Architecture and Local History
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Common Ground?
- Thistle Hall Community Venue
- This event is part of the Aotearoa Festival of Architecture, by Te Kāhui Whaihanga New Zealand Institute of Architects. When Kaikoura shook, photographer Andy Spain got Wellington's list of earthquake prone buildings and started photographing them. The idea of fixing time became appealing, as many of the buildings were demolished. When asked to exhibit them together however, Andy began to ask what these remnants meant. He visited the petals saved from Athfield's church of First Church of Christ Scientist and saw their fragility. He talked to architects about remedial work which never saw the light of day. What were the consequences of all these traces existing in a time when the fates of many Wellington buildings are so contested? Where heritage competes with social housing, which competes with sustainable reuse, and so on. So, this exhibition is not about the photographs that have been taken, or the drawings drawn, or the artworks saved. It is about how we decide to use these remnants, and what stories we want them to tell.
- Accepted from Thistle Hall current exhibition by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- architecture
- earthquake-strengthening
- heritage-buildings
Thistle Hall, Cuba Street, Mount Cook, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Position Statement: The Architectural Centre
- Architectural Centre Inc
- Photo above: Mr and Mrs W.
- Accepted from The Architectural Centre Inc 2024 by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- gordon-wilson-flats
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Recent Media Attention
- Architectural Centre Inc
- The open letter to Hon Chris Bishop has stimulated a bit of a response from the media.
- Accepted from The Architectural Centre Inc 2024 by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- gordon-wilson-flats
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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“Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments”
- Architectural Centre Inc
- What is in a name? You may be wondering why we are calling are calling them this – rather than the Gordon Wilson Flats. Well, here you can see Minister of Housing Mr Fox (on the right looking at the camera), standing in front of the still incomplete building in 1959. This small article, published […]
- Accepted from The Architectural Centre Inc 2024 by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- gordon-wilson-flats
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Last-ditch bid to save fantastic Modernist building
- Eye of the Fish
- A group fighting to keep the Gordon Wilson Flats from being demolished, despite the building having sat empty for years, has come up with a...
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Adapted reuse scheme for Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments
- Architectural Centre Inc
- Refer below to open letter authored by The Architectural Centre addressed to Minister for Housing. We provide a robust, contemporary rationale for the retention and refurbishment of 320 The Terrace, also known as the Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments (GWMA): Tēnā koe Hon. Chris Bishop, An open letter – 320 The Terrace (Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments) […]
- Accepted from The Architectural Centre Inc 2024 by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- gordon-wilson-flats
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Adapted reuse scheme for Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments
- Architectural Centre Inc
- Refer below to open letter authored by The Architectural Centre addressed to Minister for Housing. We provide a robust, contemporary rationale for the retention and refurbishment of 320 The Terrace, also known as the Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments (GWMA): Tēnā koe Hon. Chris Bishop, An open letter – 320 The Terrace (Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments) […]
- Accepted from Architectural Centre Wordpress 2024 by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- architecture
- gordon-wilson-flats
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Adapted reuse scheme for Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments
- Architectural Centre Inc
- Refer below to open letter authored by The Architectural Centre addressed to Minister for Housing. We provide a robust, contemporary rationale for the retention and refurbishment of 320 The Terrace, also known as the Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments (GWMA): Tēnā koe Hon. Chris Bishop, An open letter – 320 The Terrace (Gordon Wilson Memorial Apartments) […]
- Accepted from Architectural Centre Wordpress 2024 by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- architecture
- gordon-wilson-flats
Gordon Wilson Flats, Maurice Terrace, Aro Valley, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Is a Prime Minster Entitled to a Nice House?
- Eye of the Fish
- There’s been a lot about this house in the news recently – both the paper kind of news, and the TV kind of news. May as well get my news from proper news sources while they exist, seeing as it sounds like soon nothing is going to exist in the news world. What will we do when 3News and OneNews are ditched, and Stuff has gone bust again? Its hard enough to even buy a paper these days, as increasingly nowhere sells them. What do we do in the future – just make up our own news as we go? Seems to be working fine for some people! Anyway, THIS is the house in question:
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- thorndon
Premier House, 260, Tinakori Road, Paekākā, Thorndon, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Toomath’s Building
- Eye of the Fish
- Farewell to the Toomath’s Buildings then. Designed by architect William Crichton, completed by 1901. Survived years of neglect – did not survive a group of...
