https://wellington.gen.nz/wellurban+architecture Items tagged with WellUrban and Architecture. http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/12/building-rumours-21-end-of-year-round.html Here's an assortment of new building news to wrap up 2007, starting from the confirmed and moving towards the more speculative.The apartment building at 158 Cuba St, which one would expect to be approaching construction since the previous building was demolished a little while ago, now has a name and a shiny website: Cubana. architecture cubastreet places blogs Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/12/building-rumours-21-end-of-year-round.html WellUrban 2007-12-28T00:00:00Z -41.2937917 174.7754336 Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6011, New Zealand http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/12/bowen-integrated-ruckus.html There's been a lot of publicity, most of it negative, about the planned "Bowen Integrated Campus". There hasn't been much to go on, apart from this one rendering, but even so it seems hard to reconcile some of the statements about it with the plans. architecture blogs Tue, 11 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/12/bowen-integrated-ruckus.html WellUrban 2007-12-11T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/density-done-right-altair.html It's been a while since I've written a post in this occasional series, but that's partly because there are depressingly few good recent examples to choose from. I've been looking for exemplary inner-suburban infill developments, and while this one is stretching the definition a bit, other infill developers could learn a lot from it.The Altair townhouse development in Newtown's Rintoul St is, at three storeys, what I would call a low-rise medium-density development. architecture newtown places blogs Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/density-done-right-altair.html WellUrban 2007-11-28T00:00:00Z -41.3110524 174.7780368 Newtown, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/growing-spine.html I've mentioned the "urban spine" concept many times before, and the expectation that much of Wellington's population growth will occur along a relatively compact corridor extending from Johnsonville via the CBD and hospital to the airport. The consultation and planning process has already started for Johnsonville, and now attention is moving to the southern parts of the city with the "Adelaide Rd - Planning for the Future" process. architecture consultation newtown places blogs Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/growing-spine.html WellUrban 2007-11-22T00:00:00Z -41.3110524 174.7780368 Newtown, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, New Zealand http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/building-rumours-20-victoria-quarter.html There hasn't been much publicity about this, but it could be one of the biggest developments, residential or otherwise, to hit Wellington in a long time.It's called the "Victoria Quarter", and it's planned to take up all of the large vacant site that currently hosts the Sunday market, bordered by Victoria, Vivian and Willis streets. architecture blogs Mon, 12 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/11/building-rumours-20-victoria-quarter.html WellUrban 2007-11-12T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/10/voting-space.html You have until 5pm tomorrow to vote for your favourite public space in the With My Little Eye exhibition: either online or at the exhibition itself. architecture blogs Thu, 04 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/10/voting-space.html WellUrban 2007-10-04T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/09/wharf-plaza.html The public spaces at Kumutoto are gradually being reopened after their revamp. This week the area between the Steamship Wharf and Meridian Energy buildings, which according to Wellington Waterfront Ltd is to be called "Wharf Plaza", is having the last finishing touches applied. While the "spring" weather may not exactly be conducive to lingering outside, the green lights under the new benches look especially good at dusk. architecture waterfront places blogs Wed, 26 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/09/wharf-plaza.html WellUrban 2007-09-26T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/09/lebensraum.html I've had a go at the Q on Taranaki proposals several times before, and while the version currently being submitted for resource consent has been cut back from the original design (I won't call it architecture), it's still a dreadful piece of crap. architecture blogs Mon, 10 Sep 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/09/lebensraum.html WellUrban 2007-09-10T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/08/building-rumours-17-towers-of.html Regular readers will know that we haven't exactly been kind to ArcHaus around here, but here's a surprising find: a project on their website that exhibits more than a little grace, drama, complexity and invention. architecture blogs Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/08/building-rumours-17-towers-of.html WellUrban 2007-08-27T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/08/film-and-architecture.html Apologies for the late notice (I've only just found out myself), but the 2007 Jasmax Architectural Film Festival starts today. Here's a quick summary of the programme (all films are at the Penthouse cinema). architecture cinema events blogs Thu, 23 Aug 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/08/film-and-architecture.html WellUrban 2007-08-23T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/07/kumutoto-khazis.html It may not have as rarefied a subject as the Memorial Park, but there has been another design competition going on: an internal contest among staff at Studio of Pacific Architecture, who have co-designed the public space at Kumutoto, for a combined public toilet and "folly" to go near the southwest corner of the Steamship Wharf building. architecture waterfront places blogs Thu, 26 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/07/kumutoto-khazis.html WellUrban 2007-07-26T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/07/building-rumours-15-forest-and-turd.html hanks to DeepRed for pointing this out: the so-called "Te Aro Towers" on the former Forest & Bird site on the corner of Taranaki and Wigan streets.Oh god. I'd been forewarned of its awfulness, but with higher-res images now available it looks worse than I expected. It really doesn't make it easy to promote high density