WellUrban

The last post

2008-01-27T20:48:00.000+13:00

This will be the final post on WellUrban, and I'll just use it to thank you all for your support, and to announce that there will still be a place in the blogosphere for information, advocacy and debate about the Wellington built environment: a brand new blog called Eye of the Fish.

It's been clear from the comments here that I'm not the only one to take an interest in such matters, and I always knew that someone would step up and create their own blog. It's early days yet, but from the sounds of things there's plenty of good content to come, so go ahead, subscribe to their feed and keep the conversation alive.

Looking forward

2008-01-25T14:17:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

There may not be any more mystery bars to look forward to (at least, not on WellUrban...), but at least the series ended on a pleasant note. It was indeed the brand new Mojo at Kumutoto, and it's already doing wonders for the liveliness of the adjacent public spaces.

It's one of those incredibly versatile little café/bars that Wellington does so well, and if you're not in that part of town when you're after a coffee, try popping in after work for a beer or some pizza: there's a surprising amount of sun there in the early evening.

While WellUrban will no longer be around, there are some other sources of information and gossip that are worth checking out. I can't go without a plug for The Wellingtonista, and you might see a bit more in the way of bar reviews and so forth in the near future, as well as all the usual provocations and random snippets of vital information. Texture is still going strong for hipsters and barflies, while The Kitchen Sink and The Bandwagon are the brand new gig-guides on the block. For architecture and development, the SkyscraperCity Wellington forums are full of good information, and it's worth keeping an eye on the WCC resource consents page to see listings of consents recently applied for or granted (it's on my wish-list to get that published as a geocoded feed rather than PDFs).

This could be a turbulent year for Wellington urban development and hospitality, with economic uncertainty and an election year looming. Despite some closures late in the year (goodbye, Tupelo, Imbibe and Pod), 2007 still saw a net gain of 8 bars, cafés and restaurants, and there are plenty more on the horizon. Chews Lane is nearly ready to open with plenty of tenants lining up, ranging from a rather naff-looking chain (The Coffee Club) and some more welcome new branches of local businesses (Emporio, Midland Sushi, perhaps Simply Paris) and some brand-new places (Gotham, Fresh Take and the Colonial Carrying Company). The Chaffers Dock complex has been looking a bit shaky, but with any luck someone with some business nous will take over the old Herd St Brasserie site and help the area thrive through into winter. The immediate success of the latest Mojo augurs much more favourably for the future of Kumutoto, though there's no timeline for when Wagamama and Eon will open.

Speaking of Kumutoto, the winners of the sites 8-10 competition should be announced next month. While rumour has it that the judges might tend towards the unadventurous, even the least exciting of the entries was still far above the standard of architecture that we've got used to elsewhere in the city, so the announcement will be worth your attention. And don't forget the Ngauranga to Airport transport study, consultation on which closes in four weeks' time. It's a document that deserves more analysis and argument than I've been able to devote to it, and in particular, the underlying transport model and its ludicrous assumptions are due for a damned good fisking.

It sounds very much as if something like WellUrban is still needed, and who knows? Something might be on the horizon: keep your eye out for something fishy.

Digging up the past

2008-01-25T13:30:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, archive, Wellington

Right, I've finally finished uploading all the old posts from WellUrban.org, ranging from 2003 to 2005. I haven't updated them, so these are snapshots of my thinking and the state of city at the time, and you should expect some statements to be out-of-date or discredited by subsequent events - not too much, I hope!

Anyway, here are the posts:

And there's also an explanation of my rating system and criteria.

Ancient history

2008-01-23T10:37:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

This is something I've been meaning to do for a while: take the reviews that I wrote many years ago on my old WellUrban.org site and reformat them so that I can post them here. That will get everything into one place, and allow me to take down the old site, which had become too cumbersome to maintain. So, don't be perplexed by the burst of somewhat out-of-date posts!

Inside the tent

2008-01-22T13:28:00.000+13:00

Most of you will have noticed that I haven't been blogging with my usual frequency, and while some of that can be put down to the usual holiday break and humidity-induced torpor, there's another reason why: I've been winding down in preparation for the end of WellUrban, which will happen at the end of this week.

That's because I've accepted a job as an urban designer at Wellington City Council, and it will be inappropriate for me to continue commenting on related matters. I've thought long and hard about this, since this blog and related activities have been a big part of my life over the past two and a half years, but I decided that this was a potentially once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a career change into a field that has clearly been my passion.

Anyway, I'd like to thank you all for your lively and (usually) civil comments, and for your engagement with the future of this fascinating little city. I hope to post a few more times this week, and I'll leave the comments open on existing posts, but after Monday there will be no new posts on here from me.

It's been a pleasure.

Mystery bar number 70

2008-01-14T14:52:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

An anonymous reader got the location of the previous mystery bar right, and Flat White got the name: it's Four Kings, or at least the first stage of it. It's taking over the old premises of The Lab and Lab Underground, and promises to be the biggest sports bar in the country. Actually, what the chalkwritten sign outside boasts is "the biggest in the county", but given that New Zealand lacks that particular style of geographic or administrative subdivision, I think "country" is what they meant. In any case, they'll have the gargantuan Temperance Bar to deal with before long, and with that vast temple to blokishness claiming enough space for 1900 beer-soaked punters, it'll make Four Kings look like Superfino.

After the Stygian drabness of Four Kings, today's mystery bar stands out with its lightness and big windows, and its visibility should make it much easier to identify. There's a lot of dark wood, which it shares with most places of this type, but the wide expanses of glass, sunny location and surprising splashes of colour give it an appealing point of difference. The design carries off the impressive feat of managing to feel both spacious and cosy, and it makes the most of an unusual space.

As is becoming increasingly common, this is a café that dabbles with being a bar when it feels in the mood. It's not a cocktail bar, but it has some beer on tap, a few other bottled beers, and a dozen or so wines to choose from. Food is mostly from the counter, though there's also a small selection of pizzas to soak up the alcohol. It's only open late a few days of the week, but its style and location make it a very agreeable place for a quiet after-work tipple, and a stylish complement to the other establishments in the vicinity.

Courtenay Park at last

2008-01-09T12:32:00.000+13:00

File under: landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

After much controversy and delay, work on Courtenay Place Park is finally underway. There have been a few changes since the earlier plans, including the addition of lightboxes (to display artwork) along the northern side, and the omission for now of any extension to the old toilet block since Ferg pulled out of the wine bar concept.

I've heard that the net loss of car parks will now be only one, down from six in the first concept and three in the interim version, though no doubt there are still some people out there who regard this as an intolerable erosion of their right to park wherever they want. The central paved area should serve as a useful space for performers and street vendors, and when the work is completed in April, with any luck Burger Fuel will be back after their fiery mishap, and perhaps someone will replace Herbal Heaven with something that will make the most of the new public space.

Champagne Cocktail roundup

2008-01-07T17:22:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

Time for a belated summary of the drink of the month for December 2007. The results were generally very good, though I suppose it's a simple enough drink that it's hard to get wrong if the ingredients are explained to the staff.

And there was indeed a lot of explaining to do. D4 and the Buena Vista Social Club both had to be talked through this extremely complex and obscure cocktail one step at a time, but the results were worth it. Some places (such as Plum and Superfino) lacked sugar cubes, but while the results may not have all the visual appeal, they taste just as good. In fact, I quite liked Buena Vista's use of palm sugar, which gave a slightly earthy complexity.

One fairly common problem was the idea that "Champagne Cocktail" is another word for "Kir Royale". Even after some detailed explanation, one time at Sweet Mother's Kitchen we ended up with a Kir Royale instead. On another occasion, though, the same request was received from the bartender with a cheery "Ah! A fine and often neglected drink!", and his classic rendition bore out his confidence and enthusiasm. Buoyed by that, I led him on to try some experiments, endeavouring to concoct a New Orleans equivalent. The obvious substitutions were bourbon for brandy and Peychaud's bitters for Angostura, but the result was too sweet. A quick dash of absinthe fixed that, though further research is required to arrive at the optimal proportions.

Other than that, I didn't try too many deviations from the classic, and had excellent versions at Boulôt, Hawthorn Lounge and the (sadly now defunct) Herd St Brasserie, where they took the "Champagne" literally. An exception was at Alice, where a night of exploring their list eventually led to their "Blue Caterpillar". Big mistake. It's not that it tastes bad: it's just that it tends to lead to whole chunks of your weekend going missing. Or maybe it's just that by the time of night when one is ready to been seen drinking fizzy blue cocktails, such mishaps are already inevitable.

Thus ends the "drink of the month" series, though something of the sort may eventually re-emerge over on The Wellingtonista.

Building rumours 21: end-of-year round-up

2007-12-28T15:46:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

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. The apartment levels appear the same as the earlier model (i.e. rectilinear but with quite a lot of depth and variety), but the Che Guevara artwork on the first floor (which made me cringe earlier) has been replaced by an abstract design of metal and neon circles.

The proposal for the corner of Ghuznee and Leeds streets has morphed from a rather surprisingly curvy design into something much more conventional: the Metropol. 14 storeys might seem surprisingly tall for Ghuznee St, but the District Plan height map (1.16MB PDF) does indeed allow a 43m height limit here, and this is a fairly complex design that steps down from a tower on Leeds St, via what look like "townhouses in the sky" above the building that currently houses the Nut Shop, to the height limits set for the Cuba St character area. This is still apparently at the pre-application stage, so it may change before it gets any further.

The headline 'Green village' plan for Tory St had my hopes up for a while: is someone finally going to do something worthwhile with that hideous agglomeration of bulk retail at the top of Tory St? Sadly not. But Ian Cassels' plan to convert the Telecom office complex into a combination of apartments, retail, offices and even a retirement home sounds intriguing on many levels. It may be some years off, it may not involve any major new construction, and whether the "sustainable urban village" turns out to be anything more than a fairly conventional mixed use development remains to be seen. But as an opportunity to freshen up some tired architecture, provide some more active edges, turn the surface car parks into decent public space and provide pedestrian connections to Alpha and Tennyson streets, this is a proposal with a lot of potential.

The much-discussed former Il Casino site currently bears an intriguing giant ribbon and sticker, implying that some sort of gift is about to be presented to the city. Most of us are too cynical to expect any development here to be much of a pleasant surprise, but there is apparently a proposal working its way through the consent process, with some hints of improvement as it proceeds. Despite the news that the site owner is "still considering options for the site", the ribbon would seem to indicate that an advertising campaign (for what one presumes will be apartments) is imminent. That same article seems to put an end to any rumours about a future re-launch of Il Casino, so whether or not any physical remnants of the building remain (and there's not much more than façades left), this corner will never be the same.

The fun police

2007-12-20T11:25:00.000+13:00

File under: street art, graffiti, flanerie, Wellington

"Graffiti Alley" between the Left Bank and Ghuznee St may have just been edged out in the Wellingtonista Best Public Art awards, but it's still the most dynamic and democratic site of all. There were some particularly interesting goings-on a couple of weekends ago, and when I walked past early one the evening the masked artists were hard at work; later that evening they were still there, but being sternly spoken to by the boys in blue. I'm not sure whether anyone was arrested, or whether the police attention was due to anything other than the graffiti action, but the end results were certainly more than your average tagger's scrawl.

Streetwise Wellingtonians will have been aware of tags and stickers by "F is 4 Fun" for a while now, but this goes well beyond that and probably counts as an art installation. About half of the alley was taken up by posters, hanging signs, collages and even complex multi-media assemblages incorporating ironing boards and sneakers (which soon disappeared, perhaps to become a collector's item?). Other photographers have already been onto it, including Robyn Gallagher and bronzebrew, and this appears to be an anniversary celebration by a long-established street artist.

There are signs that the installation might have been even more ambitious if they hadn't been caught in the act. There was a rough outline of some abstract organic designs around the sneakers, and that may have been intended to be filled in by aerosols. While the artists seem to enjoy taunting the police, if this is anything to go by, perhaps this is a case for police discretion? After all, it's hard to say that this work detracts from the attractiveness or amenity of what would otherwise be an anonymous and malodorous alley.

Mystery bar number 69

2007-12-18T11:36:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

Last week's mystery bar was Chill, a new "café and wine bar" at the base of the Central Stratford hotel in Willis St. The appearance of the building didn't bode well for the quality of the long-promised café, and the name doesn't help either, but in the end it has a pleasant (if conventional) interior design and generally feels very good. While it's definitely more of a café than a proper bar, it's a good place to go for a civilized glass or two of wine after work, and the tapas are delicious.

Today's mystery bar is much less likely to be a good choice for a "civilized" glass of anything. There are plenty of bar and restaurant designers who have done good things with industrial style, but this place seems to take it to a new level: Paremoremo chic. Despite certain elements aimed at comfort, such as upholstered booths and even recliners, the extensive use of polished concrete, metal tubes and bare wood suggests that washability is a higher priority than luxury.

While the décor seems spartan, no effort or expense has been spared in the provision of entertainment technology, and even when empty, this bar must put a significant strain on the national grid. In one of those "hilarious" gestures so characteristic of this sort of bar, the toilets are labelled "Fluffies" and "Diddles", though it's clear that everything is tailored much more towards the latter than the former. With a menu that promises "something for everyone from some classic buffalo wings for a nibble or the biggest Char Grilled steaks in town" and a music policy that ensures "you WILL know all the words to every song", this is also clearly not aimed at metrosexuals or the "trendy urban class", however much some of the latter might like some of the facilities. On the other hand, if you own a Holden and say "maaaaaate!" a lot, you'll feel right at home.

Slightly less super

2007-12-14T13:15:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, Mt Cook, Wellington

When you're considering what to submit for the Adelaide Rd consultation (due in less than 4 hours), it's worth bearing in mind the current state of proposed private developments. There was an article in yesterday's Dominion Post (now online), and a media release from the council, stating that a demolition consent has been applied for for the proposed supermarket site that has been much discussed. While both articles are primarily concerned about the possibility of the site being left vacant for months, there's a small point mentioned in the Dom article that's quite interesting: the proposal has been scaled down somewhat.

Instead of a 6000 sq m Pak 'N Save with 60 apartments, Foodstuffs are now proposing "a medium-sized New World supermarket above a car park with space for 157 vehicles, and a couple of four to five-storey blocks, each with 20 apartments". The façade of the old BGI swimming pool will also be retained and incorporated, and while I'm always wary of façadism, this all sounds like some sort of compromise is happening quietly during the pre-application stage of the consent process. If the actual consent process (which Foodstuffs expects to start in March) were able to ensure that the final design incorporates plenty of active edges and maybe even a replacement for the pool, then I think we could go a long way towards balancing the needs of what could be a valuable development with the legitimate concerns of current residents. Fingers crossed.

Frank comparisons

2007-12-14T10:03:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, urbanism, landscape architecture, Wellington

The winner of the Frank Kitts Park design competition has been announced (on page A4 of today's Dominion Post and in the latest issue of On the Waterfront), and it was the one labelled Option B. As I speculated at the time but couldn't say for sure, it's by Wraight and Associates, who were part of the Waitangi Park design team. Interestingly, the announcement includes a perspective drawing that makes it much easier to grasp the overall layout than the entry itself did.

In my summary of the options, I said of this one that it has "Nice clean geometry, with a good tight cluster of buildings, but too much bleakly flat lawn." I think I still stand by that, but that's partly based on my own personal aversion to big open paddocks, and people who want a big flat space for chucking around a ball or frisbee should be very pleased with this. In fact, for all the talk in some quarters of the redesign "destroying open space", it looks like this plan actually has more open green space than the current park:

The most important thing is to compare the new design to the current park. On the plus side, this will finally be a waterfront park from which you can actually see the water. It will be an opportunity to update the physical and design qualities of a park that is looking rather tired and dated. The Chinese Garden, which I think is handled better than in any of the rival designs, should provide a lot of spatial variety, visual interest, shelter and cultural value. The upper lawn will have better access from the promenade and lagoon, and in general movement into and through the park should be easier. Best of all, from my perspective, the cluster of pavilions in and adjacent to the Chinese Garden has the potential to create a node of activity part way along a stretch that can be quite deserted at times.

Apart from the exposed nature of the lawn space, there are a few other aspects I'm less happy with. I don't see the need to relocate the Albatross sculpture to the upper lawn: it's very popular where it is, and the current combination of lagoon, fountain and Kaffee Eis works very well. The larger flat green area comes at the expense of the amphitheatre, so while it will be better for some sorts of events it will be less suited to others. There's no attempt to create new connections between the promenade and the water, though the brief suggested that this might be left until later stages for financial reasons. Finally, the improved visual connection between the lawn and the harbour comes at the expense of shelter and seating along the promenade: while the loss of shelter may be an unavoidable trade-off, I hope that some sort of informal or moveable seating could be included without too much effort.

The article emphasised that this is not a final, detailed design, and that more development of the design will occur over the next six months. There's a lot to like about this proposal, and I hope that between now and the eventual reconstruction of the park (which is unlikely to start before 2009), there are opportunities to work through any shortcomings and create the best possible space.

Update: the agenda for this Wednesday's Council meeting has just been released, and there is an overview report on the park decision, together with detailed reports from the jury, Chinese Garden committee and Technical Advisory Group.

Bowen Integrated Ruckus

2007-12-11T17:23:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, heritage, Wellington

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.

For a start, some people have referred to the development as "an office block" or "a building", when in fact it's a complex plan that involves refurbishing two existing buildings, replacing another, adding to some, building a new block and then joining some of them with a large atrium. Whatever its aesthetic merits (which I'll discuss later), this development cannot be described, as the Dominion Post did, as a "monolithic building". If anything, it's the opposite of monolithic, since it consists of several varied masses rather than a single large one.

The main objector to this has been Parliament and its lawyers. Among other things, they have called it "an insult to heritage", though it's not clear what heritage they're talking about. The Bowen State Building and Charles Fergusson Tower will be directly affected, since they will be re-clad and added to, and while they were significant in their time and I'm generally in favour of seeing modern buildings as part of our heritage, I think all but the most ardent aficionados of Ministry of Works functionalism would agree that they could probably do with a bit of a revamp. The objectors seem more intent on preserving the "dignity" of Parliament itself, though, and claimed that the development will "get in Parliament's face". Given that Parliament faces the other way, and that the extensions will take the complex only about 10m or so closer to Parliament across a wide space, this could perhaps more accurately be described as "creeping slightly closer to Parliament's arse".

One of Parliament's other objections was that this would be 'a "de facto appropriation" of public land for private purposes'. Here are some images of the high-quality public land that will be cruelly sacrificed if this development goes ahead:

These are not verdant swathes of parkland or bustling town squares, but exactly the sort of windswept, leftover, car-dominated spaces that the high-modernist "towers in a plaza" typology so often inflicted upon cities. The irony of this complaint becomes complete when you read that part of Parliament's objection is because "it is concerned at ... its potential to limit growth of the parliamentary complex, including expansion into the temporary sculpture park". Their outrage at the threat to the sculpture park by building closer to it is put into context by their presumed intention to build on the park itself at some stage.

So, from a straightforward urbanist perspective, I don't really have a problem with this plan. It turns a depressing chunk of Milton Keynes into something resembling a proper city block, comprised of multiple adjacent buildings built to the street edge. If the shops and cafés planned for the atrium also open onto Bowen St itself, the resulting active edge could be much more pleasant to walk beside than the existing carpark. Seen from the context of nearby Lambton Quay and the Terrace, the scale and massing are not at all overwhelming or dominating, but an extension of the urban scale of the high city.

However, the rendering is not exactly encouraging from an architectural point of view. In particular, the new building along Bowen St shows the same lack of imagination as recent and current developments elsewhere in Thorndon (the Defence building and Vogel Integrated Campus spring to mind). Even those designs that looked staid and conventional among the Kumutoto competition would look like works of subtle genius in this company, and while I'm not usually averse to rectilinear modernism, a bit of curve, colour or variation would not have gone amiss. Perhaps the architects are deferring too much to the area's (brutalist) heritage? Or is the brief just the same old "we don't care if it's drab, just give us lots of cheap floor space"?

Ultimately, I do agree with one thing that Parliament's lawyers have said about this: "New Zealand has only one Parliament. It has only one parliamentary precinct. This precinct is of national and local importance." This precinct demands a more integrated approach than a mere "integrated campus": it should mesh much more with Parliament itself and the Capital district as a whole. We could do without the misinformation, exaggerations and hidden agendas, but we also deserve a measured and far-reaching approach to designing this unique part of the city.

Winners

2007-12-10T13:35:00.000+13:00

File under: events, awards, Wellingtonista, architecture, urbanism, transport, Wellington

I haven't posted much recently on WellUrban's core concerns (architecture and urbanism), but normal service should resume shortly. The usual start-of-month posts on Drink of the Month and the preceding roundup, combined with a new mystery bar (that no-one's attempted to guess yet), have taken up some of my time, but I've also been busy with the Second Annual Wellingtonista Awards (dubbed "the AWAs"). There was an absolutely stonking awards party on Thursday: ridiculously glamorous photos are available on MLR and on Flickr via Jo Hubris, begilejapan and variasian; and write-ups can be found on Hard News and the many blogs linked to by Miramar Mike. It took a while for enough of us to recover from the festivities to post the results, which are now fully online and generating controversy already. Here's a bit more detail on the most WellUrban-ish of the categories.

