Dr Elizabeth Aitken-Rose laments the Unitary Plan Hearings Panel’s stance on heritage in an opinion piece in the Herald on 18 August 2015. She points out that the features that make Auckland unique, such as our volcanic cones and our collection of inner suburbs’ traditional timber houses, are not valued...
Rules for strengthening the nation’s at-risk heritage buildings make them vulnerable to a different sort of damage, argues Olga Filippova, University of Auckland Business School Property Specialist, in the Business School’s July email newsletter. She says “Rules governing the strengthening of earthquake-prone buildings have been modified following submissions by engineering...
King’s School has approval from the council to demolish the Hanna Block to make way for the construction of a new four storey 19 classroom block to meet 21st century student needs. The Hanna Block was originally built as a two storey dormitory block with bedrooms, bathrooms, changing rooms, workshops,...
Churches around the country are shutting their doors as congregations and funds dwindle, and ageing buildings need seismic strengthening. St David’s Presbyterian church in Khyber Pass, Auckland, closed last December, and faces possible demolition. Founder of the Friends of St David’s Trust www.saintdavidsfriends.org.nz , Paul Baragwanath and the Chief Executive...
Vernon Tava of the Waitemata Local Board highlights the plight of heritage villas at 16-18 Crummer Rd., Ponsonby. He discusses the incomplete protection that the Pre 1944 Heritage Overlay is proving to be. These two well-loved Victorian villas are about to be demolished, as they were removed from the Heritage...
This WW1 memorial church, situated on Khyber Pass, Grafton, and built in 1927 has been closed since late 2014 and needs earthquake strengthening. Friends of St David’s, a group with a mission to stop demolition, to fundraise and restore the church, and to ensure it has an on-going community use,...
Civic Trust was represented at the latest port protest on Sunday 3 May. Organised by the group Stop Stealing Our Harbour, the protest drew 1500 people, who marched down Quay St to the Viaduct to hear speeches from councillors, MPs, and representatives from Ngati Whatua and the yachting community. To support...
There was a good turnout on land, on the water as well as in the air for the protest on Sunday afternoon against the extension of Bledisloe Wharf.
Civic Trust’s guest Donovan Rypkema, who is in Auckland to present at Auckland Conversations council event, was featured in an on-line NZ Herald article, with the heading “Older, Smaller Buildings Preferred”. Link here www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/
Last week Donovan Rypkema from Washington DC, an expert in the economics of heritage preservation, visited Auckland as a guest of Civic Trust Auckland. This was his second visit to NZ. He also spent time in Wellington and Christchurch, discussing and presenting on seismic strengthening issues for heritage preservation. In...