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- toomaths-building
Toomath’s Buildings, Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Recordings of Past Events
- Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust
- We record lots of our great events held at Futuna Chapel – both lectures and concerts. Below are some of our recorded events. Michael Sullivan: Oct 2022 We were very pleased to have our very own homegrown architect Michael O’Sullivan of B/OS Architecture as the Futuna Guest Lecturer for 2022. Michael comes from a unique… Continue reading Recordings of Past Events
- Accepted from Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust feed 2020 by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- futuna-chapel
- architecture
Futuna Chapel, Futuna Close, Karori, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Recordings of Past Events
- Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust
- We record lots of our great events held at Futuna Chapel – both lectures and concerts. Below are some of our recorded events. Michael Sullivan: Oct 2022 We were very pleased to have our very own homegrown architect Michael O’Sullivan of B/OS Architecture as the Futuna Guest Lecturer for 2022. Michael comes from a unique… Continue reading Recordings of Past Events
- Accepted from Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust feed 2020 by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- futuna-chapel
- architecture
Futuna Chapel, Futuna Close, Karori, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Dixon Street flats
- Eye of the Fish
- But the big news this week has to be the somewhat silly news that the Dixon Street flats are being emptied out and there is not a clear story of what happens to the building next. This is not a sob storey like the Gordon Wilson Flats just around the corner – well, at least, it hasn’t started off the same.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- earthquake-strengthening
- heritage-buildings
Dixon Street Flats, 134, Dixon Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Adelaide Hotel
- Eye of the Fish
- It’s seldom that projects get publicly notified these days – the developers usually have it their own way with everything being done behind closed doors. You have to do something seriously different to raise the ire of the Planning Department enough that they feel they have no option but to make it known to the public. The Adelaide Hotel is one such scheme.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- consultation
- heritage-buildings
Adelaide Hotel (former), Drummond Street, Newtown, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Haining’s Historic Heritage
- Eye of the Fish
- It may not seem much like it now, but the Haining St / Frederick St area is brimming full of remnants of an interesting characterful heritage past.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
Haining Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6040, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Station to Station
- Eye of the Fish
- Wellington’s main (only?) central Railway Station has been getting a lot of press recently, mostly over the intransigence of the Heritage NZ lobby who are, to be honest, being silly over the heritage of this building. They’ve only just today approved the installation of a pedestrian ramp out the front doors – the disabled have been forced to use the side door for the last several decades. They’re sitting on the approval of installation of the Snapper ticketing terminals because they don’t like the colour. KiwiRail: do it anyway. It needs to be a living piece of heritage, adapting and changing to the times – not preserved in aspic (whatever aspic is).
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- trains
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Support for our events
- Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust
- We are delighted to have been offered financial support by third-generation Wellington construction company L T McGuinness Ltd for forthcoming 2021 events at the chapel. They are supporting our Festival of Architecture and Wellington Heritage Week events. These will include talks on the creation of a virtual reality experience of a visit to the chapel,… Continue reading Support for our events
- Accepted from Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust feed 2020 by feedreader
- Tagged as:
- architecture
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St Gerard
- Eye of the Fish
- Monasteries have always been freeloaders on society – for the last 2000 years or more.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- mount-victoria
Mt. Victoria, Wellington, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Listing buildings
- Eye of the Fish
- Not sure if you realise this yet, but the proverbial cat has just been thrown amongst the proverbial pigeons. Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (what used to be called the Historic Places Trust) has just announced three new grade 1 heritage listings in Wellington: Trades Hall, Wellington Central Library, and a combined Gordon Wilson and McLean flats as well.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- central-library-closure
- heritage-buildings
Wellington Central Library, Civic Square, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Dunajtschik demolition a done deal?