Best Building: for the second year running, the Wellington City Library took out the award, thus proving that this is one example of late Postmodernism that has aged surprisingly well. The Meridian building wasn't that far behind, though, and given that (unlike the library) the general public hasn't had a chance to spend time inside it, I'd like to think that it's well on the way to establishing itself as a Wellington favourite and a benchmark for new architecture in the city.

Best Public Space: this was one of the most-answered questions in the survey, with nearly 600 votes overall. It was also much closer, and while the Botanic Gardens was the winner, Oriental Bay wasn't far behind, followed quite closely by Cuba Mall and Waitangi Park. I was quite surprised that Midland Park came in a very distant last, but I guess it's not a destination space, and now that I'm no longer working nearby I can't imagine myself spending much time there.

Best Public Art: this category was won by a cluster of sculptures rather than a single piece: the Meridian Energy Wind Sculpture Walk along Cobham Drive. It only just beat the "Left Bank Gallery" aka Graffiti Alley (which was the scene of some very unusual activity over the weekend - I'll write more about that soon), and while I voted for the Alley myself, it's good to recognise the great work that the Wellington Sculpture Trust has been putting in. In fact, the only reason that the trust couldn't have someone there to receive their award was that they were busy unveiling their latest contribution to Wellington's public space: Regan Gentry's Green Islands sculptures on the plinths outside Te Papa.

Most Needed: this was a very broad category, covering everything from bars and shops to infrastructure. The winner by a huge margin, with nearly twice as many votes as its nearest rival, was light rail to the airport. Of course this wasn't a scientific survey, but someone should tell the council as they consider transport options to the airport that 248 out of 544 people voted for light rail. Second place went to "a 24-hour diner", and I'll be willing to push that up the priority list given our post-awards dining debacle.

Drink of the month: Champagne Cocktails

2007-12-08T13:18:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

After having to curb the enthusiasm of one particularly over-eager punter who was keen to give away the not-very-well-kept secret, here (at last) is my post on the drink for December: Champagne Cocktails. They're light and bubbly enough for summer sipping; with the extra kick required to get one through the tedium of office parties and uninvited rellies; and nothing says "celebration" like champers.

First, some definitions. Strictly speaking (that is, according to the International Bartenders' Association), a traditional "Champagne Cocktail" starts with brandy and a bitters-soaked sugar cube, and is then topped up with Champagne. Although I'm normally a stickler for the proper geographic use of the Appellation "Champagne", I think that most of us are not in the financial position to insist that our mixed drinks include ingredients from anywhere near Reims, and besides, much of the subtlety will be wasted once the other ingredients are included. I'll also broaden the category for this month to include all cocktails made with sparkling wine, though I'm strict enough on the definition of "cocktail" to only go for those drinks that contain actual spirits. That rules out otherwise classic drinks such as the Mimosa and the Bellini, and even the Kir Royale, since Crème de Cassis is a liqueur rather than a spirit.

What does that leave us with, apart from the original Champagne Cocktail? The French 75 is a well-known, refreshing and surprisingly powerful drink, and you get extra pedant points for ordering a "Soixante Quinze". I've written before about the delights of Death in the Afternoon, though I would advise against drinking these on too warm an afternoon, lest the name become a prophecy. The legendary Joe Gilmore created all sorts of posh concoctions as tributes to the celebrities of the age, and many of those involved Champagne, though I'd think twice before drinking anything named after Princess Anne's horse.

That still leaves a vast universe of variations still to be invented: anything that involves a spirit and sparkling white wine would count. I used to swear by a mixture of Champagne and Cointreau, and the Ray Gun, while more of a novelty than a pleasant drink, is another way to put some zap into your Xmas party. Plenty of bars around town offer their own variations. Matterhorn tweaks the French 75 with the bizarre-sounding mixture of fig and cigar syrup, though along with a few of their sparking-wine cocktails, they spoil the effect a bit by serving it over ice in a highball glass. Boulôt always has some intriguing cocktails, and their Bellbird, which may have been a temporary special, offered a more alcoholic alternative to a Kir Royale. Alice has a page on their list dedicated to the genre, so that's one place that should definitely be on the itinerary. Where else should one seek out this holiday season?

Tunnel vision

2007-12-06T13:23:00.000+13:00

File under: transport, sustainability, urbanism, Wellington

The long-delayed Ngauranga to Airport Transport Study has finally come back with some options for public consultation. It'll take a while for me to crunch through the many megabytes of reports, brochures and forms, but for the meantime I'll just point you to the Dominion Post's barely restrained glee at the prospect of more roads and tunnels, and frogblog's reasonably measured response.

Submissions are due on the 22nd of February. It's good to get some time to mull over the reports, though it means that people's submissions on the Adelaide Rd consultation will have to be in well before they've been able to think through the transport study, which is disappointing considering how closely the two are linked.

Mystery bar number 68

2007-12-05T13:07:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

The last mystery bar was in a fairly visible location, and it didn't take long for it to be identified as D4, a large and slick new bar upstairs on Featherston St. It has already attracted a regular clientèle, partly because it has everything required to appeal to the local office workers, and partly because, as was pointed out to me, the owner Dermot used to own the Black Harp just up the road.

Meanwhile, as some of the comments on the "Wellington's most needed" category in the Wellingtonista Awards attest, Wellingtonians have been hanging out for a tapas bar. Might today's mystery bar be the answer to their prayers? While it bills itself simply as a "café and wine bar", it has a definite lean towards Iberian food, and the tapas menu includes such classic nibbles as piquillos rellenos, pinchos, gambas al ajillo and even (for those unafraid of tentacles) pulpo a la vinagreta.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a traditional tapas bar atmosphere, with old brick walls, low lighting and a crush of regulars eating and drinking at the bar, then you may be disappointed. There's been an attempt to make some of the seating areas reasonably intimate, with comfy banquettes and walls lined with dark wood, but the overall impression is more like a café than a bar or restaurant. That suits the market that they're aiming at, though, and it could gain a lot in atmosphere depending on the crowd. The selection of wine and other drinks also doesn't seem to go out of its way to offer traditional matches, such as sherry, Rioja or Sangria, so it might be best to think of this as a "café with tapas" than as a tapas bar per se. Nevertheless, it's a pleasant enough place and much better than one might expect from the location.

Daiquiri roundup

2007-12-03T13:34:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

I managed to get through a reasonable selection of daiquiris last month, and though some places revealed their ignorance by initially saying things such as "we can't make one, because we don't have any fruit", in general I managed to get good results with a bit of coaxing. The lime/sugar balance was all over the place, but none were really undrinkable, and it's really down to personal taste whether you prefer them tart.

Nowhere really stood out for the excellence of their classic Daiquiris, though a couple of places offered worthwhile variations. The Buena Vista Social Club has some new staff who seem more capable of living up to the expectations that their cocktail list sets, and their "Floridita Daiquiri" (with the reasonably traditional addition of Maraschino) is nicely set off with a palm sugar rim. I see that this place is on the market, so if it has new owners soon I hope that they continue this improvement in form. Newcomer Alice also does a very good classic Daiquiri, plus some very tasty variations involving apricots and plums. These aren't slushy frozen Daiquiris but good strong drinks with the addition of fruit purées, and they achieve a fine balance between fresh flavours and serious alcoholic content.

The drink for December will also be just right for summery weather, and has specific seasonal connotations that make it doubly appropriate for this time of year.

Make your vote count!

2007-11-30T14:39:00.000+13:00

File under: events, awards, Wellingtonista, architecture, Wellington

I've mentioned it before, but here's a last minute reminder: voting in the Wellingtonista Awards closes on Monday. I can't give too much away about the progress of the voting, but let's just say that my personal favourite for the Best Building award, the Meridian HQ, was doing well in early polling, so if you want to either give it a boost or plump for one of its rivals, get in now and vote!

Back to the Promenade

2007-11-29T08:51:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, urbanism, landscape architecture, Wellington

After being closed for reconstruction for most of the year, the Tug Wharf Promenade at Kumutoto reopened this morning. Apart from new lighting and seats, the main feature is a new bridge, supported by a "Cradle" at one end and a "Crane Tower" at the other. This bridge looked disappointingly nondescript in the earlier renders, but there are many more subtleties of shape visible in the final product, and by all accounts there's some innovative engineering going on underneath it all. By replacing a section of the heavy tug wharf with a slender, tapered span, the bridge enables the declaimed "stream mouth" to have better visual (and small boat) access to the harbour, and the tower itself creates a sort of archway that helps to mark a stage in one's movement along the promenade.

Work on some of the public space north of Kumutoto Plaza will continue for a while longer, perhaps for a few more weeks, but most of the public spaces in this stage of the Kumutoto developments are now open to the public. Significantly, it's now possible to skate or cycle along the water's edge from Whitmore St to Oriental Bay for the first time in years, since the promenade in front of Chaffers Dock closed for Waitangi Park construction and didn't reopen until May. It's a pity that the Mojo won't be open until early January now, since that would have given us a first indication of how the combination of promenade, plazas and buildings will work together as public realm. With any luck, the ground floor of the Meridian building will be fully tenanted before the end of summer, bringing another part of the waterfront to life at last.

Density done right: The Altair

2007-11-28T19:23:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, infill, Wellington

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. It's in a location that's almost perfect for such a typology: close to public transport and amenities, and just close enough to walk to town if you're feeling fit, yet far enough into the suburbs that apartment living would be less appropriate. If we're to encourage more than just childless young people and empty-nesters to live at higher densities, then developments like these, with small private courtyards and shared spaces, will be an essential part of the housing mix.

Of course, there are plenty of townhouse developments around, but with a few exceptions they are mostly aesthetic disasters of the sort that provokes backlashes against infill. I think that these are an important counterexample because they illustrate one way of being contemporary without being bland or aggressive, and of being lively and friendly without giving in to pastiche. The mass is broken down into smaller units; the two halves of the development have different colours and materials; the façades are deep and animated; and the overall balance between consistency and variety is remarkably well done.

Not everyone will like their rectilinear style, and they're not "in keeping with the historic character" of the neighbourhood in the narrowest sense, but I think it's clear that this is thoughtful architecture with quality detailing and solid materials. Once the development is complete and the trees have grown, this could evolve a character of its own over time.

I said before that this stretches the definition of "infill", and that's because it's a large-scale development on a brownfield site (well, literally speaking Athletic Park was a green field, but you know what I mean) rather than an incremental intensification of one or two quarter-acre sections. The comprehensive nature of this project makes it much easier to plan the site well, to produce a balance of consistency and variety, and to respect the street as urban space, all of which are tricky when you've got a single section on a narrow street frontage to work with.

There are some things I'm not so keen on, such as the street-side parking on the southern half and the ambiguity between public and private spaces: creating new walkways for the general public can be a good thing, as can creating shared spaces for the residents only, but spaces that are unclear tend to work out poorly for both groups. I'm not in a position to judge things such as the quality of workmanship or the appropriateness of the interior planning, and at over half a million dollars for three bedrooms they're hardly a solution to the housing affordability crisis. But this is a much better use of land than the low-rise retirement ghetto that is spreading across the rest of the Athletic Park site, and it's proof that large medium-density townhouse developments don't have to be nasty, flimsy and unimaginative.

Visible and risible

2007-11-26T19:57:00.000+13:00

File under: sustainability, energy, Wellington

There was a shock horror scoop in the Dominion Post today, with the headline Wind farm 'visible from Island Bay to Waikanae'. A leaked report purports to show that the proposed Puketiro wind farm would be visible from all across the Wellington region, and a spokesperson for a group called "Preserve Pauatahanui" said that "the leaked information shows that all Wellingtonians should be concerned".

Does this mean that the wind farm will be a dominating presence across the region? Hardly. The report by Boffa Miskell actually shows the theoretical visibility plans, and in many cases, that's very theoretical indeed. I presume that the planners have thus far done a viewshed analysis based on a Digital Elevation Model, and the result shows those parts of the region with a direct line of sight to the turbines. That doesn't imply that anyone in those locations with normal human eyesight would actually be able to distinguish them at that distance, let alone feel that the modification to the landscape "affects" them in any way.

To put this (literally) in perspective, a 130m-high turbine at Puketiro would be 35km from Island Bay, and a bit of high school trig will tell you that it will subtend about one fifth of an angular degree. That's about half an eyelash held at arm's length. Even with some motion to catch the eye and 50 of them along the ridge, you'd really have to go out of your way to see them, and that's assuming good visibility and no low cloud. Somehow, I don't think the residents of Island Bay will have to worry about the threat to their property values.

On top of all the hyperbole, it's all based on the assumption that wind farms are a blot on the landscape in the first place. Diane Strugnell of Preserve Pauatahanui makes the extraordinary claim that "People are realising that if it goes ahead then they will never see the hills the way they are supposed to be seen". "Supposed"?! Where does this teleological interpretation of landscape come from? Were the hills put there for the aesthetic delectation of human beings? And if so, wouldn't we be "supposed" to see them covered in native forest, rather than the highly modified landscape of exotic forest, grazing lands, fences and roads that characterises the area? Battle Hill Regional Park certainly has historic value, but it's hardly virgin wilderness.

In any case, I believe we should celebrate the dynamic beauty of the turbines as well as welcoming them as a source of sustainable energy. Build them on Mt Kaukau and along Mt Victoria, so we can proudly point to them and say "that's powering our public transport, and making Wellington a net exporter of energy". Which would you rather see: wind turbines turning on the hillside, or a future dependent on a dwindling supply of fossil fuel?

Growing a spine

2007-11-22T20:04:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, planning, transport, Mt Cook, Wellington

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.

This project looks to the northern stretch of Adelaide Rd, from John St to the Basin, as a site for potential intensification. It's currently right at the start of the consultation process, so there's not much detail yet, but the vision is clear from the brochure (398kB PDF): "This project provides a unique opportunity to transform Adelaide Road into an exciting and vibrant urban village, incorporating a number of different land uses and activities, whilst retaining and enhancing its unique characteristics and features." For most of us who are familiar with Adelaide Rd, there wouldn't seem much worth retaining apart from a few characterful buildings scattered among the car yards and drive-throughs, but this map of the study area shows that it's much more than just Adelaide Rd itself that's being considered.

The consultation is actually looking at a much broader area, extending right up to Wallace St in the heart (such as it is) of Mt Cook. The areas around Wallace, Tasman and Hanson streets have a very different character from the light industrial/bulk retail mishmash of Adelaide Rd; one that is much more sensitive and historic, and intensification there will need to be handled very carefully.

While these early consultation documents don't mention anything as specific as height limits, there have already been some mixed messages floating around in the media. According to this week's Capital Times, "the council is considering whether to increase building height restrictions from 12m to 15-16m", into which one could conceivably fit 5-6 storeys. On the other hand, a Dominion Post article that I discussed back in August said that "it would be low-rise developments, no more than three storeys". As I said back then, three storeys might be an appropriate limit for the smaller-scale residential streets, but I see Adelaide Rd itself as being better suited by 6 storeys: more "urban" than "village".

As well as the core urban form and heritage questions, this study has to deal with connections to adjacent developments such as supermarkets and Memorial Park, and perhaps most vexedly, with transport issues. Adelaide Rd has room to expand to the east by at least one lane with very little demolition or relocation of buildings, but it would seem a waste to use the extra space for something as inefficient as private vehicles. I don't want to get anyone's hopes up, but among the images on the front page is this street section or sections:

Those things on the left look very much like light rail vehicles, so perhaps if you all go and vote for "light rail to the airport" in the Wellingtonista Award's "most needed" category, we'll have a chance of making this real!

I could write more about Adelaide Rd, but I've already covered a lot of that in my entry in the aBc competition. I just have to get around to converting it into a more web-friendly form (and by "web-friendly" I mostly mean "less than 100MB"), then I'll post that here. In the meantime, read the media release and consultation documents, and you have until the 14th of December to make your thoughts known. That may not seem long, but this is just the first stage, with a community workshop to follow next year. Even if you don't currently live or travel through there, you may want to sometime in the future, be affected by the impact of transport planning on the city as a whole, or just be glad that there's an opportunity to plan for sustainable urban growth. So get involved.

Post Meridian

2007-11-22T17:39:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, urbanism, retail, food, Wellington

Meridian Energy moved into their brand new building nearly a month ago, and it's been receiving plenty of praise, including a nomination in The Wellingtonista Awards for best building in Wellington. But there's still a lot going on in the ground floor of the building and in the adjacent public spaces, and I'm now in the position to confirm some juicy rumours that I've been hearing for a while.

First, though, a quick update on progress with the public space. Work on the tug wharf promenade and its associated new bridge is newly complete, and should reopen to the public next Wednesday. Work on the Kumutoto "stream mouth" declamation and its surrounding spaces will take a little bit longer, but once the construction area starts to shrink, Kumutoto Plaza (or whatever it will end up being officially named) should start to be a more attractive space to linger in.

The new Mojo in the western annex should help that as well, and at the moment they are hoping to open before Christmas. The schedule's pretty tight, though, and if there are any delays it looks like it won't open until January. A peek through the door reveals a large, curved central bar with what looks like a mezzanine on top (though that may just be storage), and if it's up to the usual Mojo standards (as their new Bond St branch is) it should be something to look forward to.

I'm now allowed to confirm the rumoured tenants for the larger, harbour-side section of the building. The northern end, with the best sun and views, will be a branch of Wagamama. As one can tell from the mixture of comments on the Wellingtonista after Wagamama was nominated as one of the things that Wellington most needs, that will no doubt divide people between those who think that the last thing we need is another international chain and those who are fans of their overseas branches and can't wait to get noodle-slurping. Personally, I think that a cheapish and casual yet reasonably stylish (i.e. better designed than the Port Café) Asian restaurant/bar would be a great complement to the other waterfront dining options.

The southern end will have two tenants: a replacement ticket office for the East by West Ferry, and an Eon Design Centre. I remember Eon when they were just a stylish little furniture shop in Kingsland, but by all accounts their Britomart design centre is something that interior design junkies drool over. As a showcase for contemporary New Zealand design by the likes of Fletcher Vaughan, Esther Diamond and David Trubridge, it could be a destination shop that a lot of people will be excited about. I've just dug up a submission I made back in 2004 about Kumutoto, and this was one of my suggestions for the type of retail that would work there:

Gather the best of local design (fashion, furniture, homeware) and culture (books, magazines, music, art) and sell them in a shop that provides a combined "shop window" for other outlets around the city (e.g. Mandatory, Starfish, Portfolio, Unity Books) as well as new artists and designers. In that sense, it's a bit like the Te Papa shop, but not quite as "souvenir" oriented. Add a combined newsagent and coffee stand (similar to Magnetix on Midland Park), an office that provides advice and promotion for new enterprises, and you could have a showcase for Wellington creativity that also provides practical services and products.

Eon won't be quite that, but given that the Auckland version sells some clothes and books as well as furniture and homeware, it's getting close. I'd like to see them perhaps collaborate with Meridian upstairs and to create a section with a sustainable theme (solar powered gadgets, recycled materials etc).

I don't know when these three tenancies will open, but I hope it's not too far into the new year to miss all of summer. In any case, it looks like Kumutoto is really starting to come along as a proper mixed-use precinct.

Mystery bar number 67

2007-11-20T12:51:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

The previous mystery bar didn't take a lot of guessing, though it did attract a lot of comment. It's Alice, which used to be the back room of Boogie Wonderland but is now a bar with its own entrance (at the end of Forresters Lane, beyond Motel) and own theme. The Lewis Carroll concept isn't pushed too far, though it extends to some very pleasant cocktails, including one called The Mad Hatter's Tea Party: a mixture of vanilla vodka and chilled peppermint tea, served in a dainty china teapot with two matching teacups.

Today's mystery bar doesn't have a theme: it's just a pleasant modern design, mixing the minimalism of sleek dark wood with busy wallpaper patterns in a way that's become quite familiar over the last few years. The one really unique touch to the décor is an immense contemporary chandelier, which makes the most of some original ceiling details that could otherwise seem very dated.

It's very light and airy, with a long straight bar and lots of space for both drinking and dining. The wine and beer lists are adequate enough but nothing out of the ordinary, though there's a good range of beers on tap. There's a full menu, with no discernible theme or regional cuisine to the fore, and while there's a slight emphasis on Irish whiskey, the drinks selection is otherwise fairly comprehensive and predictable. The general tone is moderately upmarket without being at all edgy, all of which seems carefully planned to attract the very suity clientèle that is inevitable for the location.

Chews update

2007-11-19T22:47:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, retail, architecture, Wellington

The seemingly endless Chews Lane project took a small but significant step the other day with the opening of Hush Puppies. While I'd be more likely to frequent it if it sold the eponymous deep-fried balls of cornmeal and jalapeño rather than shoes, it marks a milestone because it's the first retail unit to open in the new buildings.

The other shops in that building look close to completion too, and that was confirmed by a recent newspaper article stating that all the Willis St retail will be open by Christmas, though that looks a bit optimistic for the southern building. I haven't heard any more about the two units that were just identified as "Fashion" on the most recent retail plan, so apart from the relocated Staxs, Area 51 and Farry's, and two places (Identity and Vincent) that I'll probably be revealing my fashion ignorance by saying that I've never heard of, it's hard to tell whether there's anything particularly exciting to look forward to.

