READWRITE ARCHITECTURE
THE DOWNTOWN DIALOGUE TRANSLATED BY C. YUAN
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CONTENTS SETTINGS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------3 CHARACTERS -----------------------------------------------------------------------9 THE DOWNTOWN DIALOGUE --------------------------------------------------15
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SETTINGS Britomart Transport Centre - Britomart Train Station - The Corporate Buildings - Quay Street - Downtown Shopping Centre
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Britomart Transport Centre - Britomart Train Station - The Corporate Buildings - Quay Street - Downtown Shopping Centre
At 10’oclock on a Friday morning, the district is busily waking up. The lower end of Queen Street, docked with rows of buses , and flanked by the dominating Train Station, is doing its daily duty of speedily transporting the labour force into the shiny skyscrapers and myriad of businesses cluttered together. The bustling of the people fill up the footpaths and the intersection.
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Britomart Transport Centre - Britomart Train Station - The Corporate Buildings - Quay Street - Downtown Shopping Centre
A constant addition to the crowd slides out from the large glass doors of the Train Stations, as well as the arriving buses. People are quick footed and chatty. Smart work attires, jeans and t-shirts for university, and backpacks of the travellers clad the morning population.
Britomart Train Station
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Britomart Transport Centre - Britomart Train Station - The Corporate Buildings - Quay Street - Downtown Shopping Centre
To the west and into the distance of Queen Street, skyscrapers form a dialogue by their reflections of each other on their glossy facades. Overwhelming the presence of the pedestrian, they talk loud, quick, and proud.
Zurich House
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Britomart Transport Centre - Britomart Train Station - The Corporate Buildings - Quay Street - Downtown Shopping Centre
A sense of optimism pervade the place, as does the summer blue sky that sets the scene. The sunrays are sharp, but the frequent sea breeze cools them to an upbeat ambience.
Ferry Building
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Britomart Transport Centre - Britomart Train Station - The Corporate Buildings - Quay Street - Downtown Shopping Centre
Quite neglected, a humble brown compound of just four storeys quietly sits in the shade of the corporate giant Zurich House, right opposite the hustle and bustle outside the Train Station. It is a plain-looking Brutalist. A shabby façade of the most common sort of consumerim, as its “Westfield” logo gives away. Flanking an ignored plaza, the building doesn’t say much. Inside an unselective assortment of retail shops reside. Office workers rush in and out, grabbing a quick morning tea or running an errand. Cruise-ship tourist occasionally wander in and wander out, heading to where the happenings are – Queen St or the Britomart precinct.
Westfield Downtown Shopping Centre
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CHARACTERS Brit - Francie - Zach - Wesley - Homeless Boy
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Brit - Francie - Zach - Wesley - Homeless Boy
Brit
hardworking old
respected
Britomart Train Station
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Brit - Francie - Zach - Wesley - Homeless Boy
Francie
pretty outgoing
narcissistic
Ferry Building
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Brit - Francie - Zach - Wesley - Homeless Boy
Zach rich arrogant
handsome
Zurich House
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Brit - Francie - Zach - Wesley - Homeless Boy
Wesley
shabby forlorn
ashamed
Westfield Downtown Shopping Centre 13
Brit - Francie - Zach - Wesley - Homeless Boy
Homeless Boy Unsheltered Discomfort Aucklander
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This is the only time of the day when the city is silent. Anticipating the first ray of sunlight, Zach stood tall and confident as usual, waiting for the beam to hit his façade and be dispersed into all corners of the city by those mirror-like surfaces. He was the golden boy – tall, handsome, and wealthy.
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The old gentleman, Brit, was too busy to notice the delicate and increasing dapples of light on the water. He was a diligent worker who frowned at the idea of retirement. He is preparing for the arrival of the first carriage of commuters. “Many things to be done!” he hummed happily as he went about his technical duties. He was an important man – the tracks, the roads, and even the ferries were under his care. “I just love the Rush Hour!” He told his beautiful neighbor, Francie , and rushed off.
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The elegant lady was also gazing at the horizon with her pretty eyes. Her eyelashes fluttered with surprise at the sight of a cruise ship. The clouds at the back are beginning to saturate with bright orange, accentuating her own deep red dress. “This is going to be a fun day, I see a ship coming!â€? she told her neighbours enthusiastically, as her hand strolled through her brown curls to make sure they are in place. She was the favourite of the cruise ship tourists, as they rolled over the waves toward the city, cameras in hand. A colonial red brick façade, a pleasant contrast to the modern skyline, she promises them that a metropolitan yet cultural city is what they are arriving at.
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Next to the beautiful and the busy crouched their humble neighbor, Wesley. In his fourties, Wesley did not age well, and his shabby brown suit emphasized this. Nestled between Zach and his equally tall cousin, Harvey, Wesley slouched his shoulders, and was not good with words. Overshadowed by his tall and handsome neighbours, he did not expect attention. He doesn’t join the Rush Hour until much later. He operates an unselective assortment of retail shops. It is not until a sudden errand of a CBD worker, a rushed lunchtime sandwich, or a misguided tourist, that he becomes useful.
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Now the sun has just climbed just over the horizon and waves were rolling amidst golden the rays. Brit was joyfully humming to the sound of machinery, the first arrival was within minutes.
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Somewhere in the shadows of Wesley’s compound, a ruddy homeless boy yelled “ouch!” as he woke up from under a park bench, hitting his head against the hard steel edge of the generic fixture. This only human presence caught the attention of all. The boy looked young. He had a likeable ruddy round face and a curly bob of messy hair. His searching eyes told them that he was hungry.
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“if only we can give him a comfortable place to live!” He knotted his brow, like a grandfather looking at his desolate grandson. “What do you think, neighbours?”
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“What if the square felt like a home for anyone who comes along?� Zach is always first to suggest solutions. Everyone nodded in approval.
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Long-disgruntled Wesley jumped at this opportunity and stammered “may-maybe not so much shade from you guys!” The corporate giants blushed and momentarily turned away, like a grown man told off by a little girl, and the accusation was correct. “Why…yes…I think we can work towards that…”
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Happy at the concurrence, Wesley felt like he has never had so much confidence. All his complaints over the years were suddenly triggered. “why does it always have to be either an enclosed box or an empty open space? What if the square became something in between? The boy won’t need to sleep in the cold, then.”
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“And why does the compound have to be so regular and so boring?” Wesley bravely continued, a little ashamed. “Wouldn’t the boy, and everyone else, have much more fun in a non-regular shaped place?” This was met with much enthusiasm.
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The sunlight was vividly dancing across the entire ocean by now. Francie momentarily took her eyes off the skyline’s stunning reflection in the waters, and chimed in, ”Wouldn’t it be comfortable for people in the square to see the ocean? ” She glanced over the cruise ship, steam rolling, heading directly at the her. “the tourists would enjoy seeing the a city square at first sight too! From wharf to a square.” She also suggested that the square could introduce Auckland to the tourits, the city she is always so proud to tell them about.
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ReadWrite Architecture Poem, screenplay, parable, graphic novel, myth or even opera: this project harnesses literary forms to conceptualise and propose architectural designs. The vehicle for this exploration is a design on the site of the Downtown Shopping Centre which will be demolished to make way for the City Rail Link.
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