- Eye of the Fish
- News just in via the Stuff website that Mark Dunajtschik has won his appeal in the High Court against the Environment Court. But it does not mean that Mr D has the right to go out and demolish the building straight away – instead, a rehearing has been ordered. This legal stuff is exhausting, and expensive. With the amount that Mr D has spent on the legal costs so far, you might think that he could quite easily have just strengthened the building instead.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- harcourts-building
- heritage-buildings
Grey Street, Wellington Central, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand/Aotearoa (OpenStreetMap)
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Public Trust building
- Architectural Centre Inc
- There are many buildings that the Architectural Centre has championed the cause of over the years, but for me there are two that stand out from the rest. They are Old St Paul’s Cathedral in Thorndon, and the Public Trust building in Lambton Quay.
- Accepted from Architecture Centre news
- Tagged as:
- thorndon
- heritage-buildings
- earthquake-strengthening
Stout Street, Wellington Central, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand/Aotearoa
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Halfway House
- Eye of the Fish
- I’m quite interested in New Zealand’s old architecture, particularly those old colonial buildings that we haven’t preserved much of, but can still be found. So I went to Glenside, near Tawa to see an old colonial house. Apparently the suburb of Glenside used to be called ‘Halfway’ back in the day because it was located [...]
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- tawa
- heritage-buildings
Middleton Road, Grenada Village, Glenside, Wellington, 6037, New Zealand/Aotearoa
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More Dunajtschik
- Eye of the Fish
- Regarding the old Temperance and General Building on Lambton Quay – known to next to no-one as the Harcourts building. Submissions on it’s proposed demolition are due in a week – by the end of the month. It is a crunch point for Wellingtonians – should a building owner be allowed to demolish their building [...]
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- consultation
- harcourts-building
Grey Street, Wellington Central, Wellington, Wellington Region, 6012, New Zealand
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Dunajtschik demolition
- Eye of the Fish
- So the time has come at last: the first of a presumed wave of proposals to demolish perfectly good buildings in Wellington. Christchurch has had to put up with a swathe of demolition over the last couple of years, and they are getting so good at destroying everything down there, that they have forgotten that it is not compulsory. Cranmer Courts is their city’s latest disgrace – the Harcourts building is ours.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- harcourts-building
Grey Street, Wellington Central, Wellington, Wellington Region, 6011, New Zealand
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National War Memorial “Earthquake-prone”: Demolition?
- Eye of the Fish
- In some pretty shocking news that has just been leaked out of the new super-ministry this morning, the National War Memorial in Buckle St has been declared to be an earthquake prone building. The building, completed in 1932, has a concrete frame, but the weight of the heavy bronze bells in the Carillon is thought [...]
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- mount-cook
- earthquake-strengthening
41 Buckle Street
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Learning from Christchurch – or not.
- Architectural Centre Inc
- Cr Andy Foster’s comment over on EyeoftheFish regarding issues of eq preparedness in Wellington highlight, for me at least, something of the difficulties of this particular discussion.
- Accepted from Architecture Centre news
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
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Cuba Cuticle
- Eye of the Fish
- Recently, while we were talking about the curious case of the Demolition Order placed on the little green Dry Cleaners in Cuba St, I took a visit up to Cuba (St) to take a photo and found something rather odd.
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- wellywood-sign
- cuba-street
- heritage-buildings
Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Whither Cuba?
- Eye of the Fish
- Gosh – that was a surprise! Our venerated local broadsheet, el Domino Postale, appears to have gone and written an excellent, thoughtful article on what we need to do with Cuba St. Have they got a new reporter perhaps, one who is actually interested in matters more important than cute doggies or cats stuck up trees? There is hope, at least – keep an eye out on Nikki McDonald. The article raises some serious points, which I think that we have also raised before – what to do with a street whose charm lies in it’s eclectic collection of semi derelict buildings?
- Accepted from Eye of the Fish feed
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- cuba-street
Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand (OpenStreetMap)
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Heritage Questions
- Eye of the Fish
- If you’ve been trying to get hold of your Structural Engineer this week in Wellington, you’ll probably have noticed they’re not returning calls.
- Submitted by tonytw1
- Tagged as:
- heritage-buildings
- earthquake-strengthening
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