The building itself is not looking that exciting either, at least not on the Willis St side. On the Victoria St side, the stepped-out façade and slightly unexpected angles at the upper levels look set to bring a subtle liveliness to the street. Here, though, on what should be the more public face of the project, it looks like the architects have only been let loose on the verandah, while the rest of the west elevation was designed by accountants. It's still a bit early to judge the complex as a whole, however, and when the apartment levels are eventually constructed above the office floors, perhaps the plainness of the latter will look more like well-judged restraint than a lack of imagination.

What I am looking forward to is the food and drink outlets planned for the lane itself. These will take a while longer, though the aforementioned article promised that they'll be ready in time for The Sevens at the start of February. So far, there have been promises of yet-to-be-named sushi and espresso bars (what are the odds that the latter will be a Mojo?), plus the "Gastro Bar" identified earlier on. The one name that was mentioned in the article was Simply Paris, who have been gradually taking over the city with their delicious patisserie, and will be opening a branch in Chews Lane. Some people will sigh at the prospect of another individual shop expanding into a chain, but I for one am looking forward to the prospect of Merguez sausage baguettes, absinthe cocktails and rich cassoulet making their way into other parts of the city.

Awarding

2007-11-17T15:00:00.000+13:00

File under: events, awards, Wellingtonista, architecture, Wellington

It's that time of year again: time for the Wellingtonista awards. The very organised and energetic Wellingtonista people (and me) have put out the call for your votes on the best (and occasionally worst) in Wellington in many vital categories, such as Best Coffee Beans, Hottest Hospo and Supervillain of the Year. WellUrban readers may be most interested in categories such as Best Building, Best Public Space and Best Public Art, but I'm sure that awards such as Best Apparel Store and (of course) Best Drink will also grab your attention.

Voting has just opened, and runs until December the 4th, followed by a stupendous awards party on December the 6th.

When is a shoebox not a shoebox?

2007-11-16T13:12:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, architecture, Wellington

When it's a corporate crash pad, of course!

Okay, that's a flippant response, but I still believe that a distinction has to be made between well-designed compact living spaces and crappy tiny flats. I said the same thing back when a heated argument ensued about the Q on Taranaki proposal (and it may well remain just a proposal, since the site is being onsold), and now that plans have emerged for a Wellington version of the Columbard "sleeping studios", the debate has been re-ignited.

There's not yet enough detail about the Columbard (though their website is promising more information) to see whether they will really be anything different from the slapdash cut-down flats that Q seemed to be threatening. But the Auckland version did indeed seem to be different. If you can stand the grating presentation style, this clip from My House My Castle interviews some residents and outlines the layout and design features that make a tiny studio apartment liveable. The Auckland Columbard seemed to be ill-fated since it had to be sold and ended up as an Accor hotel, but that may have more to do with the specifics of the business rather than a lack of demand, since they had high levels of occupancy.

It's one thing when architects and politicians object to so-called "shoeboxes" (a term that I hate), but when fellow developers start campaigning against them (as Craig Stewart and Terry Serepisos have done in today's Dominion Post), one doesn't have to be too much of a cynic to suspect that their concerns are not about social or urban damage, but about competition. Which means that they think there is a market for such spaces in Wellington, and perhaps a 16 sq m apartment with decent natural light might be more attractive than a much bigger one built right up against another building. I tend to agree, and would seriously consider a Columbard-style "sleeping studio" myself. However, there are a lot of factors that have to come together to make a micro-flat desirable.

Location: I've always thought that the ideal location for such a "corporate crash pad" would be around the Manners St area. Too far north into the Lambton or Thorndon Quarters, and the lack of nightlife and other amenities would make it a lonely place to go home to. Right on Courtenay Pl would be too noisy, and too far south in Te Aro would become a bit too much of a walk home from the office for much of the target market. That was part of the problem with Q, and the fact that most of upper Taranaki St is lacking in street life, quality urban design and amenities (such as dairies, cafés and drycleaners) would make it less appealing as a place to crash. The proposed Columbard location seems almost perfect, with plenty of shops, cafés, restaurants and public spaces within a minute's walk.

Design: It's easy to design a liveable apartment when you have square metres to burn, but cramming everything into a compact space takes a lot of forethought and ingenuity. Multifunctional furniture, compact appliances and hidden storage are essential, as is a judicious use of light, spatial flow and colour to prevent the walls from mentally closing in on you. It's too early to say how well the Wellington Columbard will do this, though from the looks of things the Auckland one did quite well. To my mind, while I wouldn't want to see small apartments banned outright, I'd like to see extra-rigorous assessment of design quality on any apartment under about 30 sq m.

Facilities: One thing that can make up for not having much private living space is the provision of good shared spaces. If the weather's inclement, having a café on the ground floor that you can access without going outside can be much more appealing than having a café next door. Shared courtyards or roof terraces would also be desirable, as would secure bicycle racks and other storage facilities. Some such developments also include broadband in the price, which could be a big selling point.

Price: This is the big factor. I'd be willing to forgo the extra space if it meant saving $100 per week on rent, but $20? No way! The Auckland ones are advertised as starting at $220 per week, and given the difficulty of finding a decent semi-furnished one-bedroom or studio flat that close to the CBD for under $300, something around that range might have a few people sitting up and taking notice. Of course, the extra design features mentioned above cost much more to implement than a bog-standard apartment design, so it requires some very expensive real estate for the option to stack up economically. Has Wellington reached that point yet?

There's a lot of hyperbole and loaded language used to describe these studios in the press. "Half the size of an average hotel room" - is an average hotel room really 32 sq m? That sounds a bit optimistic to me. "Smaller than a prison cell" - well, perhaps, but they're talking about a double cell, and these are generally aimed at single people. Besides, the whole point of a prison is that you're locked in, but no-one's going to throw away the key to your apartment, and the expectation is that these will appeal to people who spend very little of their waking time in their flat. It's pretty hard to make a "home" in 16 sq m, but for those of us who would consider such a place, "home" is not defined by the rooms that we rent. This is our home:

Who needs more than a bed and a bathroom when you have all this on your doorstep?

Mystery bar number 66

2007-11-14T21:37:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

I was kind of hoping that someone would mistake the previous mystery bar for Matterhorn, because the décor strongly reminded me of it. It certainly appears that Allistar Cox and his team have aimed for a darker and more minimal look for this, the latest branch of Mojo in Bond St, than in some of the other outlets. It also moves a little further away from the daytime café model, as it has a full kitchen, function rooms, beer on tap and is open in the evening towards the end of the week, all of which bodes well for the upcoming branches at Kumutoto and in upper Cuba St.

A lot of my recent mystery bars have been more like cafés with alcohol than "real" bars, but that doesn't apply to this one. It doesn't open until well into the evening, and while some food is obligatory, it's all about the drinks. They specialise in cocktails, with an interesting list that twists and tweaks the classics without getting too silly. They're especially strong on Champagne cocktails, but there's a very comprehensive spirits selection and experienced staff who should be able to mix you any classic drink as well as leading you pleasantly astray with their own concoctions.

It's a themed bar in a way, but they haven't gone overboard. The décor is mostly a mix of elegance and retro kitsch, though there are a few prints and quotations around the walls to remind you of their concept, and a soundtrack and video loops that are a little more individual than you would expect for this part of town. One might almost have hoped for a little more surrealism, though I suppose after a few drinks the split-level floor, mirrors and carpeted walls might become disorienting enough on their own.

Building rumours 20: The Victoria Quarter

2007-11-12T19:03:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

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. There's a bit more information on this property website, and larger pictures on this one. It's essentially an apartment development, though with retail on the ground floors. As I wrote earlier, this is already one of the most densely populated parts of Wellington, and this project will add several hundred apartments to the block.

At ten or eleven storeys, it could seem rather massive, but in this context the height might not be inappropriate, given the taller Unicomm building to the north and the relatively wide streets around it. It could be seen more as a bookend to the high city stretching up Willis and Victoria streets than as an intrusion into the low city proper, which tends to be further to the south and east. It's also designed as a cluster of different buildings, with the southwest and southeast corners marked by colour and curves respectively, and each of the individual buildings has a reasonably deep and varied façade. While it's a lot of construction to happen all in one go, all of the above features mean that it will end up looking less like a monolith and more like a city block that has evolved over time.

It looks even better when you compare it to the original massing concepts mooted for the site, such as this "Wellington International Student Centre":

That was presumably just a real estate exercise to see what could be wrung out of the planning rules, but even so, it was a particularly dire throwback to 60s housing estate planning: five anonymous slabs arranged haphazardly through the site, leaving drab fragments of useless leftover space. The current scheme seems like an admirably urban alternative, since it pushes all the mass to the boundaries, helping define the streets around it while leaving space for what could conceivably be a useful courtyard.

Courtyard developments aren't common at this scale (there are more precedents at 4-6 storeys), and I get the feeling that the bright sunlit space shown in the renders is rather optimistic. Nevertheless, it appears to be intended as a public space, with wide enough entrances to make it inviting as a shortcut. It might also be a solution to what I see as the one real possible downside of this development: the loss of the popular market. The landscaping shown in the render may take up too much of the flat space, but otherwise it might still be possible to hold Sunday markets in the courtyard. With the surrounding retail spaces fronting on to both the courtyard and the street, they could attract the sort of businesses (e.g. butchers, delis, speciality stores) that could complement the mostly vegetable-focussed market. It would be good to see the final version explicitly designed for this purpose.

Bizarro world

2007-11-08T16:32:00.000+13:00

File under: sustainability, transport, irony, Wellington

The Greater Wellington Regional Council's inaugural Environmental Awards have just been announced. And among the winners, one stands out: the inner-city bypass project team. WTF?!

Granted, they won the very specific Nikau Compliance Award for "consent holders who are using innovative approaches to proactively exceed their compliance requirements to reduce or avoid adverse effects on the environment", and apparently they won "for their innovative measures taken to deal with groundwater and the treatment of stormwater". That's all very well, and I've got nothing against innovative water management, but this is a stunning example of not seeing the wood for the trees. Giving an environmental award to a project that poured millions of dollars and a huge amount of embedded energy into razing a neighbourhood and encouraging private car use just seems like a laughable exercise in greenwashing.

Waterfront fatigue

2007-11-07T17:13:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, urbanism, rants, Wellington

No doubt many of you have had your fill of waterfront posts, but there was a slew of ill-informed letters to the editor in today's Dominion Post that I felt compelled to reply to. There are too many specific errors and misinterpretations to fit into in a 200-word rant, and I thought I'd try to tone down some of my usual vitriol, so I tried to offer a constructive discussion of why good public space design is more subtle and complex than just leaving as much empty space as possible. I'll reproduce the letter below, but first a couple of specific responses that I couldn't fit in.

One correspondent opined that people who currently like the waterfront would not "feel the same once they realised they'd be sitting in front of four- to six-storey buildings, most of mirrored glass, looking directly on to where they were planning to relax". I'm not sure where he gets the mirror glass from, but here are some shots of people who somehow managed to relax despite the oppressive presence of buildings.

It's worth noting that in each of these, not all of the ground floor space had yet opened to the public. Once the public space improvements and active edges are complete, these spaces will only get more popular.

Another writer says "Why the park requires updating is a mystery. The 'designs' [love the scare quotes!] depicted are hideous, with hardly any green space able to be used by the public". I'd say that the park requires updating because it's outdated, decrepit and not suited to the 21st Century, but if I said that I wouldn't be able to resist saying that those are the qualities that Waterfront Watch personally relate to. As for "hardly any green space", has this person even looked at the wide expanses of grass in the plans for Options B or D? Compared to a current aerial photo, there's little or any loss of openness, and while the others have less obvious lawn area, there's much more in the way of sheltered and varied recreational spaces. Anyway, despite my weariness over these arguments, here is my polite and measured reply.

One problem with debate about the waterfront is the use of simplistic assumptions rather than actual observations of how people use urban space. The quality of the public realm is not measured in square metres, but through a whole range of qualities relating to subjective experience, comfort, design quality and human interaction. For instance, people tend to congregate around the edges of spaces rather than heading for the centre, so that breaking down a space into a variety of intimate, sheltered places can provide more opportunities for public enjoyment than if it had been left as a featureless field.

There's also an assumption that commercial and residential activity has to be at the expense of recreation, when in reality they can enhance one another and create new interactions. Some also believe that it's best to have panoramic views from everywhere, whereas creating sequences of open and framed views leads to a much more interesting and varied urban experience. And an urban experience is exactly what the CBD waterfront should be: compact, complex and lively, rather than a simulacrum of outer suburbia.

Mystery bar number 65

2007-11-06T13:02:00.001+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

The previous mystery bar was never going to be all that difficult, given its highly visible location and the anticipation that preceded its opening. As Deep Red identified, and as I confirmed in my rosé roundup, it was indeed the new Zarbo at Chaffers Dock. It's primarily a deli with a café attached, but it has an interesting wine list, some good beers and as confirmed last Friday, they can even make a Daiquiri with a bit of persuasion. It really rounds out the selection of drinking and dining places at Chaffers Dock, and it could give that complex the critical mass of activity that it needs to succeed.

Today's mystery bar is in a somewhat less high-profile location. It's long and narrow, stretching far back into the building, and has a variety of different spaces. The fitout, by one of Wellington's most fashionable hospitality architects, is dark and sexy, combining elegantly bare concrete with warm-toned wood and leather, with a few minimal flower arrangements to soften the look.

It's one of those places that crosses the boundaries, combining food, drink and coffee in a stylish but relaxed manner. It has long padded benches to encourage mingling, and who knows what might go on in the dark recesses of the back rooms? Overall, the vibe is European, but in a way that has become very distinctively Wellington.

Drink of the month: Daiquiri

2007-11-05T17:41:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

It's well into November now, of course, but there was the small matter of 11 posts on architecture to get out before the end of today, so here's the belated drink of the month post. After several months of wine, spirits and even non-alcoholic beverages, it's time to get back to cocktails with one of the best-known concoctions from tropical climes: the Daiquiri.

In its classic form, the Daiquiri is almost simple: just rum, lime juice and sugar syrup. But as is so often the case with cocktails, simplicity does not always equate to ease or reliability, and you're likely to run across many mediocre and even undrinkable versions in your quest for perfection. That's partly due to the existence of often confusing variations, but can mostly be put down to a question of balance. It's even more of an issue with a Daiquiri than it is with a Martini, since while the flavours of gin and vermouth are known qualities, lime can vary with the source and season. Locally, we seem to have gone through a bad run with limes, resulting in many tooth-enamel-stripping drinks in places that should know better.

I mentioned confusing variations, and one thing that clouds the issue is the fact that the so-called "Hemingway Daiquiri" is usually some way on a spectrum between two versions: the Papa Doble and the Hemingway Special. The former doubles the rum and omits the sugar; while the latter also adds grapefruit juice and maraschino. Between all these variations, it's very hard to know what you'll receive, so it may be best to specify the exact ingredients and proportions to your taste (if you can do this without feeling patronising).

Regular readers will know that I don't have a sweet tooth, and that I can be a stickler for tradition, so you'll no doubt expect me to either ignore or excoriate the slew of alcoholic slushies known as frozen Daiquiris. But you'll be wrong: some occasions call for one to abandon one's inhibitions and good taste and embrace the tackiness. As the silly season of office parties and barbeques approaches, go ahead and raid the greengrocers for tropical fruit; go mad with blenders and crushers; and even (if you can mention the phrase without sniggering) buy a packet of rimming sugar. If you want to maintain a shred of dignity, though, go easy on the sugar, use fresh ingredients where possible, and remember that you still should be able to taste the rum.

So, where to sample the Daiquiri in all its glory? Any place with a Latin American theme should have quite a range: Flying Burrito Brothers and Havana spring to mind, and I'll have to give Buena Vista Social Club another go to see how they're faring these days. Good Luck and Imbibe have been known to feature interesting variations, and the usual suspects (Matterhorn, Motel, Hawthorn Lounge) should all deliver good classic versions (though I have to admit that my last Hemingway Daiquiri there was a bit tart for my taste). For the flamboyantly cheesy (though hopefully not literally!) fruit Daiquiris, I suspect that the likes of Electric Avenue and Boogie Wonderland would have wide ranges of sticky retro concoctions. If there are any other places out there that are notable for the quality or uniqueness of their Daiquiris, please let us know.

Last chance feedback

2007-11-05T12:47:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Feedback on the Frank Kitts Park and Kumutoto schemes closes today, so if you haven't done so, today's your last chance to pop down to the Waterfront Project Information Centre and give your feedback. If you can't make it in person, just add your comments here or to the posts on individual schemes, and I'll print out all the posts and schemes later this afternoon and post the lot in the suggestion box.

To summarise, here are my incredibly oversimplified thoughts on each scheme.

Frank Kitts Park

Option A: Safe but practical, though the location of the Chinese Garden might be problematic.
Option B: Nice clean geometry, with a good tight cluster of buildings, but too much bleakly flat lawn.
Option C: One for the hippies.
Option D: A good crisp design, but with too much blank lawn and a Chinese Garden that breaks the rules a little too much.
Option E: Good spatial arrangements, with some bold touches.

If I had to choose one scheme it would be E (with some of the flow problems and bottlenecks addressed), though A is pleasant enough and I wouldn't object to it winning.

Kumutoto

Option A: Some interesting geometry, but the architecture is not compelling enough to make up for its urbanist shortcomings.
Option B: Bold and inspiring, but wildly impractical for the climate.
Option C: Cheeky and potentially iconic, but perhaps derivative and definitely a political minefield.
Option D: Quirkily appealing at Site 8, handsome and urban at Site 9, but unconvincing at Site 10.
Option E: Some interesting deviations from the brief, but impractical and overscaled.
Option F: Striking design and inventive spaces at Site 8, pleasant and practical at Site 9, and quietly innovative at Site 10.

Since picking and choosing is definitely on the cards, I'd go for Option D or F at Sites 8 and 9, with either Option F or a heavily modified version of Option B at Site 10. While I'm at it, I'd also insist on a ground floor indoor sports space at Site 10, and let Site 8 interact more directly with the water (perhaps with a basement-level "old sea wall bar" after Option A).

Kumutoto Option F

2007-11-04T20:58:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, urbanism, Wellington

The final entry is much more conventional, and sticks fairly closely to the brief. The one real gesture towards the spectacular is at Site 8 where a cantilevered "lantern of blue" reaches out to the water.

The first precedent that sprang to mind was the Seattle Central Library, though that's mostly due to the diamond grid. Other aspects of it reminded me of Will Alsop (again) and even the UN Studio design for Site 4 with its V-shaped plan. The most unusual thing about it, though, is its relationship to the public space. The scheme proposes a new pond, and a cutout with small boat ramp, and this building is suspended over both. There's a cafe near the middle of the building, with views across the boat ramp and between large fin-like columns to the harbour. This creates some unusual spaces, and edges that are far from the typical "active edge" but could nevertheless create an intriguing arrangement of promenades.

The site 9 building is relatively conventional, and in many ways is similar to Option D's "crate", but with brick panels rather than wooden slats to make the echo of Shed 13 even more explicit. It has a series of exposed stairways on the eastern elevation, which look a bit fussy to me, but otherwise it's a good building with a lot of visual interest.

Site 10 looks very conventional, and even boring, but it has some subtle touches that I'm starting to warm to:

At 7-8 storeys it's slightly over the height specification, though that depends upon floor height and it's not too far out of scale. There are two "crevices" that slice diagonally through the building, allowing natural light deep into the plan, while varied arrangements of angled balconies, brick panels and sliding sunscreens animate the façades. The folded roof appears to be planted, and there's a combination of conference, garden and café spaces that make more of the roof space than most buildings do. It's far from spectacular, but there's no need for spectacle on this particular site.

Overall, it's a decent, friendly sort of building, one that responds to its neighbours without imitating them, would be good to work in, and would be more adaptable than the standard large-floorplate office block. Quietly innovative without being flashy, it's the sort of design that would be most welcome in place of some of the mediocrities underway in Thorndon, and may indeed work very nicely here as well.

Kumutoto Option E

2007-11-04T17:58:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Option E, entitled "Encounter", deviates quite markedly from the brief in both plan and heights. On the overall plan, you can see buildings on sites 9 and 10, but site 8 appears to have been left as an extension of Kumutoto Plaza. Or has it?

The rectangular outline across site 8 indicates a slab-like extension of the site 9 building, suspended four floors above the ground. It's not cantilevered but supported by columns, and most of it enclosed by enormous sliding glass walls to create something between an atrium and a winter garden.

It's all very spectacular, and on a day like the one pictured in the renders it could be a very pleasant place. But of course, no-one ever renders a typical Wellington day, and I wonder just how often those gargantuan Ranchsliders could actually be opened up.

