Public Address | Cafe | Island Life: On the waterfront

SamDport

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:12:17 +1200

Well I like it--you'd see it down Queen St, I'd sit out there for lunch. Just need to keep red fence up for a little longer to keep the rugger-bugger-beer-swillers out for world cup and I'd be happy. Where are all those Quay St through-cars gonna go though?

Michelle

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:12:03 +1200

Wifey (aka "The Little Woman" aka "if you call me Wifey or The Little Woman again, I'll kick your fuckin head in") was a grad school designing inflatable (MEMBRANE) habitats for the Moon and Mars before I knocked her up, whacked her on the back of the head, and dragged…

Michelle

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:08:48 +1200

... oh dear – I thought the whole point of going overseas was to grow up?

Rich of Observationz

Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:02:16 +1200

Call me a spoilsport, but if I was to rank the essential functions of government, I'd put things like education, public transport and healthcare above what amounts to building a pub, albeit in a fancy location.

If it's such a good scheme, why can't some investor come in and build…

Brent Jackson

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 23:33:26 +1200

Stephen Knightly wrote :

I reckon the famous 'Red Fence' should be donated to MOTAT – who need a better fence along Gt North Rd and are the appropriate resting place of many of Auckland's transport-related relics.

Now that's a bloody good idea (assuming that they are not staying in…

Sacha

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:59:24 +1200

I like it. Bite me, I mean kiss me. :)

Julie Fairey

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 07:44:42 +1200

David and Party Central up a tree, K I S S I N G.

What you wanted mature, thoughtful response? We're all out sorry, try again tomorrow.

Tom Beard

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 16:21:03 +1200

I think there is/should be some sort of interesting aerodynamics playing to be had.

Exactly. My feeling is that it would work well with the strong, steady katabatic winds of the Antarctic, but the turbulence and swirl of a squally southwesterly would be a very different matter.

James Green

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:48:00 +1200

Hmmm. I don't know if they do quite what I said. They are 'vortex generators' second last pic on this page. And according to the guy speaking they flick the wind and snow right over the hut, although that's not entirely how their function is described on this page. I…

webweaver

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:38:32 +1200

I think it looks quite pretty – like our Queen's Wharf sails but on a waaaay grander scale. Good idea to think about building something like that with the time and budget available, rather than whole buildings.

Can't image how the side walls would look tho – they'd ruin the…

David Slack

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:26:16 +1200

Sorry – I omitted to mention that they contemplate hanging side walls of some sort, as required. James, those wind deflectors sound like a very good idea.

Just thinking

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:17:29 +1200

Sophie @ Nats aren't enthusiastic, they're Insane in the Membrane.

Not to mention totally PC Gone Mad – banning txting in the car. I'm doing it right noooooooooooooo

James Green

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:15:46 +1200

I think it depends on just how clever the finalised design is. I was at an Antartic Heritage Trust thing recently, and they had some small wind deflectors that were capable of flicking wind and snow right over Scott's Hutt at Cape Evans. I'm sure their use would be more…

Tom Beard

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:06:59 +1200

Is Auckland ever windy and rainy at the same time?

Yes: it's not just Wellington that gets the wind, and Auckland can get some pretty nasty weather from the westerly quarter during winter and spring. At first glance I think it looks lovely, and while not outstandingly original, it's quite…

Sophie Wilson

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:03:38 +1200

Nat's enthusiasm for membranes are very touching indeed!

Pity the usefulness of this space after the Party Centralites have invaded, will be equal to buildings, wrapped in fabric.

Steve Reeves

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 15:01:51 +1200

Looks nice...but (sorry to rain on your verandah), it will only protect us from the rain if there's *also* no wind. Standing in bus shelters (roof much nearer the ground that this sail seems to be) teaches me that rain with even a little wind equals wet quite soon.

Is…

Just thinking

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:28:48 +1200

I like Rugby and drinking, but not Rugby Heads. Anyone else planning to be a RWC Refugee?

slarty

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 14:18:22 +1200

Depresses me how cynical you all are about the ability of NZ to design and build something cool. Our only real barrier is that we're all such a bunch of tightwads. "Think Big" really messed with this nations psyche in the long term didn't it? Maybe that's why I take…

Paul Litterick

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:45:52 +1200

The sails should be beige. This design could hardly be accused of being adventurous. Architects have been doing this sort of thing for the last twenty-five years. And it is no wonder, since the designing requires so little effort: it is not much more than a sketch.

