Architecture for Auckland

[andrew]

Hi all,

My name is Andrew and I am solution architect from Auckland. All
facets of architecture and design fascinate me. I came across this
group through the TED (TED.com) speeches on architecture for
humanity.

I agree with Cameron Sinclair that
"When you design you either improve or you create a detriment to the
community in which you are designing in"

In the city of sprawling suburban leaky buildings, ill invested and
designed transport, prison style accommodation (Harvard, Volt.., Zest
etc), we all have a responsibility to improve design going forward.

People and community are effected by design, social problems can be
created or mitigated by design. Those depressing concrete prisons, eg
the Volt will be the future ghettos of Auckland.

I would like to join your group and collaborate to create solutions
for Auckland City. Perhaps then petition Auckland City Council or NZ
govt to implement them.

Here are a few examples I can think of where design has radically
impacted cities.

Melbourne ->
Good public transport design.
Result - people walk home and use public transport.
Benefit - Foot traffic must walk past shops on the way home providing
local businesses with revenue.

Wellington ->
In the early 90's bars shifted from disparate places around Wellington
to a centralized hub (Lambton Quay to Courtney place). Speaking to a
DJ who worked in this scene this was deliberate planning.
Result - Greater foot traffic and concentrated lighting
Benefit - Less violent crime due to public presence

Some bummers of design in Auckland

Spaghetti junction - Lack of strategic planning and vision
Result - Motorways over motorways, inefficient use of resources and
land
Detriment - Traffic congestion

The Vault - I have only visited, I do not live here :)
Accommodation that is too small, double bedrooms that have been
modified specially to be fit the small rooms. The architect from
willy wonka must have been used (potentially wizard of OZ).
Probable detriment - Inhabitant depression, value will decrease when
new size compliant buildings are created forcing rents to lower and
beneficiary's to occupy.

Some of the challenges facing Auckland in the near future will be how
anyone gets to work when petrol is $4 a litre. Auckland is one of the
the most geographically dispersed cities in the world.
Could the solution be we all just have to live in the city or redesign
the city?
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/121

Could the solution be public transport design?
http://www.ted.com/speakers/view/id/189

As inhabitants of Auckland and NZ we have a responsibility to design
for the benefit of everyone and I offer my services to this community.

P.S where's your facebook group :)
- Andrew

[AFH-AKL]

Hi Andrew,

 

Thanks for your e-mail. Your interest in our group is very much appreciated.

 

We can certainly relate to your concerns about urban sprawl and the role of design in our community - both of which are seldom addressed and have been neglected in our communities for far too long, in Auckland especially. As you said, we have a social responsibility to address these issues not only as design professionals but also as ordinary citizens.

 

To put it more candidly, design, when it is divorced from everything else - the social and cultural, the contextual, the vernacular - means very little in and of itself. It cannot be denied, then, that in a society flooded with so-called architects from willy wonka or the wicked witch of the west conjure up concrete claustrophobic horrors and cell-like accommodations, majority of the public misconstrue design to be meaningless and a large waste of energy/space/time. Design has been reserved primarily in the hands of the rich and the previleged as a form of luxury, an auxillary item that is surplus to basic needs. Sure, there is a debate about form versus function and some argue that design is already integral to objects of all scale. But the point is that there is so much more potential and need for better design, not just at the level of poverty and natural disasters, but also in the everyday life. This ought to be our ultimate goal.

 

Our long-term strategy is to work with like-minded people/groups/organisations to change our communities for the better. And your timing for knocking on our doors couldn't have been more appropriate.

 

You may be right, this year may be the best time to raise such issues to the local councils and the government especially. It is the election year after all.

 

Would you join us at our next group meeting on Wednesday 4th of June, 6pm at Pontoon, Pier 21 Westhaven.

P.S. It was great to watch Mr. Kunstler's presentation again. He's so much more animated in person! Also, in the book 'Design Like You Give a Damn' published by AFH (Cameron and Kate) contain a detailed anecdote of Jaime Lerner's journey - his tenure as the mayor of Curitiba. It's very interesting and the excerpt about the municipal shepherds is hillarious.

Kind regards,

 

Alexandra-Jayeun Lee

on behalf of AFH-AKL

--
Architecture for Humanity : Auckland Chapter
Making changes we want to see in the world, everyday.