urban living when unimaginative crap like this is what the market provides. architecture blogs Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/07/building-rumours-15-forest-and-turd.html WellUrban 2007-07-08T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/building-rumours-14-buildings.html There's just so much going on at the moment (not just apartments), this will have to be just a brief survey of all the building activity and proposals that I've come across. architecture blogs Thu, 21 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/building-rumours-14-buildings.html WellUrban 2007-06-21T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/tag-team.html We've already had a few discussions here on WellUrban about graffiti, and while I've tended to be sceptical of anti-graffiti "flying squads" while singing the praises of street art in Waitangi Park and Ghuznee Street's "Graffiti Alley", a lot of other people see all graffiti as mindless vandalism. architecture art blogs Tue, 19 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/tag-team.html WellUrban 2007-06-19T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/mo-hotels.html No-one builds plain old "hotels" any more: they're always "boutique hotels". The cutely-named Ohtel opposite Waitangi Park sounds like it will be exactly that, however. architecture waterfront places blogs Sun, 17 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/mo-hotels.html WellUrban 2007-06-17T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/quick-questions.html Is it better to have a supermarket in Mt Cook, so that the locals can do their shopping on foot rather than taking a taxi from Thorndon via the bypass, or a swimming pool? Would replacing Crossways with 3-4 storeys of apartments, and creating a new set of community facilities on the ground floor, be a possible compromise that would keep Mt Vic residents happy? architecture crossways mountcook mountvictoria places blogs Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/quick-questions.html WellUrban 2007-06-15T00:00:00Z -41.3005712 174.7721374 Mount Cook, Wellington, Wellington City, Wellington, 6021, New Zealand http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/toytown.html I've been wondering when the houses relocated for the bypass would be re-inhabited, thus bringing some life back to a ravaged district. Surely it wouldn't be long before they were snapped up? But no: Karo Drive and Tonks Grove are going to look like toytown for quite some time to come.It turns out that under the Public Works Act, Transit has to look for the original owners or their descendants, and then offer the properties to them at market prices. architecture bypass transport blogs Sun, 10 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/toytown.html WellUrban 2007-06-10T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/fear-and-loathing.html The Dominion Post have followed up their lists of the best and worst buildings in Wellington (selected by the Architectural Centre) by telling us what "we" like and "loathe". It's not clear from the article exactly who "we" are: it seems to be a combination of reader's letters in response to the other lists, random vox pops, pupils from Upper Hutt College, and Russell Walden. architecture blogs Tue, 05 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/06/fear-and-loathing.html WellUrban 2007-06-05T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/competitive-memorial.html The Ministry for Culture and Heritage has done the right thing and called for a competition to design the Buckle St New Zealand Memorial Park that I mentioned last month. It's not a completely public competition like the original Waitangi Park design process, so don't rush out and send in an entry unless you've got a good architectural CV to your name. architecture blogs Tue, 29 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/competitive-memorial.html WellUrban 2007-05-29T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/winning-waitangi.html Waitangi Park has won a Supreme Award from the New Zealand Institute of Architects. architecture waterfront places blogs Mon, 28 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/winning-waitangi.html WellUrban 2007-05-28T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/infill-tration.html There seems to be a lot of misinformed commentary going on about the changes to infill rules, and some commentators and developers give the impression that the intention is to reduce the amount of infill overall. But the council's news was clear... architecture wcc government blogs Mon, 07 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/infill-tration.html WellUrban 2007-05-07T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/ten-of-best.html As a follow-up to their ten worst buildings article, today the Dominion Post finally got around to publishing the Architectural Centre's list of the ten best buildings in Wellington, or at least those built in the last 60 years (the time that the centre has been active). architecture blogs Tue, 01 May 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/05/ten-of-best.html WellUrban 2007-05-01T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/in-memoriam.html 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. architecture bypass transport blogs Tue, 24 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/in-memoriam.html WellUrban 2007-04-24T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/playing-favourites-1-wellington-city.html This may be the highest achievement of Athfield's "Mies meets Gaudí" phase, though it's perhaps more Foster than Mies (a sinuous curtain wall straight out of Ipswich), and more Rossi than Gaudí (all those rag-rolled walls, small square windows and heavy Bolognese arcades). architecture libraries blogs Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/playing-favourites-1-wellington-city.html WellUrban 2007-04-20T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/playing-favourites-2-racing-conference.html 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". architecture blogs Fri, 20 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/playing-favourites-2-racing-conference.html WellUrban 2007-04-20T00:00:00Z http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/playing-favourites-8-freyberg-pool.html 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. architecture swimming waterfront sport places blogs Wed, 18 Apr 2007 00:00:00 GMT http://wellurban.blogspot.com/2007/04/playing-favourites-8-freyberg-pool.html WellUrban 2007-04-18T00:00:00Z