In this case,…

Stephen Knightly

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:45:05 +1200

I reckon the famous 'Red Fence' should be donated to MOTAT – who need a better fence along Gt North Rd and are the appropriate resting place of many of Auckland's transport-related relics.

---

And why in this day and age are architects playing with wooden blocks? Why can't I…

Peter Cresswell

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:44:02 +1200

"Click the little picture to get a larger version and . . ." realise that this project and "human scale" live in different parts of the city.

I fear that Don Christie is right.

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:37:42 +1200

Undercover wharf air – Roofle...
...at the risk of cannibalizing myself cross-mediawise, this design seems to have all
the right elements...
...or as they say in France – Sail Eau Vie!

Meanwhile back in Abu Dhabi this
has a certain je ne sais quoi...

I just hope Auckland gets it…

James Green

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:30:48 +1200

I like it, but it does kind of remind me of the Simpsons episode where a screwed up letter from Marj inspires Gehry though...

I'm kind of hopeful that Otago's campus Masterplan is going to cook up interesting rain and weather scheming.

David Slack

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:19:07 +1200

WTF? David, are you being serious

Don, this one's in earnest.

81stcolumn

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:11:03 +1200

Hmmmm d'you think we'll need a catch net around the wharfe in order to arrest tumbling drunks ?

Still llike the idea tho'

81stcolumn

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:07:53 +1200

come in, come out of the rain...

Don Christie

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:06:44 +1200

WTF? David, are you being serious, the tone seems somewhat ironic but you seemed to have overlooked the punch line...

"Party Central" looks like the sort of place that will be fill of vomit, shit, glue sniffers and litter for approx. 7 days of the week and drunken louts for…

Sylvie Zlami

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:52:34 +1200

It ticks all the right boxes for me. It's fabulous!!

Mind you, I am astounded, that architects would propose a solution that costs only a fraction of the actual budget.
How extraordinary!

Not that I’m complaining … au contraire. I’m just somewhat speechless because I’ve become used to the fiscal…

Robyn Gallagher

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:33:01 +1200

Wifey (aka "The Little Woman" aka "if you call me Wifey or The Little Woman again, I'll kick your fuckin head in") was a grad school designing inflatable (MEMBRANE) habitats for the Moon and Mars before I knocked her up, whacked her on the back of the head, and dragged…

Nat Torkington

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:07:56 +1200

Love it. Membrane structures FTW! Wifey (aka "The Little Woman" aka "if you call me Wifey or The Little Woman again, I'll kick your fuckin head in") was a grad school designing inflatable (MEMBRANE) habitats for the Moon and Mars before I knocked her up, whacked her on the back…

Robyn Gallagher

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:07:12 +1200

Isn't the sail pretty similar to what is on Wellingtons waterfront, next to the maritime museum?

Not really. Wellington's Queens Wharf has three fairly generic sails covering a plaza (photo).

The giant verandah planned for Auckland's Queen's Wharf is much bigger, and seems to be shaped in reponse to both…

Jo S

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:02:38 +1200

I love the sail veranda.
Picturing being able to see the light shows projected on it from other parts of the inner city at night.
very cool.

LegBreak

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:51:05 +1200

I've never seen a model lit so badly.

Quite.

Is it trying to create the mood for when Auckland has its next power outage?

Rich Lock

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:37:44 +1200

Like it, but it's not at all realistic.
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.
.
.
.
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I mean, the Kea ferry is clearly shown as being in service as a working passenger vessel, rather than 'out on survey'.

(Devonport commuter in-jokes – I haz them)

Michael Savidge

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:09:08 +1200

Like it, but do hope they use another colour sail material.

If they use white/cream they can project colour/images on to it. Much more versatile and exciting.

Having fled Akld many moons ago and still not much of a fan of the CBD I see this as a glimmer of…

Jose Barbosa

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:05:15 +1200

I like the idea of closing down traffic access to the Quay St crossing, I just wish they'd do it to Queen St.

Mark Easterbrook

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 11:01:02 +1200

I don't like how they've taken all the windows off the buildings along Quay St. Is it to prevent office workers viewing entertainment they haven't paid for? ;)

Angus Robertson

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:40:56 +1200

Like it, but do hope they use another colour sail material.

giovanni tiso

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:32:31 +1200

I've never seen a model lit so badly.

Michael Stevens

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 10:10:38 +1200

I like it a lot, but I fear it's way too imaginative and clever to get ticked off by our city council.

jeremy gray

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:59:34 +1200

Isn't the sail pretty similar to what is on Wellingtons waterfront, next to the maritime museum?

Public Address

Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:59:34 +1200

Discussion from blog post.