I think, though, that it's the Site 10 building that would be most controversial. At 12 storeys it's about twice the height specified in the brief and framework:

The setbacks at the southern end helps break down the mass a bit, and the roof gardens are a nice touch. But the glass that wraps around the rest of it, while adding some visual variety, just makes it look monolithic again. It could be quite a spectacular building to be inside, with variable-sized floors arranged throughout tall atria, but from the outside it's too dominating for the context. It could work well elsewhere in the city, and perhaps a drastically scaled-down version would be appropriate here, but this is the wrong building for Site 10.

While I admire the willingness of the panel to look at entries that break the rules when there's a compelling design reason for doing so, I don't think that this scheme demonstrates such a rationale. Perhaps it just shows that there were good reasons why the brief was written the way it was. For instance, the Site 10 height limit was set to match the podium of the NZ Post building behind it, and seen from a distance there are a lot of precedents for 5-6 storeys as a consistent height across the waterfront as a whole. Also, the site footprints weren't set arbitrarily, but to create sheltered spaces and an urban network of lanes and squares. The framework would be worth reconsidering if it stood in the way of buildings of such unique architectural brilliance that to pass them up would be a crime; but these are a long way from that.

Kumutoto Option D

2007-11-03T10:45:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, urbanism, Wellington

In contrast to some entries, this one sticks fairly close to the brief's defined sites and height limits. It also treats each site totally differently, and in the case of Site 8, proposes a building that's completely out of the ordinary: something called "sprout".

I takes a while to work out what is going on here. There are two relatively conventional floors, an enclosed apartment level and a relatively open office level, suspended above the ground. The ground floor is an art gallery, open apart from sliding glass walls. Through these levels there rise several irregular "stems" containing stairs, lifts and services, rising to a fourth "floor" of interconnected pods. Each of these pods has a different theme and green building function, from wind and solar power generation to rainwater collection and roof terrace, while the interiors house breakout spaces, meeting rooms and a café.

At first I thought this was too wacky to take seriously. It also leans heavily on at least two architectural precedents: Will Alsop for the suspended slabs and blobby breakout pods; and Toyo Ito for the irregular trunk-like structural/service columns. As it grew on me, though, I saw that it combined to produce a building that is both excitingly unique and surprisingly appropriate for the site. The sense of lightness and transparency matches the water's edge location, while the organic allusions could either refer to kelp or forests. If some of the more fiddly suggestions (such as having each stem clad in a different material) were to be toned down, I think that this building could be a delightful and invigorating addition to the waterfront.

On Site 9, this team has gone for something completely different. Where "sprout" is organic, airy and fanciful, "crate" is solid, tactile and grounded. Based on the concept of wooden crates stacked on the wharf's edge, it mixes residential and live/work spaces to create a densely textured mass.

I like this a lot, too, but for the opposite reasons. With mixed use, active edges and a solid wall to help define the streets, this is an essentially urban building. The living and working spaces are externally signalled by sliding screens with different directions and types of timber, bringing depth and variety to the surface. Yet it's a simple enough volume that its sloping roofline defines the height transition from Shed 13 up to Site 10, and the rounded northern end is an effective way to both turn the corner and mark the Whitmore St gateway. I'd prefer a little more shelter around the edges, but otherwise this is a high-quality and interesting building that doesn't need to shout about it, and fits well into the urban context.

Site 10 is different again; this time based upon two disparate concepts, "honeycomb" and "crane". The crane theme is obviously derived from the working port nearby, and serves as a structural organiser: the office space takes the form of containers suspended from giant cantilevers. The honeycomb concept seems to be rather arbitrary, and refers only to the wall of transparent bubbles (presumably ETFE or similar) that defines the Waterloo Quay edge.

I'm less convinced by this one. The city façade is certainly spectacular in a high-tech way, but the view from the water is of a fairly dull rectangular box. The plans show active edges and public atria, but I just get the feeling that it wouldn't be as appealing a pedestrian environment. That's the problem with these persistent industrial metaphors: container wharves aren't usually people-friendly environments, and in this location, the buildings should work hard to create an urban condition rather than aping the symbolism of industry.

Nevertheless, the fact that each site is treated differently allows the panel to pick and choose. I'd be happy if the designs for either of the other two sites were chosen as part of the overall scheme: either the unspectacular yet subtly clever and humane "crate", or the engagingly mad and really very cute "sprout". Iconic doesn't have to be grandiose.

Rosé roundup

2007-10-31T20:47:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

I was rushing to get my discussions of all the Kumutoto entries ready for this Friday, but the deadline for feedback has been pushed back until Monday, so it's time to relax and look at something more important. October has been the usual meteorological rollercoaster, but amid the typical bursts of belated winter, it has also been kind enough to toss us a few rosé-worthy days.

Unfortunately, the wine lists of the city weren't always up to the challenge. Very few places had more than one rosé by the glass, and many had none (the Port Café was a particular disappointment there, although at least it's a BYO). Even a specialist wine bar such as Arbitrageur could only muster one very ordinary pink wine by the glass, though there's a $70 bottle of Tavel on the cellar list if you want to splash out.

Oh, but splash out I did on many occasions. Vivo had a nice range by the bottle, Sweet Mother's Kitchen offers a decent glass of rosé, and even beer-centric pubs such as Leuven, the Southern Cross, General Practitioner and Tasting Room have quaffable options. Don't ask me what they were: it's not that sort of blog, and they weren't those sort of nights.

But it's the combination of wine, views and sunshine that can make all the difference. Herd St Brasserie's new list does well, and there's a pleasant Merlot-based drop available at Zarbo (which was quickly picked up as the mystery bar). On one particularly clement afternoon I enjoyed a quiet glass outside Manhattan Lounge. Or to be more precise, half a glass, as that was all that they had left after thirsty punters had polished off a case that day. Perhaps it's catching on?

Still, there's something to be said for one of rosé's traditional roles: as a cheap & cheerful picnic wine. Grab yourself a bottle or two, and a group of good friends, and spread yourself out on the grass at Waitangi Park on a fine weekend. It's even legal to do so on a Sunday, though that takes away some of the frisson. There will no doubt be plenty more opportunities to enjoy a glass or three as we roll into summer, though for November I have a very different warm-weather drink in mind.

Kumutoto Option C

2007-10-31T19:06:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Option C consists of one continuous structure, the one that in earlier posts became known as "the conniptions building". This rendering should make the reason clear: if Waterfront Watchers lament four-storey "high rises" elsewhere on the waterfront, what will they make of this 18-storey "A Tower"?

Instead of leaving the Whitmore St viewshaft completely open, it sets out to create a frame for it. Instead of building on all three sites, it leaves site 8 as a lawn and creates continuous, elongated buildings on sites 9 and 10 that rear up and join together like amorous serpents. The result is a megastructure, complete with elevated viewing deck, conference centre and galleria, that sets out to break down the distinctions between public and private; landscape and building.

The chances of this being selected are vanishingly small: it departs from the framework and brief so radically that even if it were appropriate for the site (and even I have my doubts), opponents of waterfront development would be right to question the process. I think it's an exciting concept, but it would be so structurally and politically difficult that it would be hard to see anyone fighting for it. It's also not a completely resolved design: the swoops from ground into tower are grand and graceful, but the tower terminates so abruptly that the soaring momentum is lost. A better expression of the upwards sweep could conceivably have created a much more compelling design, one that might have justified breaking all the rules in order to get built. As it is, I don't think it's worth it.

Nevertheless, this is one of the most thoroughly thought-through entries of the lot. It's hard to tell from the posters, but a lot of analysis has gone into the design: city grid, sea wall, tacking lines, view lines and all sorts of considerations of city-wide planning have fed into the concepts behind this scheme. It explicitly addresses the problem of the specified plots being too small to generate a sense of urban continuity, and encourages further connections to the capital precinct. More of this sort of thoughtfulness and daring would be most welcome in other parts of the city (Harbour Quays, for example), and while I don't think it will work here, I admire it for its provocation.

Kumutoto Option B

2007-10-30T08:26:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Back when the Kumutoto exhibition first opened, I wrote that the most rectilinear building was also one of the most radical. This is it: an enormous grid of wooden beams, with cascading walls of vegetation and Tetris-like translucent modules inserted into the frame.

This is just the site 10 building. I can't quite work out whether there's a render of the other sites, but the plan suggests that site 9 is a smaller version of the same thing, while site 8 is left unbuilt. In between, there's a lively tangle of jetties, pontoons, wetlands and small pavilions, which is spanned by the open latticework of the grid to form a gateway to Whitmore St.

While in many ways this is one of the most innovative and exciting schemes in the competition, it looks very much as if the designers have never been to Wellington. Check out those images of happy people strolling, posing or tapping at their laptops on 1m-wide catwalks suspended above a serenely shimmering harbour; or strutting through wide-open office floors to gardens elevated four floors above the street. Quite apart from the social and economic unlikelihood of such scenarios, there would be only a handful of days a year when such activities would be desirable, and many days in which they'd be dangerous or physically impossible.

I think, though, that this entry is proposed more as a provocation or to stimulate lateral thinking than as a buildable scheme. So let's take it in that spirit and see what there is to learn from it. On a practical level, I like the car stacker at the northern end, as an alternative to underground or first-floor carparks. This is covered in foliage, which seems less impractical when you consider the hardy vegetation that clings to coastal cliffs around the harbour. The incremental "plug-in" growth of office modules within the grid may be redundant, given the rumours that a large office tenant is ready to go for this site, but it's worth considering elsewhere in the city. The dissolving of borders between public space and building interior is an idea worth exploring, despite the climatic impracticalities, as is the idea of a three-dimensional gateway at the Whitmore St entrance.

Finally, I like the contrast between exposed industrial-style girders and the fact that it's all built out of wood. There's a weaving of the grand and the domestic, the practical and the playful, organic and high-tech, that makes me really want to imagine this is possible. I don't think it is, but maybe we can take some of the more unusual elements from this entry and apply them to whichever scheme is chosen.

Mystery bar number 64

2007-10-29T17:58:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

It took a few guesses before the previous mystery bar was identified (by the highly knowledgeable Gemma) as Superfino. It's a truly delightful little café and bar that brings a welcome touch of style to a dull stretch of Ghuznee St.

Today's mystery bar is a much bigger place, though only a small section is set aside for the café and bar part of the operation. Food is the dominant part of the business, with pizza and other mains alongside all sorts of little morsels, but there's a reasonably well-stocked little bar and it looks like a good spot for a relatively civilised drink. There's a limited range of spirits and no cocktail glasses in sight, so I wouldn't expect to order a Martini here, but there are some interesting wines (including a decent rosé) and boutique beers such as Moa, so you won't go thirsty.

It's in a location that's changed a lot recently, and this operation might evolve slightly over time as it establishes a clientèle. It's a very impressive operation, with a highly professional fit-out, though there are some pseudo-rustic and bourgeois touches that sit oddly with the building's contemporary look of steel, glass and concrete. That may suit the target audience, though, given the well-to-do and comfortable look of many of the punters, and uproarious drinking behaviour is unlikely to go down well with the neighbours. For that first, mellow drink after work on a fine day, or for a weekend tipple, it'll be well worth a look. Besides, the bar snacks ought to be good.

Kumutoto Option A

2007-10-29T13:10:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Public feedback closes on both the Frank Kitts Park redesign and Kumutoto sites 8-10 scheme this Friday, so I've got a lot to get through by then. After discussing all the Frank Kitts options, let's move on to the first of the six Kumutoto entries.

This scheme sticks fairly closely to the plan in the brief, and though sites 8 & 9 are conceived as a single building (dubbed "the fossil") they are really two separate buildings joined by bridges at the upper levels. The site 10 building (referred to as "the Stacks and the Crane") also has a similar footprint to the brief, but breaks out at the upper levels with an interesting extension.

The "fossil" is described as "something found - now unearthed and exposed", it explores the language of geomorphology, all tilted planes and cuttings. On a more urbanist level, these angles help the transitions in scale from Shed 13 to site 10 and from the Meridian building down to the water, and invites the public to climb up the slope of the smaller harbourside building to a series of roof terraces. I'm not quite convinced that these would be so inviting in real life, though I like the idea of a basement-level "Old Sea Wall Bar" as a further exploration of these layers. The "cutting" between the two halves looks a bit gloomy on the renderings, but from the plans it seems like the edges look active enough, so it might be more appealing when realised.

By contrast, the site 10 building "is conceived as a piece of maritime infrastructure - trussed, technical, robust and wharfly" (no, that's not a real word). In one way that makes contextual sense, and the curving extension is a clever way to mark the transition in orientation between Waterloo Quay and the wharves. I like the robust concrete truss that supports the extension over the water, and the way that it does double duty as a conduit for sea water to the cooling systems, though I'm a little ambivalent about the way it looms over the old ferry building.

What's most obvious about the site 10 building, though, is the fact that, at eight storeys, it goes well over the "indicative height" of six storeys specified in the brief. While I don't necessarily have a problem with that, and in fact its massing helps step down from the aggressive lump of NZ Post House more effectively than a more modest building would do, it would give Waterfront Watch and their ilk an excuse to get up in arms. Many of the entries do the same thing, though in most cases they counter that by using less of the plan. Of course, the brief also states that "Buildings may exceed (in part or in whole) the indicative heights ... if the design and/or impact on public space are such that they warrant consideration", but I'm not sure that this design is good enough to justify that.

There are quite a few things I like about this scheme. The angular geometry of "the fossil" is distinctively different, yet it doesn't seem to be too much of an arbitrary "look at moi" design. There are a few environmental features (seawater cooling, planted roofs, glazed chimneys topped by turbines) that would be interesting to see implemented. But I'm concerned by the fact that the guiding metaphors are derived from geological landscapes and industrial areas, neither of which are cities. Is this to blame for some of the awkward pathways and inactive edges? In real cities, people don't walk among fossils or cranes; nor do they wander up narrow stairways to roof terraces or enjoy walking beside ground-floor carparks or offices. These flaws may not be insurmountable, but the architecture isn't aesthetically compelling enough to put metaphor and theory ahead of a pleasant pedestrian environment.

Frank Kitts Option E

2007-10-27T16:04:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

The last of the schemes is one that didn't appeal to me at first: it seemed too busy, too arbitrary with its jagged lines and deconstructivist forms. But after going through each of the schemes in detail, this one began to stand out for its liveliness and invention.

It's very simply divided into thirds: from north to south they are the Chinese Garden, open "activity lawn", and raised garden. The last area contains the playground and an arrangement of small lawns, and is made much more accessible than at present by wide steps on three sides. The northern steps act as an amphitheatre for the lawn, which is big and flat enough for events but has some of its expanse broken up by paths at the eastern edge. The Chinese Garden is subtly different from the other entries in that it is neither completely traditional nor contemporary; and while not a walled garden it plays with enclosure in interesting ways.

It's based on the concept of a net, woven from intersecting paths. Overlaid on this is an array of parallel screens and bamboo, strategically pierced to create sightlines and outdoor "rooms": just enough to give a hint of seclusion without creating dangerously isolated pockets. Together with the water features they set the Chinese Garden apart from the rest of the park, but by breaking out in places across the promenade and towards Jervois Quay it engages the garden with its surroundings, and the bright red paths highlight passages and viewshafts to the city and sea.

That bright red theme has been a bit of a talking point, and while I can see how it could be a bit over the top, it visually complements the predominant green tones, has cultural significance, and gives a burst of cheerful colour that could lift the spirits on a grey day. Both the colour and the geometries of these paths are echoed by the four small built structures. While these would presumably be kiosks of some kind, their purpose isn't spelled out. Even if they're not inhabited, they could have a valuable visual function; though the similarity to Parc de la Vilette and its follies is rather too obvious. But if they do become centres of activity, then they could be vital waypoints along the promenades, especially lit up at night. Two of them actually extend into the harbour, which I find refreshing: no-one else has had the courage to suggest this.

There are a couple of flaws, but they're not fundamental. There's a linear wetland right at the bottom of the steps between the raised area and the activity lawn, cutting off what should be a natural flow between them, but this could either be relocated or spanned by a series of boardwalks. The harbourside kiosks create unnecessary bottlenecks in the promenade, which really needs the width on a busy day, but either the promenade could be widened here or the kiosks could be shifted further seawards.

These quibbles aside, I've come to like the layout and use of space. The "shipyard play environment" is a promising change from predictable playground design, and it seems to be in the most sensible location. The monotony of the promenade is broken up just enough, without obscuring its essentially linear nature. But it's the use of sharp angles and vivid colour that really enlivens the space and could entice people into and through the park rather than just around it.

Frank Kitts Option D

2007-10-27T10:21:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

The fourth option is perhaps the cleanest and simplest of the lot. In fact, looking at the plan, it's hard to work out where they've put everything:

In particular, where's the Chinese Garden? It took me a while to work out that it's the elongated, vaguely L-shaped arrangement of ponds and planting near the centre of the park. That doesn't look nearly big enough to provide the specified 3000 sq m, but it turns out that the row of pavilions along the Jervois Quay edge have generally Chinese themes (tea pavilion, Beijing and Xiamen sister city pavilions etc), so the Chinese "Garden" could be thought of as spanning the narrow stream and incorporating the whole reconstructed "historic wharf edge" linear space. That's either a very clever use of space for multiple purposes and meanings; or a sidestep that misses the whole point of a Chinese Garden. While I can appreciate a contemporary take on traditional principles, by omitting the sense of enclosure, framed views and twisting paths, many of the unique spatial properties of a Chinese Garden are lost.

What I do like about this scheme is the manipulation of the third dimension to create varied aspects and experiences while retaining a crisp, constructed aesthetic. The explanatory text claims that the "folding and creasing" is a reference to the ridgelines and faults of the Wellington landscape, and while that's an allusion that perhaps only other landscape architects will pick up, it makes a virtue out of the awkward topographical transition to the top of the carpark. By sloping down below grade at the northeast corner, it at least attempts to recreate some of the shelter lost in favour of open views, though I'm not sure that it will be enough to stop both the lawn and the promenade becoming quite bleak when the wind picks up. There's also no attempt to improve connection to the lagoon edge, and while I like the idea of building slides into a "playmound" that extend the topography, the relocated lighthouse slide seems to sit awkwardly in the new context.

I like the attempt to engage with Jervois Quay, but I wonder whether a string of separate pavilions would be enough to create the real activity, closure and sense of shelter that such an engagement would require. Their appeal as cafés would also be limited by the distance from the harbour, while their proximity to both the busy road and the streams and pools of the Chinese Garden might compromise their child-friendliness. The other built element in this scheme is an attempt to improve the edge of the TSB Arena: but is a tiny box labelled simply as "potential active edge" really any more than an afterthought?

This scheme impresses with its clarity, conceptual strength and contemporary aesthetics, but I wonder whether some of the practical, urbanist and climatological factors have been overlooked. Or perhaps the tagline "a great place to fly your kite" is a tacit recognition of the contradiction between the brief's requirements for both shelter and improved views?

Frank Kitts Option C

2007-10-26T13:06:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Option C looks like a real wildcard:. In contrast to the slick presentation and hard lines of the other entries, it has a homespun look and messily organic structure that really stands out. It's also the only one that doesn't "incorporate" a Chinese Garden; instead, Chinese elements and feng shui principles are spread throughout the whole park.

I'm actually surprised how much I like it, given my modernist tendencies. It works hard to break down the monotony of the long promenade, and to bring the land into the water and vice versa. It restructures the carpark into a circular configuration, slightly reducing the total number of parks while setting a café into the northeast side of the raised area. It has a lot of detail and complexity, but within a strong organising framework that respects the city grid more than it seems at first glance. It appears to take Chinese, Maori and European cultural signifiers much more seriously than some of the entries, there's a lot of sheltered space, and it actually looks quite fun.

Surprisingly, this may be the scheme that has the least open green space, since all of the yellow-shaded area seems to be hard landscaping. This may not appeal to those who want a game of football or to stage a big event, but it creates a lot of sheltered nooks and crannies for quiet contemplation and picnics. It plays around a lot with sinuous grass berms, to the extent of having one snaking up to the TSB Arena, though I doubt that it and a small stage would be enough to humanise the edge of such a nasty building.

But despite all that, and despite my guarded admiration for mad old hippies like Hundertwasser, this all looks too twee and Seventies for my liking. If it wasn't for some of the more technical accompanying diagrams, I'd have assumed this was a school project, and while it has some admirably inventive ideas (such as the curving breakwater and the dragon boat display cases) the plan as a whole looks too amateurish. There's something about all the circles, triangles and squiggles which, while full of symbolism and a nice change in some people's eyes, just seems to set up a discord with the urban context.

Frank Kitts Option B

2007-10-25T17:23:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

This is an anonymous competition, but based upon the formalised use of oblique grids, the emphasis on ecological "filter fields" and the rendering style, I think I can guess who it's by.

The play area and Chinese Garden are both confined to relatively narrow diagonal strips, at the northern edge and along the Willeston St viewshaft respectively. The latter makes some sense, in that it can engage with the slope along the edge of the carpark, but it makes no attempt to open up the view to the water, opting instead to frame the view of St Gerard's with walls and sloping roofs.

