Auckland’s Civic Building first skyscraper #Modern

Photographer Patrick Reynolds says the Civic is an important building by an important architect – chief city architect Tibor Donner (1946-1967) – and it appealed enormously as “Hotel Moderne” with its modernist credentials.

### metromag.co.nz June 10, 2014
Urban Design
The Civic Building: Modernist Folly, Architectural Treasure
By Chris Barton
Why we should all be up in arms at the threatened demolition of the Auckland Council Civic Building.
There’s a surprise at the top of the hated Civic Building. From afar, you could guess there was some sort of observation deck, but the central roof-top courtyard open to the sky and to terrific east and west viewing across the cityscape to the harbour is a delight. Shut to the public since the 1970s, the restricted area is looking a little shabby, but one can easily imagine how the space could be brought back to life and, combined with a makeover of the staff cafeteria a level below, could be the tearoom talk of the town. Here might be a rare commodity in Auckland — public space on high — given that most other high places are either off limits, commercialised or privatised.
No 1 Greys Ave, formerly known as the Auckland City Council Administration Building, has plenty of other unique features: the rolled Corbusian corners of the metal-clad plant room, the curvy Le Corbusier-inspired entrance canopy, the mezzanine lobby and the precast terrazzo treads and iron balustrades of the open staircase.
Read more + Photos by Patrick Reynolds

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### NZ Herald Online 11:51 AM Tuesday Nov 18, 2014
Bid to save NZ’s first skyscraper
By Bernard Orsman – Super City reporter
Plans to save New Zealand’s first skyscraper, the Civic Building on Aotea Square, or demolish it have been outlined to councillors and the media today. Council officers have been investigating options and market interest to refurbish the building, which will be empty by the New Year after serving as the city’s main civic administration building since 1966. The wrecking ball has been hanging over the building since the Auckland Council paid $104 million for the 31-storey ASB Bank Centre in Albert St for its new headquarters. The 100m tower was designed in the 1950s and completed in 1966. It has been criticised as an ugly box, but many architects marvel at its features. Architect Julia Gatley, an authority on modern architecture in New Zealand, has praised it as a beautifully proportioned, slender building that encapsulates modernism. It has no heritage status, but two reports have suggested it warrants a category A listing, and the council’s heritage division says it merits category B status. Heritage New Zealand also wants to see it gain heritage status and saved. The council’s property arm said without major refurbishment and the removal asbestos it would be unsuitable for council or other uses, such as commercial, residential and hotel. Auckland Council Property said it would cost about $78 million for full refurbishment to modern office and code requirements, or $60 million for a residential conversion. Demolition and site reinstatement is estimated at between $11.5 million to $12.5 million.
Read more

Civic Building demolished – revamped Aotea Square with new ‘teletubbie’ commercial buildings | Regional Facilities Auckland

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

*Images: (from top) heritageetal.blogspot.com – Former Auckland City Council Administration Building, 1 Greys Avenue (1981); metromag.co.nz – Civic Building on Aotea Square by Patrick Reynolds; stuffcrush.blogspot.co.nz – Civic Building, fenestration detail (2011) by Caleb

2011 Southern Architecture Awards – NZ Institute of Architects

### nzia.co.nz 18 Nov 2011
Media Release
Awards signal strong year for Southern architecture
Seventeen projects, ranging in scale from Forsyth Barr Stadium to a weekend retreat at Taieri Mouth, have been recognised in the Southern Architecture Awards, the programme that celebrates the year’s best buildings in Otago and Southland.

“The high number of entries and the high standard of winners are signs that the region’s architects are doing good work in difficult times,” said the convenor of the 2011 Southern Architecture Awards jury, Invercargill architect Brent Knight. “We were impressed by some significant community and public buildings, and found that this was also a very strong year for residential architecture”.

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One of the public buildings receiving an Award is Forsyth Barr Stadium, designed by Jasmax, Richard Breslin and Populous. Describing the stadium as “a wonderful place to watch a game”, the Awards jury praised the architects’ skill in dealing with “a complex project involving a large team and a demanding process”.

Another Dunedin public building receiving an award is the Robertson Library at the University of Otago. McCoy and Wixon Architects’ transformation of “an aging institutional structure” has produced “a revitalised library” which is “a very pleasant place to be in”.

Jury convenor Brent Knight said that, as in previous years, a feature of the 2011 Southern Architecture Awards is the quality of residential architecture.

On Dunedin’s sandstone coastal ramparts, South Coast house by Vaughn McQuarrie is “sheltered within cedar-clad pavilions offering spectacular views past dramatic cliff faces to the horizon”, and at Taieri Mouth, McCoy and Wixon Architects’ “bold, geometric” weekend retreat is “a warm and playful house in which the occupants are connected with the landscape and environment”.

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Joining Brent Knight on the 2011 Southern Architecture Awards jury were Dunedin architect Tim Heath, Queenstown architect Preston Stevens, and Nelson architect Ian Jack.

The Southern Architecture Awards is a component of the New Zealand Architecture Awards, the official, peer-reviewed awards programme of the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA), the professional body to which 90 per cent of New Zealand’s registered architects belong.

Award winners from the eight branches of the NZIA are eligible for the national level of the awards programme, the New Zealand Architecture Awards. Those awards will be announced on 25 May, 2012.
Read more

██ NZIA 2011 Southern Architecture Awards – winners information, citations and more photos at NZIA website

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr

ScrapHouse: ‘Reclaim, recycle and re-use’

###archdaily.com 21 Mar 2011
ScrapHouse / Public Architecture
By Christopher Henry
Designed by Public Architecture and other local design firms for World Environment Day 2005, this green demonstration home is built entirely of salvaged materials. Erected on the Civic Center Plaza adjacent to San Francisco City Hall, ScrapHouse showcases the creative use of previously discarded materials.

Image © Cesar Rubio

Some materials were re-invented for their intended purpose, such as a chandelier using several discarded lamps. Other solutions present scrap in innovative ways. One wall, composed of 500 old phonebooks stacked vertically, provides both insulation and surface texture. Rethinking a standard single-family home, the ScrapHouse facilitates design discussion and community awareness about the possibilities to “reclaim, recycle and re-use”.
Link + Images

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Posted by Elizabeth Kerr (via @AdrienneRewi)