In analysis of the site, I find myself escaping to the bay.
PL. 1 Cox’s Bay Reserve, 2015
At Cox’s Bay, the foreshore, estuary and gully vegetation have been seamlessly integrated into the overall design, adding considerable value to the experiences afforded to visitors. The most recent upgrade to the park includes the upgrading and widening of a boardwalk that travels through the wetland area leading from the sports fields to Richmond Road. This boardwalk is heavily used by runners, cyclists and dog walkers and its widening has allowed multiple user groups to enjoy it without conflict. PL. 2 Mix of mangroves, rocks and lichen, Cox’s Bay Reserve, 2015
Monotonous rows of medium density housing in proximity to the proposed site. Thinking into the future - is this the heritage Auckland wants and for it to be remembered for? “People often lament the loss of heritage or older buildings, buildings that aren’t necessarily protected, because they don’t have confidence that the modern buildings that are going to replace the are going to be equal in quality; they’re just going to be cheap and expeient.” What are the qualities of our architecture that we want keep for ourselves?
PL. 3 Cockburn St view towards proposed site area, 2015
Present shopping infrastucture providing for the community at the Richmond Road site. The public’s facade and its aesthetics does not actively engage within a cultural aspect. It simply provides functional use.
PL. 4 Richmond Road Site, 2015
Present centre of the site. A cafe front opens to backdoor delivery and services areas. Is this the front or the back? The site lacks clarity in organisation and the area is dominated mostly by parking space. The effect is as if pedestrian access between exsisting shops was designed to be discouraged.
PL. 5 Site Centre, 2015
A prominent example of a project returning a run-down site to a sense of civic pride is the Louvre Museum. The previous occupancy was the Finance Ministry and the now vast courtyard was utilised as backwater car park. The gesture towards change came in an expression of dignity through architectural expression. The geometric and organisational rationalism of the new Louvre speaks a dialogue that preserves its unity and is coherent with the old. This change signalled the modern renewal to the cultural monument’s vitality.
PL. 6 The Louvre and its wider context
Core essence: Platonic geometric form From a Modernist ideology, geometry simultaneously belongs everywhere and nowhere, so its forms are without restriction to any time. Therefore without historical association, it is a gesture of utmost respect. It is a kind of muteness of the aesthetic, not supposed to mean but simply be. Clear geometry serves to preserve the historic integrity of the existing fabric.
Dominant feature: Clarity The glass pyramid intends to speak the language of transparency and light. Architect I.M Pei sought to achieve the most translucent structure that could be built. Complexity is only characterised in the desire to reorganise the components of the museum in a rational and aesthetic manner - much like how nature hides infinite complexity beneath the outward body of beauty.
Architect I.M Pei’s attention to aesthetic has triumphed against its sharpest critics - time has blunted the argument against it. From a symbol so alien to the public ideology of the state - “the spirit of our times: the confusion and amalgam of things which are incompatible” to what is now considered an “example of modernism at its most elegant.”
PL. 1 The Louvre in aerial plan view
Viewed from Cox’s Bay Reserve located opposite to the proposed site. Between the dense foliage of the reserve, architectural expression can be observed rising overhead.
PL. 1 Infrastructure visible from Coxs Bay Reserve, 2015
BIGNESS - An idea of a city growing from the inside instead of sprawling across the land. Strengthening the life force of Auckland without compromising land or traffic congestion.
PL. 1 First stages of a concept, 2015
Architecture is a means to facilitate and alter our perception, use and experience of space. Concept image - the intention is to stimulate, or aggravate, our imaginations. Architecture participates in our lives, not just as a stage for events, but somehow as the event itself.
PL. 1 First stages of a concept, 2015
In relation to the wider context of the world, New Zealand is a more youthful country. A more progressive, modern place. It can be seen that the challenge for contemporary architecture is to lift the game