Public Address | Cafe | Random Play: A gift that keeps on giving

Sacha

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:14:06 +1300

I would say move just the large bulk operations (containers, tank farm) and leave the smaller scale working port in a more accessible form, as I understand other well-designed waterfronts do.

Zoning would restrict residential development from following the support industries – just as it works for the freight-forwarding cluster…

R Gardiner

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:01:50 +1300

Sacha

If the port was shifted then freight forwarders would move nearby followed by service industries followed by housing and shops etc............and another city would grow, Auckland would then noticeably if not fatally, wilt.

The scrappy and ugly bits just need upgrading, to a quality and style that induces a…

Kerry Weston

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:28:21 +1300

How about a gigantic living sculpture for Auckland? Something people can touch and walk through. something that will grow into its full glory – like David Nash's living sculptures. He's done another of flowering cherries that are trained into a dome and the blossoms create a roof, but, alas, cannot…

Sacha

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:51:05 +1300

In order to do anything, we need to move the Port; but to where?

Somewhere near Howick/Clevedon was mentioned about a decade ago as a suitable spot with deep enough access, but I don't recall any details.

ScottY

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:50:46 +1300

As one thought how about replacing the parking lot that is the container wharf with some kind of really special park?

What? Isn't the car park on Bledisloe Wharf special enough?

Bart Janssen

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 14:26:30 +1300

In total agreement that Auckland, and particularly downtown is bereft of beautiful buildings.

But do we want a building? I agree it would be great to have something special to lift Auckland. But are there other options than the work of an architect?

As one thought how about replacing the…

R Gardiner

Thu, 02 Apr 2009 11:55:07 +1300

Hi Scotty

I know people have been talking about Auckland's waterfront for years. My comment was directed at Reid's proposal and how he said he came by it.

Bruce

I f I had to offer a suggestion to on how to improve Auckland it would probably be to look at…

philipmatthews

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 10:07:02 +1300

Bruce, there is a very good Gordon Campbell column on this:

http://gordoncampbell.scoop.co.nz/2009/03/31/campbell-the-rush-to-impose-the-%e2%80%98super-city%e2%80%99/

Bruce Wurr

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 02:16:51 +1300

What I find horrifying is the way the royal commission on the so called super city is being portrayed in the media as a fait accompli.

Where are the questions that need to be asked?

Such as who was pushing for this so-called supercity? Who stands to gain from it?…

ScottY

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:42:59 +1300

No criticism of your comments on the Sydney Opera House and Utzon but proposing to lift an idea from Sydney as a way of injecting originality into Auckland simply because an anniversary pops up seems odd.

People have been talking for years about doing something with Auckland's waterfront. I don't…

R Gardiner

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:59:14 +1300

So, let's all have a multi-zillion dollar mega-iconic building so that all our cities stand out against each other.

No criticism of your comments on the Sydney Opera House and Utzon but proposing to lift an idea from Sydney as a way of injecting originality into Auckland simply because an…

Kumara Republic

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:18:42 +1300

There seems to be some kind of "quarter acre cartel" who still dominate the city planning debate – an unholy alliance of blue-rinse McMansionites and eco-Luddites. On the flip side of the coin, shoebox tower developers haven't helped matters much either.

GuannyL

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:30:27 +1300

This always happens in Auckland, look what happened to Aotea Square. So much potential for a gorgeous open area in the middle of town, so many architects pitching exciting ideas, and in the end it just got scaled back to a big slab of concrete and a couple of picnic…

Bruce Wurr

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 04:31:14 +1300

Will the city ever be able to break free from the conservative shackles that have surrounded it for decades? To be a grown up city you need vision, a decent infrastructure (rail, light rail, subway, buses, open spaces that people want to frequent, a balance of art and commerce etc)…

andin

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:14:03 +1300

What is lacking in Auckland is a courageous vision:

It may be that this courageous vision thing is not only lacking in city planning around AK circa 2009.
And it may have been around for a while. Perhaps it a peculiar malady afflicting some members of officialdom in NZ.
Ah…

philipmatthews

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 15:24:32 +1300

Money you say? What you didn't mention is that in NSW they're arguing about whether to spend A$1 billion in a recession to finish the building properly, leading to opposition statements like these:

"Five months ago we cut rail projects to the northwest and southwest because Mr [Nathan] Rees said…

ScottY

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:03:01 +1300

To transform the Auckland waterfront requires vision. I've no doubt that visionaries exist in our city. But the long history of Auckland local body politics suggests that change, if any, will be gradual and incremental, and will occur only after enormous resistance.

One only has to remember the hysteria about…

Gareth Ward

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:34:11 +1300

I wish more people would listen to Richard Simpson. He has genuinely visionary ideas.

And the best bit? He always seems to try and do them with a low-cost mentality.
– Need to build a billion-dollar Harbour Bridge replacement? Destroy the old one and sell up all that lovely St…

81stcolumn

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:22:09 +1300

Agreed – I often wonder about the future of iconic architecture/building in what masquerades as modern democracy. It seems to me at least that pulling such feats off does indeed involve a bold commitment and vision; a single vision that is hard to pursue in a modern committee age. I…

Stuart Coats

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:18:46 +1300

I was talking with someone at Australian Opera last year, and they estimated that 50% of their audience, especially during the summer months, were people from outside of Sydney who went to see their productions simply because they were on at the Opera House. That is a huge number obviously,…

Paul Litterick

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:14:05 +1300

In order to do anything, we need to move the Port; but to where?

Russell Brown

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 11:51:26 +1300

Your man might well be former head of the Transport and Urban Linkages Committee, Richard Simpson. The CitRats absolutely hated his guts because he had ideas (good ideas, in my opinion) and a huge architectural vision for Auckland.

I wish more people would listen to Richard Simpson. He has genuinely…

Hilary Stace

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:49:24 +1300

Look at what happened to Trevor Mallard's suggestion for a huge glass waka stadium on the waterfront a few years ago.

David Haywood

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:39:41 +1300

Graham Reid wrote:

These were tired and obvious names, familiar men (all of them men if I recall) who belong to the past even though they inhabit the present. They were not of the future....
Let's just get on and do what needs to be done for our city --…

Public Address

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:39:41 +1300

Discussion from blog post.