WellUrban / April 2007
Personal reflections on urbanism, urban life and sustainable urban design in Wellington, New Zealand.
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Bouncing back 5
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- In the time since my summer shakedown post, there's been the expected revival in the Wellington hospitality scene, but it's a little slow and tentative so far. There are, however, several imminent or promised arrivals, so things do seem to be looking up.
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- restaurants-and-bars
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In Memoriam
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- I can finally mention what I've known about unofficially for a while: it's been publicly announced that New Zealand Memorial Park will be built in front of the old Museum on Buckle St. It's not quite what I originally speculated about when demolition of the service station first started, since it will be where Buckle St is now rather than on the north side of it, and there's an additional nice touch in that the "Greening the Quays" project will be extended up Taranaki St to the park.
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Shops that pass in the night 12
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- The stretch of upper Cuba St shops being redeveloped as part of The Wellington apartment and hotel complex is now almost completely tenanted. As I noted a couple of months ago, Eyeball Kicks and the superette have already moved in, and Mojo coffee and Caffé Italiano are both supposed to be on the way.
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Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Playing favourites #1: Wellington City Library
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- This may be the highest achievement of Athfield's "Mies meets GaudÃ" phase, though it's perhaps more Foster than Mies (a sinuous curtain wall straight out of Ipswich), and more Rossi than Gaudà (all those rag-rolled walls, small square windows and heavy Bolognese arcades).
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Playing favourites #2: Racing Conference building
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- This one's bound to be uncontroversial: surely everyone loves the Racing Conference building, even if they just know it as "that building with the Lido in it and the curvy verandah".
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Playing favourites #8: Freyberg Pool
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- There's been some debate over on the Architectural Centre blog about whether or not the Freyberg Pool belongs among Wellington's ten best buildings, but for me, there's never been any doubt.
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Whose lane is it, anyway?
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- The media reaction to the council's plans for bus priority measures was sadly predictable: instead of headlines like "Public transport to be improved", all the focus was on the loss of some parking.
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Shooting fish at the bottom of the barrel
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- The Architectural Centre has had a go at identifying Wellington's worst buildings, and the results are featured on pages A8 and A9 of yesterday's Dominion Post. While I might quibble about the precise rankings, I agree that they're all pretty hideous and deserve to be singled out for criticism.
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Deco delights
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- The development of Chaffers Dock may be dragging on interminably (the ground floor shops and public area have been "just about to open" since last year), but there's recently been a very welcome little bit of progress. The long-promised public viewing platform on the roof is finally open, and it provides wonderful elevated views of the harbour, city and Waitangi Park.
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U-turn
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- In a surprise decision, Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast today announced that the inner-city bypass will be scrapped. "We had faith in roads to solve all life's problems, but it hasn't turned out like that at all. It seems that while east-west commuters are saving a few minutes, north-south commuters have had to pay for it with increased delays, and overall, the project hasn't been worth all the money and hassle."The council and Transit NZ are now working to repair the damage.
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