā and Ian Shearer, chaired by Christine McCarthy (President, Architectural Centre)
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Unaffordable dwellings do not have the following characteristics: Read More
Ā 
It is more that obvious that housing affordability is now a perennial topic.Ā The relatively new distinguishing of “affordable” from “social” housing is also becoming common place.Ā Houses have long been important projects for architects.Ā In Wellington, the WCC’s rejuvenation of its social housing stock has meant that locally we have an increasing awareness within our architectural community of contemporary issues pertaining to housing.
JOIN US on Friday 22 May 4.30pm for our online discussion on Affordable Housing as part of our virtual launch of our givealittle site to fundraise for our involvement in the Basin Bridge High Court Appeal opposing NZTA.
Featuring: Nigel Case, Dennis Chippindale, Sam Donald, Sam Kebbell, and Mark Southcombe
The blurb says:Ā
Le Corbusier’sĀ summer cabinĀ – a tiny bolthole built in the south of France for his wife – has beenĀ reconstructed at the Royal Institute of British ArchitectsĀ in London. Jonathan Glancey steps inside to discover what it tells us about the architect’s other monumental buildings
It’s kind of mind-blowing that it is in this space that Corb designed some of those vast concrete megaliths that architectural historians do love so much. That aside, I just love the craft here, and the novel solutions to the problems of everyday living – it puts me in mind to our recent visits to the Black and Einhorn Houses in that respect… But, the minimum dwelling? A model forĀ affordableĀ living? I suspect that it really does need the views that it had originally in order to make thisĀ livableĀ rather than soul-destroying, and theĀ lackĀ of kitchen (and consequent reliance on the next door restaurant) isn’t really going to work for the usual low-income earner… and where the heck would you put the widescreen tv, let alone get far enough away to view it all…
Fwiw, CorbĀ spent his last night here (in the cabin in its original location, not at RIBA in london), before drowning on 27 August 1965.
m-d