It is these structures that appeal most to me about this scheme, since they're part of a tight cluster of small buildings at the southeast corner: not just a teahouse, but a gallery and a canopy that extends out over the promenade. They're hard to make out in the plan, but they dominate the image that the DomPost chose to illustrate this scheme:

No doubt this will have horrified Waterfront Watch, despite the fact that they're little more than pavilions that add only a single storey to the existing carpark structure. Apart from that, this could be the sort of plan to appeal to them, given that it has two very plain open expanses of grass. These look far too featureless and windswept for my liking, and I'm especially concerned about the one above the carpark: this area is underused already, and despite some new steps, it will take more than an empty lawn and the relocated Albatross fountain to entice people up here. There's also a "plaza" at the northwest corner that looks far from inviting.

There are some elements that I like about this scheme: the Chinese Garden seems to be a good combination of tradition and modernist geometry, and it integrates well with a complex of low-rise buildings that could form a much-needed beacon of activity at one corner. But this concentration of activity has left the rest looking bare and monotonous, and there appears to be no attempt at all to engage with or mitigate the effects of the TSB Arena.

Meridian media

2007-10-25T08:28:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, sustainability, urbanism, waterfront, Wellington

The Meridian building has been getting a lot of media love since it was officially opened yesterday, with video clips on TV1 and TV3 news, and a major article in today's Dominion Post. Meridian have also set up a website specifically for the building, though all it has so far is one video (Update: this is now fully operational, and has some useful content about the ESD features in the building).

All the news interest has centred on its environmental features, and justifiably so, for it seems to be truly innovative. The only article I've seen so far that assesses it aesthetically is in the latest edition of Architecture NZ (not online), which is generally full of praise but quibbles about the "busyness" of some of the detailing, such as the quasi-random wooden slats and the projecting bay on the harbour side. Now, I'm enough of a Modernist that I would have liked it without them, since it would have been a sleek and elegant minimalist building; but the details give it a sense of personality, scale and warmth that makes it even better.

It's a bit too early to properly assess it from an urbanist point of view, so I'll wait until the ground floor tenants are in (I've read that Mojo were planning to open in November, but that seems a little optimistic) and the public space to the north has been completed. All of the signs are good though: all except a few metres of the perimeter have active edges; there's plenty of detail to engage human interest; and its L-shaped plan seems just right to create well-defined and sheltered spaces around it. If all of that turns out as planned, this could be Welllington's best new building in a long, long time.

Frank Kitts Option A

2007-10-24T21:33:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

This is the option that was subtitled "Celebration of people - body & soul", which is a rather apple pie sort of feel-good statement, but it underlines the fact that it seems aimed at practicality and human-scale experience rather than grand formal gestures. That might account for its current lead in the Dominion Post poll, and while it might lack drama or theoretical interest, that may not be a problem for such a park.

One of the things I like about this entry is that it emphasises incremental improvements rather than a "big bang" approach. Elements such as the deck stepping down to the water, the "sea planter", canopy and cafe, toilet block/kiosk and a bridge link south of Shed 6 (a very sensible approach to eliminating the bottleneck there) are all labelled "optional". Given the budget constraints, this might be a realistic strategy.

The playground hardly moves, and most of the rip-rap and trees along the harbour edge are retained. The Willeston St viewshaft is reinstated, and the carpark appears to be untouched. One thing that sets this apart from the other entries is that the Chinese Garden goes on top of the carpark, which seems odd given that the technical difficulty of building such a garden above a carpark was given as one reason for relocating it from the Waitangi Precinct! The Chinese Garden design itself seems fairly traditional, with a tiny octagonal tea kiosk at the southwest corner and a second ("optional") cafe on the eastern edge. Breaking into the southern wall creates new steps down to the lagoon, improving access to the raised garden and plaza.

It's the central "harbour lawn" section that shows some subtly clever touches. While it's quite a large and exposed expanse of grass, there are several elements that break up the expanse into more intimate areas without reducing the total space. The "harbour walk" (aligned with Willeston St) is lined with raised platforms that double as seating or stages; the northwest corner combines a "native grove" with a slightly sloped lawn, the relocated memorial plaques and more benches; and the diagonal ramp on the harbour side helps to shape and guide the spaces.

Overall, it's a scheme that seems to tick all the boxes, and apart from the location of the Chinese Garden all of the design choices seem safe and uncontroversial. That it lacks the "wow" factor may not be a hindrance to its success as a park, though I'd still prefer to see a bit more boldness and flair.

Waterfront poll

2007-10-24T09:29:00.000+13:00

File under: waterfront, architecture, landscape architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Today's Dominion Post has a large spread on pages A10-11 dedicated to the Frank Kitts Park and Kumutoto design competitions. There's also an online slideshow and poll, inviting you to vote for your preferred entries.

That's an admirable step towards engaging the public, but I'd urge some caution before voting online. I've been to both exhibitions several times and mulled over the entries, and I don't think I'm ready to play favourites yet. Between the two competitions, there are 11 schemes, each of which deals with multiple buildings, functions and public spaces. That's a huge amount to take in, and given that the online images only give you a tiny overview of the whole scheme or a small rendering of a single building, without the multiple perspectives, plans and explanatory text of the entries themselves, there's nowhere near enough information to make an informed decision.

For the sake of participation, I'll probably click one of the boxes on the poll today based on a gut feeling, but I'm still planning a series of in-depth posts about each entry, and it won't be until I've gone through the analysis required for that that I'll be able to know which I prefer. If you are planning to take part in the (totally unofficial) online survey, please make sure you get down to the Waterfront Project Information Centre and spend some time with the full entries before casting your vote.

In the saltmines

2007-10-23T17:41:00.000+13:00

File under: demographics, work, maps, Wellington

There's been a lot of talk lately about the end of the 40-hour week, given the startlingly high numbers of people in this country working long hours. I thought it would be interesting to see where these busy bees were, so I started by looking at the census figures for Wellington to see if there were any patterns. Here's a map showing the proportion of employed people working more than 50 hours per week in their main job:

Actually, it's hard to discern any patterns. There's a hint that there are more hard workers in the affluent suburbs, which could be used by the well-off to justify their success as the result of good old-fashioned hard yakka. On the other hand, since this is just for one's "main job", it might hide a lot of poorer people struggling through an assortment of part-time jobs.

It looks as if I've made a bad choice of colour palette for that map, since very few meshblocks are up in the 50%+ bracket, so everything gets lumped down in the dark reds. But the choice was based on national data distributions, and if we zoom out we can see that there are indeed large areas that are humming with bright red activity:

But not in the cities! Contrary to the cliché about highly stressed corporate office workers, it seems that New Zealand's hardest workers are in rural areas. This leads one to suspect that perhaps it's all those farmers, up at the crack of dawn to milk cows and not resting until the fences are fixed, who are skewing our national figures. The multi-dimensional Census data isn't out for 2006 yet, but here's a breakdown of working hours by industry from 2001:

As you can see (if you click on the graph for a larger version), agriculture and mining do indeed dominate the figures for long hours. The Transport and Storage industry also stands out, and much of that might be associated with the rural sector too.

So, what does this suggest? Firstly, perhaps New Zealand's reputation of having the longest working hours in the world is mostly due to our largely agricultural economy, and that legislation aimed at giving us office drones a bit more time off won't actually change anything at all. I'm surprised that this hasn't been mentioned in any of the discussion in the media. Secondly, forget all that nonsense about escaping the rat race for a quiet life in the country: if you want to chill out, move in to the city!

A Freaky place

2007-10-20T14:27:00.000+13:00

File under: retail, urbanism, Wellington

As Cuba Street gradually becomes slicker and more expensive, it becomes harder for new or marginal businesses to establish themselves there. Luckily, there are still side streets and tucked-away little alleys that offer cheap opportunities to start a shop. The Left Bank is one such place, and the latest example is FREAK!space, which has just opened in shop 206.

I've written about Mr Freak and his productions before, and in July I mentioned his search for a venue. While I don't think I've got quite the style (or figure) to carry off his outfits, they're a great example of upcycling: turning second-hand suits into spectacular custom creations.

The space will also be used for exhibitions and events, and the current exhibition offers a cheeky take on colonialism, complete with a sign reading "Blankets 4 Sale. Will trade for land, beads or guns." In fact, with Oblong and the Freedom Shop just a few doors down, this could become quite a hotbed of dissent: so much so that when I saw a couple of police officers walking through the Left Bank today I wondered for a moment whether an Abel Smith Street style of raid was on the way. The spirit of Cuba St hasn't died; it's just moved around the corner.

Building rumours 19: Featherston Tower

2007-10-19T10:10:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

With so many new buildings planned or rumoured at the moment, it's hard to know where to start. I'll round up some of the apartment developments soon, but for the moment here's something to show that, despite predictions from the anti-Harbour Quays lobby, there's still plenty of interest in building office towers in the core CBD.

A sign has popped up on the corner of Featherston and Waring Taylor streets advertising "Featherston Tower". This is an unusual development, since while most of it will be built on the site of what's now a low-rise building at 128 Featherston St, a lot of it will be constructed on top of the 11-storey Laptop Company Building next door.

Interestingly, this is not the first we've seen of this project. DeepRed over at SkyscraperCity posted a link to the engineers' website, and that has some rather different renders:

Apart from the apparent façade differences, which may just be because the engineers are concentrating on the structural details, the main difference is that the southern section is significantly taller and appears to have an angled roof. Given the timing, I'd expect that the top render is what will actually be built, and I think it's quite an improvement.

Rather than a single, rather heavy slab, the building now reads as a slender tower adjacent to a floating glassy volume. The vertical fins on the tower section seem to extend slightly above the building itself, increasing the sense of slenderness and, if the detailing is handled well, giving a sense of the top of the building dissolving into the sky. While there's something to be said for the argument that a building's top and bottom should be marked architecturally, too often the tops of office towers have been capped with pseudo-domestic pitched roofs or quasi-Classical frippery: this seems like a more appropriate way to treat the top of a skyscraper without descending into pastiche.

It will be a shame to lose the existing brick building, partly because of the warmth of its materials and restrained Deco-ish details, but mostly because it's been a rare example of a cheap old building in the CBD that's allowed small and interesting businesses to get a start. Still, the signs are good that this will be a decent enough replacement, if not a brilliant piece of architecture. The earlier design was by ArcHaus: does anyone know whether the new version is the work of a different firm, or just an evolution of the design?

Kumutoto Kapers

2007-10-16T16:46:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, waterfront, Wellington

The publicly-displayed entries in the Kumutoto sites 8-10 competition are, as I said yesterday, now on show upstairs at the Waterfront Project Information Centre. Most of the entries really pull out all the architectural stops, and there's very little in the way of "variations on a cube" to be seen amid all the swoops, bubbles, facets, folded planes and hovering mushroomy forms. Actually, the most cubical of the lot is one of the most striking: a huge wooden grid with plug-in fluorescent containers and cascading green walls, evoking Archigram doing Musée du quai Branly in a lumber yard. Even the more sedate designs would stand out from the run of the developers' mill, and among the most daring there's some dynamism and excitement going on that we so rarely get in Wellington architecture.

I'll try to get hold of some images to post here, so that I can discuss them in depth, but in the meantime you owe it to yourself to get down there and get your head around these complex and sometimes bewildering designs.

There is one caveat, though: you may have noticed that I didn't say "shortlisted entries" or "finalists" but "publicly-displayed entries". That's because not all of these are being considered further by the judges, and it's not made clear which ones are actually in the running. There still seems to be some confusion surrounding this, but as I understand it, the panel is considering each site separately and has chosen two options for each of the three sites from among the schemes on display. Even then, I gather that at least one of the entries here is definitely not going any further: I'm glad that the public will get to see it, since it's deeply thought-through and definitely iconic, but it seems strange to have it here if there's no chance that any element of it will be built.

I'd like to think otherwise, but I have a sneaking suspicion that some of the more pedestrian buildings will get the nod, and that the more extravagant designs are just there to give the impression of unbounded creativity. If that is the strategy, it might backfire, since it seems to me that most of the buildings are at the very least inventive and attractive, and would make fine additions to the waterfront; but in this company they look safe and conventional. Even so, all of the schemes seem to have played fast and loose with the brief, and the height limits in particular: what might become known as "the conniptions building" is only the most extreme (at about 20 storeys). I don't necessarily mind that, since going over-height in one area has usually been countered by opening up views or intriguing public spaces in others. What is somewhat disheartening is that none seem to have room for indoor sports on the ground floor.

But you do have the chance to give your feedback, and I encourage you to do so. If a particular building captures your heart or turns your stomach, say so! If you think a particular aspect or problem hasn't been addressed, let them know. This is not a public vote for your favourite scheme, but a chance to give reasoned and thoughtful feedback: if you just say "I like option X" or "Option Y sucks" or "I'm appalled and outraged! Give us a paddock", then you're much less likely to be taken seriously than if you say "I like the way that X engages with the existing buildings, but the pedestrian access is poorly resolved", or "Y is spectacular, but I wish there was a way to combine it with the winter garden idea from scheme Z". I already have some gut favourites, but I will take some time to work through all the pros and cons before coming to any decisions, and so should you.

Green water

2007-10-15T13:55:00.000+13:00

File under: environment, sustainability, waterfront, urbanism, Wellington

Today is Blog Action Day for the environment, so I thought about posting something about sustainable urbanism (for a change ;-). On the other hand, there's a lot going on relating to the waterfront, so why not combine the two? First though, in a slight digression, I don't suppose there's any irony in the fact that on such as day, a Wellington house used by environmental activists was raided by police? The discussion is heating up over on Indymedia and Hard News.

But back to the waterfront, where Meridian Energy moved into their new green offices at Kumutoto today. I hope to wangle myself a site visit soon so that I can do a proper review, but in the meantime I'll just say that the building looks even better than I'd originally expected, with a rather spectacular cantilevered staircase. Given the changeable weather today, it looks like both the water capture systems and solar panels will be getting busy, though I wonder how much photovoltaics it will take to power those display screens in the lobby?

It'll be interesting to see how well the bike lockers get used, though given the absence of carpark and the location close to the CBD and transport hub, I'd be willing to bet that the proportion of workers using public transport or leg power will be greater than if exactly the same building had been in a suburban office park. If the weather continues like this, I suspect they'll be hanging out for Mojo to open downstairs: the last I heard it was expected to be ready in November, though the liquor license notice has only just appeared. Mixed use on a brownfield site, without carparks, close to public transport, and with high-quality public spaces taking shape around it: that's my idea of sustainable urbanism, even without all the innovative features of the building itself.

The shortlisted entries for the redesign of Frank Kitts Park are now on display at the Waterfront Project Information Centre, and the entries for Sites 8, 9 and 10 at Kumutoto will be on display from tomorrow (not next Tuesday, as originally stated). I'm expecting most of the controversy to come from the latter (because it involves buildings, of course, and in the case of one sneak peek that I've seen, buildings to give Waterfront Watch conniptions!), but there's already a lot to get your head around with the five Frank Kitts designs. All of them have a Chinese Garden, most of them don't fiddle with the existing carpark very much, and all keep the lighthouse slide as the centrepiece of a relocated playground; but otherwise there's quite a variety of ideas. Semi-circular jetties, memorial walls, filter beds, "crustacean playspaces", "landscape containers", Feng Shui circles, bright red waterside kiosks, "gift lines" and native groves are all in there somewhere, along with more prosaic elements such as lawns, promenades and viewlines. I'll try to get hold of some images and write up some analysis here, but in the meantime, you have until November the 2nd to see them and put in your feedback.

Finally, the previous major park development is still evolving and coming into its own. The long-awaited sculpture to mark the eastern entrance to Waitangi Park has finally been installed, and when the sun arrived yesterday it was great to see the variety of uses going on throughout the park. It was fine (and almost dry) enough for some to play on the field, while the skatepark and playground were packed as usual, and people were even playing petanque! The wind turbine was spinning away silently, and Empire Skate & Street seemed to be doing good business with its gelato and Havana coffee. The species of reed (whichever one it is: I'm looking forward to some interpretive plaques) that dies down over winter was starting to show some spring growth, and the graving dock garden, while I'm sure that traditionalists would prefer roses, is alive with subtle flowers and brightly coloured foliage.

Mövenpick might have to wait until high summer before it starts raking in the cash, and Port Café really needs to work out whether it's going to be a cheap fish 'n' chip joint or a gourmet seafood restaurant: at the moment it's too expensive to be the former and lacks the décor for the latter, although the collection of Greek brandies in oddly-shaped bottles might be amusing to sample one night. The Herd St Brasserie is always busy, despite a disappointing review in Cuisine, but it's Zarbo that might really pull in a wide range of customers. When it opens later this month, it will have a bar and pizzeria as well as being a deli and café, and given how popular Caffé Italiano is proving to be, it should be a winner. A gallery and hairdresser's are also supposed to be opening in the atrium, though as yet I've heard nothing more concrete.

What do the last few paragraphs have to do with environmental issues? Simple: when recreational, commercial, hospitality, residential, retail and cultural uses are brought together into a relatively small area, rather than dispersed around the place, we save not only precious land but minimise the transport required to travel between them. Not only that, but if it's done right, the uses need not compete with one another but enhance each other and make everything more viable and lively. There may not be as many square metres of open space, and not everywhere will have panoramic views, but the public spaces will be better and there will be more to look at.

Tracking the council

2007-10-14T22:50:00.000+13:00

File under: elections, politics, Wellington

It seems there were no major upheavals this weekend (at least not regarding the council), and the incumbent mayor was returned with a large margin, to a less than rapturous reception in some quarters. The mayor is only one vote on the council, however, and shifts in the balance of power there might have more effect. So, what's the overall effect of the changes, particularly on my main hobbyhorses (transport and the waterfront)? Here's the list of past and present councillors, with new ones in bold and deposed councillors struck out:

Alick Shaw Iona Pannett
Jack Ruben Jo Coughlan
Robert Armstrong Ngaire Best
Andy Foster
Helene Ritchie
Bryan Pepperell
Celia Wade-Brown
John Morrison
Ray Ahipene-Mercer
Leonie Gill
Rob Goulden
Hayley Wain
Stephanie Cook
Ian McKinnon

Of the new ones, the one with whom I'm most familiar is Iona Pannett. She stood for the Greens, so as you would expect I'm delighted with the prospect of a stronger voice for public transport, sustainability and social housing. However, she's also involved with Waterfront Watch, so it's clear that her vision for sustainable urbanism is different from mine, which involves a high density mixed-use CBD, including the waterfront (not that going from roughly 75% to 70% open space is exactly "high density"). Perhaps she can be convinced that, as I put it earlier, "a quality public realm isn't always the same as maximising unbuilt space", and that "green" politics is not always about "green space". She has struck me as less dogmatic on this subject than Jack Ruben, so maybe if (for example) the public spaces at Kumutoto prove to be as popular and attractive as I think they will be, her policies can adapt to the idea that urban can mean sustainable.

I know next to nothing of the others. According to Ngaire Best's website, it would appear that she's been mainly concerned with local issues for the northern suburbs, and it's only by reading her responses to the Chamber of Commerce questionnaire that I've managed to get a sense of her policies on larger issues. For instance, while she does talk about "increas[ing] the quality and availability of Public Transport within the city and across the region", this seems subsidiary to building more and bigger roads, "including connections from the Churton Park Interchange through to the Hutt Valley, ... Transmission Gully and improved roads from the city to the airport and tertiary hospital". With the Ngauranga to Airport study still looming, I think we can sense her priorities there. I haven't found any statements from her regarding the waterfront or inner-city density, though I do get the impression that she promotes suburban values, so I'm not hopeful.

It's even harder to find out Jo Coughlan's policies, as she didn't appear to have a campaign website. She generally appears to be centre-right, which would suit her background and connections, and some approving comments on Kiwiblog had me very worried. Still, if her answers to the Chamber's questions are anything to go by, she may not be as far right as that might suggest: for example, she supports a differential between business and residential rates (though she doesn't say whether she'd keep the current ratio). She's heartily in favour of the waterfront developments, and I agree to some extent with her when she says "Why can't Wellington CBD and Te Aro be like Manhattan?" - though I would caution that even in Manhattan, there is a distinction in urban form between Wall Street or the Upper East Side and Greenwich Village or Chelsea. But her statement on climate change ("I am of course in favor of reducing green house gases – but we must be careful that we keep a balanced perspective on this. Given our relative clean, green status internationally, I would expect we pose little threat to the planet compared to hundreds of other cities internationally.") made me slap my forehead, and while there are the usual soothing comments about public transport, roading seems to come first.

So, how have the balances shifted? Not a lot, it would seem. On waterfront development, Pannett has in some sense replaced Ruben and Coughlan replaced Armstrong, though it's hard to tell how Best compares to Shaw on the issue. On the balance of public and private transport, there seems to be a slight shift in favour of the former, since Pannett is a stronger advocate than any of the three now ex-councillors, and the others seem vaguely similar to their predecessors. All in all, it seems fairly much like steady-as-she-goes on the waterfront, while any slight shift in favour of public transport might be less momentous than decisions made at Regional Council and Central Government levels.

Gangs of Khandallah

2007-10-12T13:36:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, infill, architecture, sustainability, Wellington

There was a bit of heated discussion around here a few months ago about whether it would be a good thing to restrict ad-hoc infill while encouraging infill in places that have the infrastructure to support it. I put in a submission in favour of that approach, and since then, there's been a lot of generally negative media noise about infill in general, but very little about the notion of targeting such intensification where it would be most appropriate.

