The landscaping of Waitangi Park, near the Chaffers New World, is all sussed. However additional buildings have yet to be finalised. There's a transitional thing going next to Te Papa for exhibition space and a tea garden. Something has to fit next to the Herd St building and something else between the Overseas Terminal and Oriental Bay.
I went down to the exhibit today and had a look. There are five entrants from around the globe, and here's some notes I took about each:
1. Shin Takamatsu Architect and Associates Co Ltd – Kyoto, Japan
Big bubble, biodomish. Imposing. Blade Runner or Akira? Too bright. Too many ads.
2. UN Studio – Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Julia Set trigonometry. Sterile? No context given to existing buildings. Mmmaybe.
3. John Wardle Pty Ltd Architects – Melbourne, Australia
Scratchy, chunky, flaxy. Fissures and fibrous. Fits well next to Te Papa. Why?? Nice shape to the bowed building. Favourite.
4. Oosterhuis Lenard – Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Nice shapes and textures. Bird's Head, Koru and Fishhook; Gold, Green, Rust. I like. Good in theory, well envisaged and displayed. Breaks height restrictions for apartments, not a good enough reason.
5. Architecture Workshop Ltd/Kerstin Thompson Architects Joint Venture – Wellington, New Zealand/Melbourne, Australia
Slope off Te Papa. Hard to visualise, where's the 3D model? Would really like this one if I knew what it looked like. Folded ground hard on the head. Hundertwasser haircut. Thermodynamic considerations/ Know Your Wind.
But hey, this is just my opinion. Get your brains down to the display. There are plenty of pens and feedback forms for everyone to have their say.