A case in point was the recent furore about architect Denis Fortune's threat to build a gang pad on a large Khandallah section, saying that it would be easier to get consent than for the townhouses he was planning. Let's leave aside for the moment the question of whether that was a scurrilous threat, a bad joke or an amusing way of ruffling a few expensive feathers. For me, the question is: is this a sensible location for this sort of infill?

A map of the neighbourhood shows that the section is a short walk from the nearest railway station, just around the corner from the local shops, and has three schools within a few minutes' walk. The area is reasonably well served by buses, and looking slightly further afield, there is a large playing field, swimming pool and access to the town belt within 500m. The immediate vicinity is relatively flat, and in general everything suggests that it is a walkable neighbourhood with good access to the city and to local amenities.

What about the section itself?

At about 825 sq m, it's slightly less than a quarter acre, but about 4.5 times the size of the sections that the well-loved Wright St houses in Mt Cook are built on. So, putting six townhouses here would be just slightly higher density than was being built 100 years ago. The shape of the section is a bit awkward for that sort of street-facing development, but it could suit a courtyard typology. The fact that it is a corner site means that there's one fewer neighbour to worry about; immediately to the east is what appears to be the carpark for Taste restaurant; and to the south the nearest house is separated from the boundary by what looks to be quite a wide driveway or access strip. Increasing density will of course have some effect on the neighbours, but hardly catastrophic.

Without having seen the site in person, I'd have to say that this is just about as good a candidate site for suburban infill as you can get. It would be sad to lose the trees, but compared to the damage done by scraping the vegetation off six large sections on the outskirts of Churton Park or Newland, it's a relatively low-impact way of housing six households. Of course the character of the neighbourhood will change, but I've never been particularly keen on preserving the "character" of low-density suburbia anyway.

I find the tone of some of the opponents rather grating, especially a letter in today's Dominion Post saying:

"There's still time to do the honourable thing. They should eschew the predicted profit and sell the existing house and property to someone who wants to live there and who will take care of it. The entire neighbourhood will thank them for it."

You have to wonder how much the neighbourhood's thanks will be due to preservation of actual quality of life, and how much because they don't want their fat property values to be diluted by allowing more residents into a tightly-held and desirable suburb. No doubt the good burghers of Khandallah see the proponents of such intensification as "dishonourable" and worse than bikie gangs, but there's something rather reminiscent of cartels in the restriction of supply to maintain high prices.

Of course, Fortune's statements don't really help. I can understand his frustration at the delays and the anomalies in the District Plan, but such a development really should go through the proper process. Perhaps once the District Plan changes have reached the point of specifically identifying "areas of change", this will be one of those parts of town where such infill should be able to happen through a streamlined, non-notified process. I'd still like to see strict controls on the quality of architecture, though not to enforce "historic" character: I'd even prefer an uncompromising Bauhaus design to the sort of gruesome quasi-vernacular pastiche that so often gives infill a bad name. More than that, I'd like to see a coherent plan for the entire neighbourhood, including the adjacent shopping strip and the nearby station, to set this on the way to becoming a proper little town centre rather than disparate assortment of one-off developments.

Wooly Bully

2007-10-11T17:13:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, heritage, modernism, Wellington

Local body democracy doesn't end with the elections: there are always submissions and feedback processes going on. The submissions on plan change 58, which proposes to add 16 buildings to the heritage inventory, have now been summarised and are open for further submissions.

There's the usual mix of pro- and anti-submissions on many different buildings, but one thing that stood out for me was the number of submissions objecting to the inclusion of Old Wool House in Featherston St. To those without a specific interest in Modernist architecture, it probably never attracts a second glance, but here's what the Architectural Centre has to say about the building (taken from the brochure for Wellington Architecture Week 2005 - 7.86MB PDF):

Wool House was built for the New Zealand Wool Board in 1955-1957. It was designed by Johns and Whitwell in association with S. William Toomath. The articulated façade of the building avoids the "dullness of the regular curtain wall grid" Toomath had observed in buildings by second-rate architects in New York. It is, as Toomath has noted "a pure expression of the concrete frame ... the regular grid was the only solid surface in the façade."

Conceptually the building is a five storey box standing on two major columns, 26 feet (or 8m) high. These were spot-punched Coromandel granite columns. The projecting baywindows were carefully glazed with a green-tinted antisun glass, in beautiful bronze sashes. These are reminiscent of the villa baywindow, providing clear views up and down the street, designed for maximum views, maximum light, and ease of cleaning. They deliberately took advantage of a city bylaw intended for architectural features such as pediments and cornices which allowed projections over the footpath of up to two feet. Old Wool House was a recipient of a N.Z.I.A. Wellington Branch 2002 Enduring Architecture Award.

And here are some of the justifications for its non-listing, from the summary of submissions (231kB PDF):

"it is a modern building and has no decorative value interest. It is better to conserve actual old buildings of value."

"it looks far too modern to be considered a heritage building"

"it shows no architectural value whatsoever and is of no significance to the city"

"it is so simple, plain and has no architectural features to be listed as heritage"

"the building has no architectural features, just a plain box with holes in the concrete walls. The submitter cannot see any hallmarks that this building has to qualify its heritage. It has no decorative features and has been wrongly recommended to be listed as a heritage building."

"it is simply an ordinary 1950's commercial building with no historic value and should not be given heritage status"

"it shows no sign or character of coming into the category of being a heritage building. There are buildings that have been erected in Wellington city with the same boring character – does the Council intend to turn these into heritage also?"

Is it not old enough to be heritage, at a mere half-century? That argument could have been used in the 1980s to demolish Art Deco buildings, and in the 1950s to dispense with Victoriana. But it's the use of terms like "simple", "plain box" and "no decorative features" that is most revealing: to some people, Modernism is not part of our heritage.

Many of the objectors clearly have a connection to the owners of the building, and some other names are familiar from the property industry, and thus one can spot the usual financial motivation behind such opposition. But others sound like they might just be members of the public or heritage enthusiasts bemused and angry at the idea that Modernist buildings might be considered worthy of preservation. To such people, "heritage" is all about wooden colonial cottages, or grand Victorian piles festooned with twiddly bits, rather than a recognition of the dynamic physical and cultural evolution of the city.

In Stuart Niven's IntensCITY talk, he spoke of heritage in terms of "a popular need for a sense of the continuum of time" and "meaningful evidence of where we've come from". There is more than a little irony that Modernism, which in its most extreme forms was actively hostile to "the continuum of time", is now part of that continuum. But of course it is, and Old Wool House is an early and notable example, with connections to one of Wellington's most influential Modernist architects. Even "ordinary 1950's commercial buildings" are a significant part of the architectural fabric and history of Wellington, and to those with a sympathetic eye for the period it's a handsome example of the most significant architectural movement of the last century.

Worst. Turnout. Ever!

2007-10-11T13:08:00.000+13:00

File under: elections, urbanism, transport, Wellington

That's what some people are saying, and they're blaming the low voter response so far on "voter apathy". I'm not so sure, though: we can still get our forms in the post today, or (as I'm intending to) deliver it to the council buildings by midday on Saturday, and I wonder whether people are just leaving it until the last moment because it takes a lot of time and effort to work out what the candidates actually stand for.

Unlike central government, where one votes for party candidates with published manifestos, the local body candidates tend to be independents or have only loose party affiliations, and there's a plethora of flyers, websites, blogs, myspace pages, interviews and questionnaires to trawl through in order to work out which, if any, candidates share one's vision for Wellington. There's also the fact that we have to vote for not just a mayor, but councillors and regional councillors as well. And don't even mention DHBs...

I'm not going to mention my choices here: suffice to say that none of the candidates seem to have a vision that directly matches mine, and my picks will be fairly reluctant compromises. If I were running for mayor myself (and despite a few calls for that, I don't have the experience, financial backing and/or personality disorders required to do so), my slogan would be:

Just like Wellington, only more so

That's based on the observation that the things I love about Wellington are those qualities that make it different from the stereotypical Kiwi way of life. It has a dense and centralised CBD, with enough working population and tall buildings to make it feel bigger and more urban than it actually is. It has relatively high public transport use, though there's still a long way to go and there have been some recent setbacks. It has a young, liberal and well-educated population, with a reputation for innovation and intellectual curiosity. It has some inner-city suburbs that are much denser than quarter-acre suburbia, though still far less dense than typical residential neighbourhoods in mature Old World cities. It has a thriving and diverse dining and shopping scene, though I believe it has potential for even more. I love Wellington, but I think it could be even better if it maximised those points of difference.

To be specific, I'd vote in a split second for any candidate who proposed the following principles and specific policies:

Principle: a major mind-shift away from low-density suburbia and reliance on private vehicles.

Policies:

Fast, frequent light rail on the "spine" from Johnsonville to the airport, with other railway lines to be converted later
Increased frequency and capacity on existing bus routes, concentrating on other major routes (Karori, Brooklyn, Island Bay)
Ticketing needs to be integrated, easy and cheap
Congestion charging in the CBD and along specific routes
A moratorium on greenfield development
Residential intensification and mixed use at neighbourhood centres along the spine
Improvements to pedestrian and cycle networks (including wider footpaths, gradual pedestrianisation of the CBD, and longer pedestrian crossing phases at traffic lights)
Promote car-sharing schemes, with discounts for those living in car-free households

Principle: a quality public realm isn't always the same as maximising unbuilt space.

Policies:

The waterfront should be an urban place, not an "escape" from the city: continue with the agreed framework
Support for the School Of Music next to Civic Square
An open space network for Te Aro, with a strategically-located new square or pocket park in SoCo, and enshrinement of existing informal short-cuts as public pedestrian laneways
Swap Glover Park for Swan Lane carpark
Provide quality small public spaces and wider footpaths by gradually reducing surface parking
Many more street trees, and encouragement of green roofs, green walls and planters
Create small parks in inner-city neighbourhoods by shutting off one end of a side road to vehicles

Principle: design matters.

Policies:

An integrated vision for the city: the Capital Precinct, Harbour Quays and Waterfront frameworks have to fit coherently with each other and with the rest of the city
Enforce low/high city distinction: keep most of Te Aro at 4-8 storeys, but allow tall towers in the existing high city
Seek a regulatory framework that would allow tighter control of architectural quality in private developments
Public architectural competitions for all public buildings
Too low is as bad as too high: encourage coherent development of vacant sites, car yards and bulk retail locations in Te Aro
Ultra-small apartments are only allowed if they can demonstrate exceptionally good space planning and shared facilities
Fund "demonstration buildings" to create models of high-quality high-density housing

Principle: a diverse and lively economy.

Policies:

There's nothing wrong with a strong government sector, but Wellington needs to diversify
Attract another major tertiary institution (perhaps a specialist institute)
Create or strengthen clusters in alternative energy, transport, new technology and design
Encourage light manufacturing (clothing, food, furniture) in the central city
Designate part of Te Aro as a "noise-control-free zone", discouraging upmarket residential development while encouraging the night-time economy
Require private residential developments to include a proportion of affordable housing
Require all central city developments to have ground-floor retail space, and if these are not immediately leased, offer them as cheap temporary studio and exhibition spaces

And there'd be much more; more than I can write in one post. The thing that has kept me from voting thus far is that those candidates that are closest to me on one policy tend to be diametrically opposed on others. I think I've made my compromise decision now, but I'll still wait until the last minute to vote in case anything changes my mind.

Grid evolution

2007-10-10T13:59:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, Wellington

There's a pattern that emerged from the Wellington in 2040 analysis which I should have already realised, but that I've never consciously thought of: a particular similarity between Melbourne's Hoddle Grid and the Te Aro street pattern.

One thing that I like about Melbourne's CBD is the alternation of wide streets (such as Flinders St, Collins St and Bourke St) with much narrower ones (Flinders Lane, Little Collins St and Little Bourke St). The wide streets, while being primarily about movement, still have plenty of retail activity, though it tends to be mainstream or upmarket and in some blocks gives way to grand civic or commercial buildings. The "little" streets have a much greater variety of retail and hospitality, and their intimacy and activity makes up for any griminess and lack of sun.

Rotate this pattern by about 45 degrees anticlockwise, and it looks like we've got the beginnings of a similar alternation in Te Aro. Victoria St, Taranaki St and Cambridge/Kent Tce are the relatively wide and fast streets; Willis, Cuba and Tory streets are slower, narrower and along much of their lengths, blessed with more active edges and independent retail.

How could we build on this pattern? Apart from the ideas presented last week, my own suggestions would be to make the fast streets more like boulevards (with more trees, and by filling in the vacant and low-rise gaps in the urban fabric) while stepping up pedestrian priority in the slow ones. While there have been some encouraging recent changes, I don't ever expect Taranaki St to become a café and retail destination: a better strategy would be to aim for a dignified thoroughfare with the gradual accumulation of active edges. The slow streets could also handle some slightly higher-rise development, since the slow streets of Melbourne seem to maintain intimacy and vitality despite (or perhaps due to?) often being lined by tall buildings; and the emphasis should be on removing through traffic where possible and making active edges mandatory.

That may not work for the whole length of those streets (upper Willis is likely to remain quasi-suburban in character, for example, and Victoria Street's ad-hoc twists and left-over corners will present a challenge), but it could be the start of a general pattern to aim for. It could improve legibility and memorability, since it'll be harder to think of any of these as "just another street": they will have a place in a hierarchy. It will help distribute different urban conditions (the grand and the intimate), and provide a simple framework to guide development. Combine that with trams, mature street trees and populated laneways, and Te Aro could look and feel a lot better in a few decades' time.

I'm not saying that we should ape everything that Melbourne does, and it won't have that effect since Wellington's harbour, hills and climate will always create a unique setting. But Melbourne has created a famously liveable and lively city on its particular version of the well-known gridiron, and the alternation of fast & wide with slow & narrow may have something to do with that.

IntensCITY notes: Wellington in 2040

2007-10-08T13:07:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, planning, transport, events, Wellington

Here's my brief write-up of the last IntensCITY lunchtime talk, Wellington in 2040: A summary of ideas. As the name suggests, it was the result of a wide-ranging and informal discussion between some of the design professionals who'd been involved in the week, and there was far too much for me to cover in one post, so after a general introduction I'll concentrate on the two main subjects: the street network and the open space network. I should stress that these were brainstorming sessions intended to provoke inspiration and debate, and don't necessarily represent any stage of council policy (more's the pity, in some cases). Also, my apologies for the poor quality of my snapshots: I hope to get the originals shortly.

At the beginning, there was a quick summary of Wellington's good and bad points from an urban design perspective. We've got a walkable, compact centre, with good street life, active edges and well-integrated public art; all of which contributes to a sense of belonging. The presence of street trees and some recent footpath widening were also mentioned, though I tend to think that we could do with a lot more of both, and there have been some unfortunate examples where footpaths have been sacrificed to vehicular needs.

On the downside, our central city streets are still dominated by vehicles and cluttered with inconsistent and often superfluous fixtures. This lack of coordination and uniformity was a common theme: poor direction of Te Aro growth, the lack of a cohesive strategy on heritage and character, and not enough celebration of our "capital function". I'm all for variety in architectural styles, but I'd agree that lack of uniformity is one thing that mars our streetscape. Some of this was put down to too much of a 'vertical' silo mentality among planners and the high priority given to engineering (especially road engineering) over design.

In all of this, there are lessons to be learned from the current waterfront development process, which despite all the squealing from some quarters, is gradually delivering some high quality public space and some of the best recent architecture in Wellington. Everything starts from a framework that was developed through a public process; it has a vision, principles and objectives; there are design reviews and site-specific briefs; and selection and control of the designers and other participants.

Of course, that's all possible because it's council-controlled land, and there are a lot of legal and political barriers to implementing a similar process on a mixture of private and public property, though something similar seems to have delivered great results in Melbourne. But let's imagine for a moment that society as a whole were able to put the quality of the public realm ahead of the absolute sovereignty of private property rights, and that Wellington had a city-wide framework for urban planning and design up to the year 2040: what sort of vision, principles, process and objectives might such a framework include? That's what the workshops had addressed, and here are some of their thoughts abut the street and open space networks.

The key objective and greatest challenge for the street network plan is to balance the needs of private vehicles, public transport and pedestrians. Partly, that boils down to a conflict between street as thoroughfare vs streets a destination (something that I've previously characterised as the difference between roads and streets), and finding the appropriate balance for each street in the central city. The street network can be analysed according to two dimensions: speed and orientation. Some streets should be primarily about movement, while others should be "slow" streets with an emphasis on amenities and pedestrian experience. Orientation breaks down into three categories: east/west, north/south, and those that follow the "natural spine" of past and present waterfronts. I'll write some more about my own thoughts on these distinctions, but for the moment here are some of the specific street network priorities identified by the workshops:

Greater priority to links between waterfront and golden mile, including celebrating the escarpment (now The Terrace)
Kent/Cambridge Tce as Wellington's boulevard
Ceremonial approaches to Memorial Park
Bowen St/Whitmore St/Whitmore Pl
Lambton Quay/Thorndon Quay - "shoreline connection", pedestrian spine
Clearer policy on identity of Golden Mile
Review of Cable St/Wakefield St and intervening blocks

Objectives for the open space plan included conducting an "open space audit" to assess the demand, distribution and quality of open spaces. I've attempted my own version of that, by mapping population increases in the context of distance from green space, though without much assessment of quality and some fairly simplistic assumptions about demand. It's necessary prerequisite before planning an open space network, and working out what people actually want from public spaces in different parts of the city can make a huge difference: to my mind, Cuba Mall is the best "open space" in the city, but other parts of town may need different types of space.

While it was suggested that we should look after what we've got to avoid spreading resources too thinly, I'd suggest that sometimes "what we've got" is just in the wrong place to make a good public space (Glover Park spring to mind) or in areas already well-served with open spaces (Jack Illot Green, the former Justice Park and most of the waterfront), and the city needs to take bold steps to ensure that districts with a poor public realm (such as SoCo) are looked after. One approach that might help would be to partially finance public space improvements through as "tax increment" based on the increased value of adjacent private property: it's an idea that has a lot of merit, but I can't see it going down well in certain sectors of the property industry.

The specific priorities for the open space plan were:

Better performance of Civic Square
Back of Parliament as new open space
Open space amenity issue for centre of Te Aro
Tory St/Cuba St pedestrian routes: lanes or pocket parks of sunny, sheltered open space
Allenby Tce/Terrace gardens: "lost city" initiative
Te Papa's Bush City reconsidered
A Te Aro Town Belt extension: Mt Vic to Brooklyn Hill (including Basin Reserve)

Of those, I'd say that the Te Aro open space and amenity issues could be addressed in tandem with the "lanes or pocket parks" one. Formalising the current quasi-public pedestrian routes through the large Te Aro blocks could be a step towards Melbourne-style laneways, and a network of lanes, pedestrian streets, courtyards and sheltered, sunny corners could do just as much good as an actual "park" in that part of town. There wasn't much elaboration on the "lost city initiative", but it involved making more of the network of walkways and spaces around the tucked-away Terrace Gardens area. I didn't get the impression that the "Town Belt extension" involved actually ripping up existing city streets: it may just be about creating a belt of street trees, pocket parks and other foliage between St Mark's School, the Basin Reserve, the Massey University grounds and up to Nairn St Park. The biggest gap in that area, around Taranaki, Hopper and Hankey streets, could certainly do with a bit of greening.

Drink of the month: Rosé

2007-10-05T14:48:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

I've still got to write up the last of the IntensCITY lunchtime talks, but right now I'm just about ready for a drink. Despite September being somewhat lacking in G&T weather, and October getting off to a, shall we say, less than promising start, I'm enough of an optimist to designate as drink of the month the quintessential fine-weather wine: rosé.

I should perhaps have saved it for high summer, but there's something peculiarly appropriate about making it Wellington's drink for October. The denizens of Nelson or Tauranga tend to get blasé about clement weather, but Wellingtonians seize the merest glimmer of sunshine, the subtlest hint of a lull in the gale, and take to the streets and promenades of the city as if it were a day of heavenly bliss. In early spring, when the first fleeting intimations of balminess descend upon this gullible town, it's common to see Oriental Bay promenaders shivering in short sleeves rendered suddenly impractical by the return of a capricious southerly, or huddled outside St Johns in the fond hope that the sun is going to defy astronomical certainties and pop out from behind the Michael Fowler Centre. Thus, what could be more appropriate for the change of seasons in a city of meteorological optimists than the wine that's made for sunshine?

Now, I know what you're probably thinking. Actually, you're probably thinking one of three things:

Aren't rosés horribly sweet and cloying?
Aren't rosés just for girls and poofters?
Oh come on, everyone knows that rosé's been fashionable again for ages.

Let's deal with the objections one at a time.

Point one is not unreasonable, due to youthful indiscretions that most of us have committed at some stage while under the influence of such dodgy characters as Mateus and White Zinfandel. And there are still plenty of candy-coated horrors out there, more akin to an RTD than anything made from grapes. But the classic rosés from the south of France (such as the famous Tavel) can be serious food wines, and even the lighter ones require a touch of acidity to deliver the refreshment of which they are so capable.

Even the most open-minded oenophile sometimes succumbs to the second point, and some men might indeed find clutching a glass of delicate pink wine something of a test of their fragile sense of masculinity. The fact that Kim Crawford makes a rosé called "Pansy!" doesn't help, either. But Ernest Hemingway was well known for knocking back vast quantities of Spanish rosado (actually, is there any drink which Hemingway wasn't famous for knocking back?), and if you would have had the temerity to question Papa's manhood within his earshot, well, you'd have been braver than I. So, laugh off the jibes from uninformed Neanderthals, and if it helps, think of it as a test of courage: "I'm so tough, I'll drink rosé at The Cambridge".

There's much to be said for the third point, as the wine press has been heralding the rediscovery of rosé for several years. But that hasn't filtered through to wine lists everywhere: even the Matterhorn has only a single still rosé among its famously encyclopaedic list (though it is a goody), and some otherwise well-regarded bars have none at all. Even when they do, they often stock only the cheap lolly-water that has given the style such a bad name. Demand good rosé, and demand that it be taken seriously.

So, how and when to drink it? Sunshine will of course help, so lunch (or breakfast, if you're so inclined) will be preferable to dinner, at least until we get closer to the solstice. That makes anywhere with a terrace, balcony, garden, courtyard or street tables preferable to anywhere completely internal, and of course it's the perfect picnic wine. That versatility (it goes pretty well with either red or white meat) also makes it a safe choice for a pot-luck dinner, though it has a special affinity for Mediterranean flavours such as rosemary, garlic and olive oil. And of course, the lighter expressions of the style are perfect as an aperitif, or for just knocking back on their own a là Hemingway. Any suggestions for bars and restaurants that have especially appropriate selections, locations or cuisines are, as always, most welcome.

(picture obtained from filtran on Flickr)

IntensCITY notes: Gerald Blunt

2007-10-05T08:24:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, architecture, events, Wellington

Gerald Blunt's talk, New Zealand's Capital Centre: Matching the urban landscape to its national importance, raised a lot of intriguing issues about New Zealand's national identity and Wellington's role as a capital city. There are two broad types of capitals: dominant (e.g. London or Paris, where the capital is also the largest city and financial hub) and designated (such as Washington DC, Brasilia or Canberra, which were explicitly chosen and planned to avoid rivalry between states). Wellington is closer to the second type, since it is not economically or demographically dominant, and was designated as capital because of its geographic centrality. However, Wellington is not an artificial or planned city like the other examples, and thus lacks the grand formal nationalistic gestures associated with such capitals.

This may be entirely appropriate, since the modest, picturesque and informal qualities of our parliamentary precinct suits what many New Zealanders think of as our national character. We have little need for nationalistic symbolism, and planned capitals (full of monuments and grand axial boulevards) often lack character and intimacy. However, our national institutions are stuck within a messy part of town that not only lacks gravitas, but has poor legibility, street edges, public space and connections to the rest of the city.

Hence, the council has been conducting a study into how we could improve what is being tentatively called the "Capital Precinct". This started as an urban design exercise, and produced steps towards concrete designs, such as a framework plan that included improvements to the Molesworth St streetscape, the treatment of Thorndon Quay as an extension of the Golden Mile, public art and monument plans, and distinct "Thorndon Village" and "Pipitea Precinct" nodes. However, an evaluation of the first stage decided that the study would have to include the whole inner city (to encompass Government House, the National Memorial and Te Papa), and should step back a bit to look at what the country as a whole might want to see represented in our capital.

I've heard other reports that this project has stalled somewhat, but it may not be a bad thing to take some time over something so important. The study thus seems to have morphed into something more like a conversation on national identity (so beloved of the current administration) and what that might mean in terms of "pride of place" and "identity by design". It considers both the considerable heritage value of the sites, and how we might move to a future vision of the capital as "a place to talk" which presents a sense of theatre about citizenship, representation and debate.

Some concrete ideas are arising from this, such as opening up some of the buildings (e.g. shifting the National Archives' emphasis from storehouse to showcase), creating a central interpretation centre and moving towards a coherent physical plan (though I wouldn't expect any wholesale Haussmannisation of Thorndon). As befitting the centre of bureaucracy, there'll have to be a lot of work done about funding, administration, land status and even choosing a name for the place before anything physical starts to happen.

Blunt stressed that the current exercise is not about drawing a masterplan, but about "infiltrating thinking", so that a whole range of agencies, institutions, private organisations and individuals start thinking about the urban and symbolic potential of this part of town. Part of that exercise might be to publish a booklet about "our extraordinary democracy": after all, as Michael King wrote, Aotearoa New Zealand was the last major land mass to be settled to humans, yet the first to see full democracy. I'm the sort of person who's usually impatient to see maps and renderings, but I think that this is something that ought not to be rushed.

Voting space

2007-10-04T13:01:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, landscape architecture, Wellington

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. I promised a quick summary of the places in the exhibition, so here's the list in my (ascending) order of approximate preference, with a bit of a justification for my choices.

Parliamentary Forecourt: Not that there's anything specifically wrong with it, but it's not a place where I spend a lot of time. Of course, it's extremely informal by international standards of Parliamentary precincts, but it still has a solemnity and wide-open feel that Tom Turner describes as "White Space", and that has never really appealed to me.

Waitangi Park: It's full of fascinating details, layers of history and innovative design, and might eventually become a truly exceptional public space. But there are a lot of niggling issues with maintenance, deferred elements and failed vegetation that spoil it for me, and until the trees grow and the complementary buildings are complete (which may take decades), its spatial and social qualities will remain far below its potential. Currently, the promenade on the seaward edge of the Chaffers Dock complex is far more appealing to me than the park itself.

Oriental Bay: A wonderful, wonderful place, of course, but I don't really see it as an urban space, and unless it's a really nice day, it's not on my radar.

Taranaki St Wharf: There are some very good bits in this area, such as the City-to-Sea bridge, St Johns and the lagoon, but it really needs the Wharewaka and completion of the public space development to feel like a well-defined sequence of public places, rather than an aggregation of somewhat diffuse spaces.

Lambton Quay: Spatially, it's one of the most memorable and defining parts of Wellington: I love the curves of the street and the sense of urban containment that the tall buildings give, with plenty of trees to give a pleasant street environment. But the post-war buildings rarely even aspire to mediocrity, the shops are less and less appealing to me, and it dies after dark. The current upgrade might make things a bit better physically at ground level, so we'll have to wait and see.

Civic Square: Very well proportioned, with some of Wellington's most interesting architecture and public art, and a great combination of shelter and sun. But, as we've been discussing recently, it needs more active edges and life after dark.

Woodward St: Perhaps the closest we currently get to Melbourne laneways: narrow and rarely sunny, but buzzing with life (at least during the day) and a great example of a public place that's not what most would consider "open space". I'll reveal my Eurocentrism by saying that part of my attraction to it is due to its European feel, and if it had more life after work hours it would rate even higher.

Midland Park: The right sort of park, in the right place, and at just the right size. Rather than great big paddocks along the waterfront, the city could do with more intimate parks and squares like this, distributed at regular intervals. It attracts a surprisingly diverse range of activities for such a corporate area, and the shops and café on the eastern side are a major part of its success.

Cuba St: It's probably no surprise that my favourite public space in Wellington is a street rather than a park or even a square. Cuba Mall, in particular, is almost exactly what I think most streets should be like: pedestrianised, diverse, quirky, layered with history and modernity, and most of all: alive. It's the only one of these spaces that maintains its activity no matter what the weather or time of day, and it combines residential, commercial and recreational activities in a way that attracts people of all ages and walks of life. It has greenery, but it's not a green space; it's open to the sky, but it's not really "open" space; it's a "Mall", not not just about shopping. Quite simply, it is urban space.

It may be interesting to consider the spaces that didn't even make the list. Te Aro Park, Frank Kitts Park, Glover Park, Blair St, the Railway Station forecourt, Manners Mall, Queens Wharf, Post Office Square: for most of those, there are enough obvious flaws to rule them out. But are there any others which should be there?

Misquoted?

2007-10-03T08:38:00.000+13:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

Today's Capital Times has an article about Monday's talk by Stuart Niven, and a paragraph in their Wellyword column that I found a bit strange. Here it is:

While architects can usually be counted upon to support more buildings, the predominantly architectural crowd at an IntensCITY talk this week gave murmured approval to fewer buildings in a prominent city location. Visiting urban designer Stuart Niven asked why Civic Square, flanked by council-controlled buildings, could not be open on one side, drawing ripples of applause. But Wellyword wonders how many of the architects present would let the idea stand in the way of a contract to build on Jack Illott Green?

That certainly doesn't match my recollection: I got the impression that Niven was suggesting that the buildings should be open on one side, rather than the square. In other words, rather than the mostly blank walls that currently surround the space, the ground floors of the buildings should open up with cafés, shops and other activities that engage the public and help to "establish informal use" of the square, which was something that Niven had earlier said he found hard to do when he was involved with the square.

Stuart, if you're reading this, can you confirm what you said the other day? Can anyone else who was there confirm either my interpretation or Capital Times' reporting of the event?

IntensCITY notes: Ian Pike

2007-10-02T17:50:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, architecture, events, waterfront, Wellington

This was always going to be controversial, with the CEO of Wellington Waterfront Ltd talking about the "Our Evolving Waterfront: Wellington's growing connection to the harbour". And indeed, a contingent of Waterfront Watchers did turn up (as one could tell by the preponderance of a certain hair colour in the middle of the auditorium), though their questions at the end were relatively polite and constructive compared to some other events I've attended. Most of the talk will have been familiar territory, so I'll just post a few quick notes about upcoming changes.

We finally got to see a render of the updated design for the Wharewaka: here's a very grainy shot of the image from his presentation. It looks pretty good: very open, with a complex and interesting roofline. Since it already has resource consent (it's no larger than the Wharenui originally planned for the site), it seems as if the start of construction might not be too far away. In that case, it'll be good to see the associated public spaces moving beyond their current temporary form.

WWL's 2007 Annual Report (downloadable from here) says of Site 7 "we are close to securing agreements with some wonderful public attractions, new to Wellington, which will also provide an active edge to the building at ground floor level." Pike confirmed that Mojo and the ticketing office for the Dominion Post ferry will be two of the ground floor tenants , and while I'm partial to Mojo cafés, neither of those two businesses are exactly "new to Wellington", so I'm still wondering what else might be on the way.

For the first time (apart from hints in the Annual Report), there's confirmation that Queens Wharf square is set for some "revitalisation". Personally I think that, apart from some inactive edges, it works quite well as a space, but the report says that "without any attractions on the wharf itself, Queens Wharf acts largely as a thoroughfare from the CBD to the waterfront and vice versa". It goes on to say:

WWL is leading a group of Queens Wharf business operators and urban designers to investigate how the space can be revitalised; populated with new design features or attractions, the interface with the surrounding attractions improved, while maintaining and enhancing access and views. This work is expected to take some time but WWL has started the ball rolling by leasing some of the ground floor space at the front of the TSB Bank Arena, so it can sub-lease it to businesses that will offer an active edge and interact better with activities in Queens Wharf Square.

Pike revealed what the "active edge" will be: a (presumably small) museum "to celebrate New Zealand's sporting achievements". Some of you may be more thrilled about that than others, but any move to start replacing the remaining ground-floor offices with publicly accessible uses has to be applauded.

While the OPT development sound like it'll be under way fairly smartly (including an "artist in residence programme", which sounds like a great idea), sadly it appears that the Site 4 building by UN Studio will be a long way off: Pike said maybe 5-10 years. If that's the case, then the western side of Waitangi Park will be stuck with a diffuse and inactive edge for a long time to come.

IntensCITY notes: Stuart Niven

2007-10-01T19:46:00.000+13:00

File under: urbanism, architecture, events, Wellington

I didn't make it to the first of the Wellington 1990-2040 lecture series that I mentioned last week, but I hope to attend them all this week. There's a lot to think about in each talk, so for the moment I'll just write up some quick notes, starting with today's session featuring Stuart Niven.

It seems hard to believe now, but when he was appointed as Wellington City Council's urban designer in 1993, his was the first such position in New Zealand. He made the point that urban design is about "custodianship of the public environment", and while that is primarily outdoor space, it is defined by buildings and the way in which their interior life engages with the surroundings.

Importantly, this public realm is experienced predominantly by pedestrians, and he makes no apologies for the general bias among urban designers towards pedestrians! He even described himself as having a "commitment to jaywalking", and expressed his disappointment that Jervois and Customhouse Quays, despite the promises made about the bypass, were still "a landscape of war" dominated by traffic and unnecessary turning lanes.

He made positive comments at the start about the opposition to Variation 17, but he responded to a question from a Waterfront Watch type by saying that the argument about whether or not to build on the waterfront was a "stupid debate" compared to the real question: what is the purpose of the waterfront? His answer to his own question is one that I heartily agree with: it should become a fine piece of the city, with good public spaces, that happens to be by the water. It's important that people live and work there as well as all the other activities that can go on; we shouldn't remove life from the waterfront; and "building a field" there would not just be bad urban design, but actively anti-urban.

The most surprising part of his talk referred to his current role in Victoria, where he described the state government as interventionist. In areas of greater Melbourne where major development is occurring (so-called "activity centres"), not only public but also significant private buildings have to go through what sounds like a complex process to ensure high quality design. I didn't quite catch the details, but it sounds as if developers have to choose from a pool of 30-35 architectural firms who have been judged to be "skilful, sophisticated and clever about a building's presentation to the public". I wrote recently about what seemed to me a much greater level of quality and adventurousness among Melbourne buildings, compared to what Niven calls "the sheer poor quality of city buildings" in Wellington, where we have "not many examples of finely-gauged, thoughtful large buildings". Could it happen here? Imagine the cries from developers about "infringing on private property rights"!

G&T roundup

2007-10-01T18:08:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, Wellington

The weather and my busy schedule have both made it hard for me to enjoy as many gin and tonics (gins and tonic?) as I intended during September. Of those I did have, most were adequate, though none were really excellent. It's nice to be asked (as I was at Mighty Mighty) which gin I preferred, and more places ought to ask whether the customer wants it short or long. A couple of places (Hope Bros springs to mind) ruined theirs with postmix tonic, and I was reminded that I don't really like gin and tonic when it's poorly made.

Maybe a G&T is a drink that is best enjoyed when you've made it yourself, preferably in the sun, rather than in a bar situation. Even places that seem to make an effort with other drinks will chuck together a slapdash gin & tonic: perhaps it's considered a common mixer rather than a cocktail, and thus not given the time and attention that it deserves. Perhaps the rather poor quality of the limes available at the moment had something to do with as well. It's a pity that my travels last month didn't take me near to Matterhorn, Motel or Hawthorn Lounge, all of which (from memory) take the time to do it properly.

The one interesting variation that I tried was at Boulôt. While their Gemini cocktail (gin, sloe gin, San Pellegrino pompelmo and juniper berries) is quite a long way from a G&T, the essential ingredients of gin, fizzy water and a touch of bitterness are all present. It makes a very pleasant alternative, though I should add a warning: it's pink, bubbly and served in a stemmed glass with straws, so anyone who feels uncomfortable being seen drinking a less-than-masculine cocktail should think twice before ordering.

Anyway, here's hoping that this month brings more than just equinoctial gales, since my choice of drink for October is one I very much associate with the onset of spring.

Mystery bar number 63

2007-09-30T17:38:00.000+13:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

Jonny picked the previous mystery bar as Trade Kitchen. It's much more of a restaurant (a very, very good one, as it turns out) than a bar, but it has a casual café area that is quite well suited to a casual glass of wine after work. At the moment, their bar snacks are limited, but they're toying with the idea of adding a tapas-type menu. That would be a very good idea, since while their location is a bit isolated at the moment, it's strategically sited between the core CBD, waterfront and railway station, making it an ideal spot for corporate drinkies.

Today's mystery bar doesn't do much in the way of food, beyond a few counter-top sandwiches and nibbles, and instead it straddles the divide between café and bar. During the day, it's very much oriented towards a quick coffee and slice of cake, augmented by a range of cold soft drinks that go beyond the normal selection. But it also has a more bar-like side to its personality, complete with a short but quite inventive cocktail list (e.g. rosemary Martini, pear and vanilla punch). The shelves are full of premium spirits and other goodies (Ketel One vodka, Hendrick's gin, Peychaud's bitters) that suggest the mind of a connoisseur.

It's cosy and cute, with a couple of flamboyantly decorative touches, but otherwise it's been pared back to the basics. Some of the elements, such as the dark wooden bar, are reminiscent of the now-familiar Mojo look, but they use another brand of coffee so it has nothing to do with that chain. Instead, it seems to be a resolutely individual little place bringing a touch of character to some drab surroundings.

Intense sunshine

2007-09-28T13:15:00.000+12:00

File under: urbanism, events, Wellington

Congrats to Jesse Matthews and Matt Lee for their winning entry in the aBc competition, which, as the judges said, "offers a visionary plan for Wellington over a 30 year timeframe, which uses an investment in high frequency public transport to direct urban growth. It placed a strong emphasis on public space, and broadening the structure and density of the CBD to Te Aro and other important town centres." Advanced transit systems such as light rail (and occasionally monorails) featured in most of the entries, as far as I could tell. An amazing amount of effort went into many of the entries, and the exhibition is well worth checking out (in the State Insurance Building atrium until next Friday). The other winners have been posted here.

If you're up the government end of town, one exhibition you can see while enjoying the sun is Capital Centre: Look Again. At the basic level, it's just a simple set of posters with images and historical descriptions of significant government buildings, but by closing off the corner of Aitken and Molesworth streets and setting the exhibition on a raised platform accessed via grassy slopes or steel stairs, the designers have given it a point of difference. Those thin Cor-Ten steel uprights could get a bit dramatic in a proper northerly, though!

But while it's both sunny and (relatively) calm, the space currently known as Wharf Plaza looks like the place to be. I popped down at lunchtime to eat a sandwich, and lots of other people had the same idea.

The new benches, while lacking in lumbar support, allow people to sit in a variety of configurations, and the parallel rows of lights and pohutukawa provide some linearity and definition to a space that might otherwise have rather vague proportions. This is one of the spaces that Waterfront Watch would have us believe to be "narrow, sunless alleys" (they must hate Melbourne!), whereas in reality it feels wide and spacious with a variety of harbour views. Now, if we could only do something about that ugly shed on the outer T...

Intense

2007-09-27T08:28:00.000+12:00

File under: urbanism, events, Wellington

After a tantalising build-up, IntensCITY Week finally kicks off at 11:15am today, with the launch of the Capital Centre exhibition at the corner of Aitken and Molesworth streets. The details are all on the web site, with the full brochure available at cafés, libraries and random spots around town, but I thought I'd post a list of the Wellington 1990-2040 lecture series at the City Gallery lecture theatre, as that constitutes the bulk of the specific public events.

Friday 28 September, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Views from up north: How others do it
Presenter: Ludo Campbell-Reid

Ludo Campbell-Reid is Manager Urban Design at Auckland City Council. He was appointed as a result of Mayor Dick Hubbard's mayoral task force. Prior to that, he was chief executive of Urban Design London, giving advice to London's 33 boroughs.

Monday 1 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Looking Back with Fondness: The genesis of urban design in Wellington
Presenter: Stuart Niven

Stuart Niven was the first Wellington City Council urban designer. He is currently Director, Urban Design for the Department of Sustainability and Environment in the Victorian State Government in Melbourne. Stuart will share his knowledge of how Wellington has changed since 1990, and ignite the debate over where Wellington should be in 2040.

Tuesday 2 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Our Evolving Waterfront: Wellington's growing connection to the harbour
Presenter: Ian Pike

Ian Pike, the chief executive of Wellington Waterfront Ltd, talks about the progressive reshaping of the city's waterfront.

Wednesday 3 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
New Zealand's Capital Centre: Matching the urban landscape to its national importance
Presenter: Gerald Blunt

The Council's Manager of Urban Design Policy, Gerald Blunt, will discuss what can be done to make the central city better reflect its symbolic importance as the heart of the nation.

Friday 5 October, 12.30 - 1.30pm
Wellington in 2040: A summary of ideas

Design and development professionals from Australia, Auckland and Wellington will present their ideas on the future of Wellington's public spaces.

The rest of IntensCITY consists of continuous installations and exhibitions, rather than events at fixed times. The Spaces through Time video installations have already started popping up around town, as have the Urban Critique posters, but the best time to see the INSite projects will be this weekend, as the artists will be "in residence" from 10-5 each day.

The heart of IntensCITY will be in the atrium of the State Insurance Building at 1 Willis St (it's hard for some of us old-timers not to call it the BNZ building). It's a rather magnificent space, though it tends to be overlooked by those who don't either work in the building or have an addiction to Mojo, and should provide a wonderful home for exhibiting the entries in the Just Imagine and aBC competitions as well as With My Little Eye. The last is an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite public space in central Wellington, and should provoke some lively discussion. I'll post more about that soon, and in fact it won't be much of a surprise that IntensCITY events will probably dominate my posts for the coming week.

Wharf Plaza

2007-09-26T14:07:00.000+12:00

File under: waterfront, urbanism, landscape architecture, Wellington

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.

The heritage gates have been reinstalled at the much more inviting intersection with Customhouse Quay, with new shelters integrated into the gate design. That will make waiting to cross a little bit easier, but it will really require something more drastic (such as removing lanes, or at the very least adjusting the crossing phasing in favour of pedestrians) to make the flow down Johnston St to this plaza as seamless as possible.

The construction is steaming ahead for the main public space, Kumutoto Plaza, but while much of that is expected to be accessible in time for Meridian to move into the building at the middle of next month, some of the work will still be going on until December. There's no confirmed date for the opening of the ground floor tenancies, but I've heard from two different sources now that the western, wooden-slatted portion of the building will become a branch of Mojo. I know, another one. But it will certainly be good to have some better options for coffee and informal lunches in this part of town, and with any luck it'll be one of those branches that opens in the evenings as well, doing just that little bit more to bring some life back to what was once, not all that long ago, a barren car park.

All at sea

2007-09-25T18:22:00.000+12:00

File under: environment, education, architecture, Wellington

I'm disappointed by the outcome of the Environment Court decision that rejected the Marine Education Centre at Te Raekaihau Point. I've never been a hard-core supporter of the project, but I was convinced that for the particular vision the proponents had in mind, there was no better site. The concept of an education centre embedded in and entwined with the south coast environment was unique and appealing, so building it in the inner harbour would have made as much sense as building the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary visitor centre in Glover Park.

While the opponents are of course ecstatic that no nasty tourists are going to come and invade "their" patch of coast, and that only those lucky enough to already live nearby or hardy enough to trek around the coast will get to enjoy it, the Dominion Post has taken the opposite tack in its editorial by attacking "naysayers". I don't agree with their implication that anyone who opposes something is automatically conservative and lacking in vision: after all, I'm one of those who still maintains that the bypass was "not worth it" and that it did indeed "damage the fabric of the city". People can and do have divergent visions for the city, but the issues should be debated rationally and with an open mind. I tend to agree with the dissenting opinion from Judge Thompson that it would have added "an entirely complementary and interesting asset to the south coast". We've missed an opportunity to open up the coastal environment to people who don't believe that the only way to learn about the environment is to do it the hard way (and I did detect a hint of puritanism in some of the opponents).

The DomPost believes that another south coast site must be found, but now I'm not so sure. The extensive site investigations (1MB PDF) show that other south coast locations are either much more environmentally sensitive, subject to poor water quality or too small. Besides, I'm willing to bet that as soon as another site is proposed, a brand new bunch of NIMBYs will appear claiming just how unique and world class their own particular patch is.

So, while an inner harbour site will lose most of the uniqueness of the original concept, a new concept will have to be found. Rather than just another aquarium, perhaps it would have to concentrate on the particular qualities and activities of a working harbour. Shipping, tides, containers, weather, climate change, energy and immigration spring to mind, in addition to marine flora and fauna. The Museum of Wellington City and Sea already deals with much of that very nicely, but it would become free to concentrate on the history of Wellington while the new institution immerses itself (perhaps literally) in the watery stuff.

A letter writer in today's Dominion Post suggested the Tug Boat site next to Freyberg Pool would be ideal (anything that replaces the Tug Boat is fine with me), and many of the waterfront sites between Oriental Bay and Harbour Quays could conceivably combine an aquarium-like attraction with other uses. Perhaps Shelley Bay or even Somes Island would be interesting locations, with the right ferry connections, combined with some resort or spa elements.

Any other ideas? Underwater bars? Urban dive experiences ("And here we see, in all her glory, the rare Shoppingtrollius Novaterra") and submersibles? Something more abstract, like the Saltwater Pavilion by Oosterhuis Lenard? A Maritime Museum? A South Seas Tiki Adventure?

Lessons from across the ditch

2007-09-24T20:34:00.000+12:00

File under: Wellington, Melbourne, urbanism, architecture

I've just returned from a quick visit to Melbourne, which for reasons I've outlined elsewhere, may be the Australian city in which Wellingtonians feel most at home. Without claiming to be an expert (based on a handful of trips over the last decade or so), I'd like to point out a few things that Wellington should look at closely.

Building bold

While Melbourne has its share of uninspired office and apartment blocks, it's striking just how much their contemporary architects have been able to experiment with form and colour. Beyond the obvious showpieces such as Federation Square, Storey Hall and the Exhibition Centre, it's noticeable that even otherwise ordinary towers sport inventive cladding, bold colour schemes and spiky details. Forms tend towards the folded and faceted rather than organic and sinuous, but the overall effect is one of brash inventiveness, sometimes overwrought but often invigorating. Is it the result of enlightened planning, ambitious developers, or just loud Aussie self-confidence?

Waterfront

Melbourne has only started rediscovering its river and harbour edges over the last couple of decades, with mixed results. While the Southbank and Crown complexes are undeniably touristy, it's equally hard to deny that they're lively and popular, not just with tourists and diners but also with joggers, cyclists and local workers.

The public spaces at Docklands are much patchier, and while that may partly due to their current isolation, their design might have something to do with it. The wide plaza around the "Cow up a Tree" sculpture is bare and windswept, while the adjacent NewQuay may be overly shiny and new, it felt like a much more comfortable place to be. The well-defined series of transitions (from apartment towers to well-detailed mid-rise apartments, to restaurant terraces, via broad promenade to water's-edge pavilions and marina) creates a legible, intimate and sheltered linear space.

Federation Square is a different beast again, and while it hasn't really become an extension of the urban fabric, it benefits from proximity to the CBD and was always a lively place. The dimensions and colours remind me a lot of Civic Square, and while the architecture couldn't be more different, it's also interesting as a spatial experience. Views of the Yarra and South Bank are limited to glimpses and viewshafts rather than panoramas, but the river is a constant presence and there are plenty of pathways to the water as well as views from ground floor pubs.

Laneways

The famous lanes, arcades and alleys make Melbourne rich with shortcuts, secrets and spatial contrasts. We should also be making the most of narrow lanes like Holland and Egmont streets, and perhaps in time we'll learn to treasure and enliven them. It's interesting that the developers of Chews Lane are taking Melbourne laneways as their explicit model, and while the renders of that project make the lane look uninvitingly dark due to the looming buildings on either side, similarly-proportioned lanes such as Degraves St and Centre Pl absolutely buzz with activity. A note of caution though: while those and other lanes have history and character on their side, "contemporary interpretations of laneways" such as those at QV have a tendency to be more like malls than organic expressions of urbanism.

Movement as experience

Most of Wellington's recent transport infrastructure is dull and utilitarian, and we seem to have lost the sense of occasion that accompanied transport back when our Railway Station was built. Instead, Melbourne has in many cases decided to celebrate such structures, from pedestrian bridges to railway stations and freeway gateways. We could gain a lot from a similar celebration of journeying.

Other things that Wellington could do with:

a covered food-market
specialist bookshops
more trees
at least one proper residential skyscraper
trams!
terraced houses on the city fringe
more people (an extra three million would be good, but I'd settle for less)

Bursting

2007-09-19T20:25:00.000+12:00

File under: urbanism, politics, sustainability, drink, dining, Wellington

It will come as no surprise to most of you that I don't do "burst culture" very well, but since I'm in a rush between putting together my aBc entry and heading out of town for the rest of the week, I thought it was time for some quick snippets before I left.

The long-delayed Waitangi Park wind turbine has finally arrived, and I don't think it'll be keeping any Mt Vic residents awake. It's a tiny little thing with an output of 1.5kW, and will be supplementing the water pumps, lighting and UV water treatment in the park, while acting as a trial for Vector. They may not get as much output down near ground level as up on top of buildings, and it may be a little ironic that as soon as it was installed, Wellington's wind died (not that we're complaining).

On Sunday I went to the mayoral candidates' forum on the built environment, and was frankly more than a little disappointed at the general waffliness and lack of preparation in the responses, given that such hot button issues as infill, the waterfront, transport and heritage all fit into that category. The Architectural Centre will have a media release out shortly to summarise the event, but I have to say that while it underlined my resolve never to vote for certain candidates, and helped rule out some others, it didn't give me confidence that any candidate can deliver the Wellington I want.

One thing I do want from Wellington, as most of you will have figured out by now, is a better choice of shops, bars and cafés. On that count, this week looks like providing a bumper crop, with two or three about to open. I'll be particularly interested to see how Caffé Italiano turns out, given my earlier speculations about the development of that stretch of Cuba St. They were having their (private) opening when I walked past this evening, and some of the deli produce on offer looked very tempting indeed.

Finally, the build-up to IntensCITY week continues, with INSite shipping containers and Urban Critique posters popping up all over the place. I've written a short piece about it for Texture, and created a ZoomIn group of the INSite locations, where it's my fond hope that people (i.e. you) will add their photos and thoughts. I was especially intrigued to read this council news item about one of the containers which will be turned into a replica tram, where the artist apparently "notes that many European cities have banned private cars from city centres and now encourage public transport systems based on the electric trams. He wonders what it would be like if that scenario took place here?" Could it be? A council-funded art project promoting light rail and pedestrianisation!

The meaning of Where

2007-09-17T12:21:00.000+12:00

File under: maps, technology, urbanism, Wellington

I only stayed at BarCamp for the morning, which I guess is a bit rude, but I had one or two other things to be getting on with at the weekend. My presentation seemed to get a good reception (and Marica has some kind words to say about it) so if you're interested, you can download it over at the ProjectX blog, along with my colleagues' talk on website optimisation. On its own, my presentation makes limited sense (I deliberately went for a presentation that was a visual accompaniment to my speech, rather than the usual "read out the bullet points" approach that everyone hates), but if you were there and want to see the images again, there it is.

As for a general summary of BarCamp, you can't go past the blog of BarCamp organiser (and fellow Wellingtonista) Miramar Mike. More commentaries are floating around the net, but most of them seem to be linked to from Mike's post.

By the way, I got there a bit before the doors opened and felt in need of a coffee. None of the waterfront cafés were open at that ungodly hour, so I wandered off and the nearest one I found was at Chameleon in the Intercontinental Hotel. Now if only someone would open a five-star hotel somewhere on the waterfront... oh, wait, they are.

Building rumours 18: Willis Central

2007-09-14T10:06:00.000+12:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

There have long been rumours about the Airways House site on Willis St, and the site behind it which extends all the way through to the temporary townhouses on Boulcott St. This picture shows these two parcels in red, and some adjoining parcels, that some have suggested might also be involved, in orange. More recently, Moveax at SkyscraperCity spotted some site investigations underway, hinting that development might not be far away. And now, at the bottom of an August press release on a different subject, there's this statement:

Meanwhile, The Wellington Company was working on a feasibility plan for a 4000sq m "mega site" to be called Willis Central. The plan was for a mix of apartments, offices and retail big enough to spend a day in, [Ian Cassels] said.

Searching further afield, I came across this article from NZ Construction News that makes it sound like much more than a "feasibility plan":

Ian Cassels, proprietor of The Wellington Company vows to create a new centerpiece building for the capital ... he has more than just words and concepts to offer. He has the two frontage site safely in his hands in order to build his new alternative civic epicentre.

As Australasia's first inner city vertical village it will comprise apartments, offices, recreational space, in fact everything that anyone might normally find in a community. One feature not normally found in villages, though, will be a helipad.

Vertical villages? Helipads?! Holy city of the future, Batman! All that's missing is a monorail and a spaceport.

I shouldn't be quite so cynical. In some ways, all that a "vertical village" means is a mixed-use highrise, and such things have been around for decades (Chicago's John Hancock Centre is a classic example). I'm always a bit uneasy with statements about residents "never having to leave the building": mixed use is fantastic, but I'd rather it was distributed around the streets a little so that the coming and going can enliven the public realm, rather than restricting it all to a single hermetic building. And while it's good to hear statements about minimising car parks to encourage car-free living, it won't take too many helicopter rides to blow one's carbon budget for the year: hardly consistent with The Wellington Company's otherwise admirable environmental record.

It's certainly a suitable site for a high rise (much more so than some other contentious locations), and I'm eager to find out how tall it will be and what it will look like. I'm pretty sure that this old image was only ever intended as a massing concept for sales purposes and has nothing to do with the current proposal. In fact, the logo at the top is a strong hint that this was an attempt to keep the BNZ HQ in a downtown office rather than heading out to Harbour Quays. What it does show is the potential for a very tall building (by Wellington standards), though the effect on the existing heritage buildings at 16-42 Willis St could be major. There aren't many hints in the articles, beyond the facts that it will stretch from Willis to Boulcott St and be "based on the existing Airways House" in some way. In that case, a 4000 sq m development would only require the red area shown earlier, meaning that the adjoining low-rise sites in orange could remain untouched.

The article also says that "it is expected that work is imminent". One thing's for certain: if it in any way approaches the grand claims, it will be a hugely significant development.

No, not that kind of bar!

2007-09-13T17:35:00.000+12:00

File under: technology, maps, urbanism, events, Wellington

This Saturday I'm off to BarCamp with a bunch of Wellington's finest geeks.

I'll be giving a presentation called "Space, place and the meaning of 'where'", which is a broad enough title to let me sneak in a few references to urbanism along with all the ProjectX-related topics about mapping, GIS technology and social networks.

How is the air up there?

2007-09-12T17:39:00.000+12:00

File under: sustainability, energy, architecture, Wellington

Urban turbines seem to be catching on. This vertical-axis turbine has recently popped up atop the "i-Centre" at 50 Manners St, there's a smaller one on top of the already environmentally-advanced Conservation House down the road, and the Vector Energy trial turbine that I wrote about in June will be installed on The Terrace. In addition, The Wellington Company plans to go beyond their installations at i-Centre and DOC to add turbines to six buildings along the Golden Mile "within the coming months".

My previous post attracted some sceptical comments, and there has indeed been some debate over the benefits or otherwise of microgeneration. My take on the issue is that it's wise to keep it all in context, beware of over-optimistic projections, and not think that they will obviate the need for large-scale wind farms. As part of a wider package of grid-based renewable energy, reverse metering, photovoltaics, solar water heating and efficiency measure, they could indeed become a viable small part of the solution, especially if the cost of large-scale generation rises.

Much of the criticism of roof-based turbines is based on the problems of "suburban turbines". Of course a turbine located close to the ground among all the roofs of a suburban street is going to have an unfavourable wind regime, and I can certainly imagine vibration problems coming from a turbine on a single-family home. But (without any real analysis), I'd suspect that a turbine mounted fifteen floors up in downtown Wellington is not going to struggle to get enough wind, and that you'd need a lot of vibration to affect a concrete office or apartment block. I look forward to seeing more of these, and getting some actual data on how useful they'll be in Wellington's very particular situation.

Lebensraum

2007-09-10T21:04:00.000+12:00

File under: architecture, urbanism, Wellington

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. The changes that have been forced upon the complex have resulted in a pair of buildings that are slightly less overbearing and marginally more articulated, but that still fit very badly into the Te Aro context and, while it's hard to tell too much from these photocopied renders, exhibit virtually nothing in the way of imagination or delicacy.

I have quite a lot of sympathy for the neighbours, who have spoken out publicly against it. After all, I've previously hailed the Croxley Mills building across the road as an excellent example of the sort of apartment development that is not only appropriate for the neighbourhood but positively inspiring. While I can't quite see how Q could be three times taller than the 5-6 storey Croxley Mills (as claimed in the article), and I've always said that city residents shouldn't expect their streets to stay the same forever, it's still clear that these are bad buildings in any context and even worse here. I still can't believe that the developers had the gall to ask for "exemptions to the height limit based on the development's design excellence"!

Where I disagree with the objections is on the subject of apartment size. Guy Marriage is a good friend of mine, and I believe he even reads this blog occasionally, but I don't agree with him that 26-29 square metre apartments are in and of themselves a bad thing. I've been through this argument with many different readers about a nearby proposal involving the same architects, and while there are arguments to be made on both sides, I don't believe that apartment sizes of under 35 or 45 square metres (the suggested minima for studio and one-bedroom units respectively) will automatically result in slums.

What defines a "slum"? Poor health from cramped and badly ventilated conditions? Crime, drugs and social exclusion? Or just the fact that poor people live there? It could indeed be the case that the design of these apartments is indeed substandard in terms of insulation or weathertightness, and that is the sort of thing that could indeed lead to squalid living conditions, but I don't believe that apartment size alone is enough to base that decision on. If you're single, without a lot of possessions and no desire to spend a lot of time at home, then I think that you should be able to spend your money on something other than square metres.

I've also said before that to live comfortably in such a small space requires really good design (multi-functional spaces, clever storage), sensitivity to location, space-saving fixtures, judicious use of light and high-quality shared space and facilities, and I see no reason to believe that this proposal exhibits any of that. A greater mixture of apartment sizes and tenures would be more appropriate than 233 low-end investment units, and even if the 35/45 square metre figures aren't adopted as limits, anything smaller than that should certainly be made to demonstrate that it makes extraordinarily good use of space. On those points, as well as on its risible urbanist and aesthetic qualities, this proposal should indeed be strongly challenged

Urban September

2007-09-07T12:42:00.000+12:00

File under: urbanism, events, competitions, Wellington

It's a big month for those interested in the urban environment. First of all, you still have time to register for the aBc ideas competition: just send an email to intenscity@wcc.govt.nz with the words "aBc Design Competition" in the subject line. As Erentz pointed out, there is indeed a slight discrepancy in the entry form, and the deadline for entries is actually Monday the 24th of September. The organisers have now made high-res aerial photography of the area (4.7MB PDF) available for entrants' use.

The aBc competition is just part of IntensCITY week (27th September - 5th October), details of which are gradually being added to the site. As well as all the installations, exhibitions, artists in residence and competitions, there will be a series of lunchtime talks about the past, present and future of urbanism in Wellington. I'm also gradually getting around to adding ZoomIn places for all the relevant venues and locations, with an interactive map to link them all together, and I'll promote the idea of using those ZoomIn place pages as fora for discussions, adding images and so on.

Next weekend (Sunday the 16th), there will also be a Mayoral Candidates' Forum on the built environment, in the Board Room at the Museum of Wellington City and Sea at 2pm. So far, the confirmed candidates are Ray Ahipene-Mercer, Kerry Prendergast, Helene Ritchie, Bryan Pepperell and John McGrath, so given the widely disparate views that those candidates hold on the subject, it could be a lively debate to say the least. Is anyone going to put up their hand for a combination of dense urbanism and world-class public transport? Hello? Anyone?

Drink of the month: Gin & Tonic

2007-09-05T17:09:00.000+12:00

File under: drink, nightlife, Wellington

For September I thought I'd choose something simple and classic; something that looks forward to the sunshine without being overtly tropical; something refreshing but unfussy: the gin and tonic. Now, you may think that the G&T is a bit naff, redolent as it is of 1970's Anglophilia, yacht clubs and estate agents, propriety and middle-class social climbing. There's a wonderful line from Notes on a Scandal when Judi Dench's character says of Cate Blanchett's: "Her fetish for the boy was simply her snobbery manifested. 'He's working class and he likes art'. As if he were a monkey who'd just strolled out of the rain forest and asked for a gin and tonic." Doesn't that say all you need to know about the G&T as social signifier?

But really, we should look beyond such vagaries of fashion, and the more open-minded among us realise that it's a classic for a reason. Unlike some long drinks, the tonic provides a bracing bitterness that imbues it with a complexity that mere citrus cannot replicate. It's very adaptable, with long and short versions, lemon and lime options and the addition of bitters to adjust it to suit the weather and mood. And being so simple, it's impossible to get wrong.

Or is it? You'd think that of all places, a bar called "Juniper" would know what to do with gin, but as my good friend Che discovered, they're no better with that than they are with a Rob Roy:

I was a bit shocked when the barkeep looked at me sideways when I asked for a gin and tonic.

"What's in that?" he asked.

Leaving aside rank ignorance of that magnitude, the easiest way to muck up a G&T is with bad tonic. Ideally, it should be well-chilled and fresh from a small glass bottle to ensure that it's crisp and hasn't gone flat. A squirt of the ol' Postmix is a guarantee of disappointment, and really, is there any substitute for Schweppes? It's interesting to read that the distinctive fluorescence shown by tonic water under UV light is actually a sign that the quinine is being degraded into a tasteless and possibly carcinogenic chemical. Thus, you should never store your tonic in direct sunlight, and it's a good excuse when you're drinking in the sun to knock the G&T's back as quickly as possible!

Poor quality limes can also be an issue, and as the photo above illustrates, a lot of the limes we've been getting recently have yellow lemon-like skins and very little lime flavour. Often a quick wipe around the rim of the glass is enough, though a little squeeze won't go amiss. Some would argue that a dash of Angostura bitters is unnecessary given the bitterness of the tonic, but I think it has quite a different flavour profile and can often add a nice earthy depth to the mix.

From the above, it should be possible to work out where one can expect a good rendition: anywhere with decent gin (though super-premium spirits might be overwhelmed by the tonic), competent staff and a commitment to high-quality ingredients should be able to satisfy you. But as always, any nominations for places to seek out or avoid are most welcome, as are any reports of unusual variations on the theme (such as Imbibe's quinine-reduction ice cubes).