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| Britomart’s CPO interior being dismantled |
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The Chief Post Office (CPO) interior is currently being dismantled in preparation for the tunnelling work, with contractors removing all furniture, handrails, kiosks, timber flooring, floor and wall tiles, escalators and toilets. Special care is being taken to protect the CPO’s heritage features, such as the ceiling, columns and arched windows.
The new temporary Britomart Station entrances on Commerce, Tyler and Galway Streets are now open. Access to the station from Lower Queen Street is closed until 2019 for CRL construction of the tunnels.
Shared zones have been introduced on both Tyler Street and Galway Street, between Commerce Street and Lower Queen Street, to better facilitate pedestrian movements around the Britomart train station.
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| Valerie lines up for her next throw |
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Traffic continues to move above ground on Albert Street while 18 metres below ground ‘Valerie’ - the 2m-wide tunnel boring machine - is simultaneously excavating and installing a new stormwater pipe digging her final 200-metre stretch towards Wellesley Street West. Her expected arrival to Wellesley is in April. The machine was named in honour of the strength of Olympian Valerie Adams.
Having completed the first 290 metres of tunnelling and pipe-jacking between Victoria and Swanson Streets, this impressive machine involved in the City Rail Link (CRL) construction is about to begin the next stage of her underground journey.
The stormwater diversion is needed before the CRL cut and cover tunnel construction of twin tunnels can be delivered by Connectus, a McConnell Dowell and Hawkins joint venture.
Because of the construction taking place around downtown Auckland, including the works related to the CRL, Auckland Transport has implemented a number of measures to mitigate the impact on drivers, pedestrians and businesses including partial road closures and relocating parking, taxi stands and loading zones.
A smaller tunnel boring machine is also working under Victoria Street, diverting the Orakei sewer main and enabling the existing sewer to be strengthened under the future Aotea Station.
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| Upcoming Albert Street Works |
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There are a lot of CRL preparation works occurring on Albert Street at present. The project is investigating the exact locations of various underground utility services prior to starting work on the future mid-town station. As a result, various alterations need to be made to traffic routes on Albert Street and its side streets, to accommodate the piling and utility works in particular.
Pedestrian access is being maintained at all times, so people can continue to support their local businesses. Northbound traffic on Albert Street will be diverted left at Swanson Street and will continue north along Federal Street. This diversion is expected to be in place until the end of March as piling works continue.
Wyndham Street West will re-open to traffic as operations move to the opposite side of the street. The Albert Street slip lane to Durham Street will be closed until mid to late March. During this time, access to Durham Street will be via Queen Street only.
For southbound traffic on Albert Street heading to Mills Lane, there are only left-turn movements in and out. To access Mills Lane or the businesses on the lower eastern side of Albert Street (such as Quay West, Stamford Hotel, CityMed and Commonwealth Vault), traffic will need to travel down Queen Street, turn left into Customs Street and then left into Albert Street.
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| New Zealand International Convention Centre unveils its first major bookings |
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Key facts on NZICC:
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The first bookings have been secured at the New Zealand International Convention Centre (NZICC), with Auckland winning the bids to host two large-scale international medical conferences in 2020.
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Sits on a 1.4 hectare CBD site, and will have 32,500sqm of floor space
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Five times larger than the current largest convention facilities in New Zealand
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Can host conferences and one off events of approximately 4,000 people
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Will have New Zealand’s largest theatre, with seating for 2,850 people
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35 meeting spaces of various sizes
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Open for business mid 2019
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO) in conjunction with the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology (APAO) and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) will hold back-to-back conferences at the NZICC spanning five days.
The 35th APAO Congress will be the biggest medical meeting to ever be held in New Zealand, with an estimated 4,000 medical professionals and researchers from around the world coming to Auckland to discuss the study and treatment of disorders and diseases of the eye.
This will be followed by the IAPB 11th General Assembly, where 2,000 eye care providers, International Non-Governmental Organisations, UN bodies and others involved in the fight against avoidable blindness and visual impairment will meet in Auckland to share information and exchange ideas.
The events will deliver significant economic benefit to the country including an estimated 15,000 room nights and some $11 million in economic benefit to the city.
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| Britomart’s four days of fashion |
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Britomart will come alive once again with its ever-evolving Fashion Sessions presentation, as part of Four Days of Fashion in the Heart of the City. This year it will be an intimate and dynamic affair that runs across four diverse days. Alongside more traditional runway shows will be a lunchtime talk, a vintage fair, art and fashion installations and more.
Wednesday 29 March will see 120 guests enjoy a sit down lunch in the gorgeous Quay Project Space, as they listen to top designers Juliette Hogan and Kathryn Wilson talk about business, motherhood and future plans.
Later on Wednesday, RJB Design will host the ultimate mens’ evening: whiskey tasting, grooming tips and cigars are on offer.
On Thursday night, Tyler St will become a runway for Zambesi, Kate Sylvester and WORLD to showcase their current collections within a sparkling marquee – this is how a group show is done.
Huffer take over on Friday with an in-store ‘Winter Warm Up’ – think drink, food, and a new season showing done Huffer-style. Friday evening has a grand scale, open air show by Trelise Cooper across Takutai Square.
Saturday sees an imaginative installation from Taylor and on the same day, Fabric will present an incredible vintage market.
For the chance to be part of some truly innovative, exciting New Zealand fashion moments; Britomart’s Fashon Sessions for 2017 is the place to be.
For more information and tickets visit http://britomart.org/fashionsessions/
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| For the Love of Bees @ The Griffiths Gardens |
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The Griffiths Gardens, located at 42 Wellesley Street, is the hub of inner-city, community initiative, For the Love of Bees. After recently opening, The Griffiths Gardens has been buzzing with city dwellers and environmental enthusiasts from all across Auckland. Every Thursday this summer The Griffiths Gardens will be hosting a series of free Lunchtime Learning lessons that teach organic growing practices, permaculture and sustainable approaches to inner city living. Outside of the weekday sessions Griffiths will be the home to weekend workshops and other exciting events which can be found on the For the Love of Bees website.
Outside of working in The Griffiths Gardens, For the Love of Bees is in the process of setting up connections with students from universities and schools across our central city as well as south Auckland schools as a part of the South Auckland Science programme. From March 5th For the Love of Bees will be launching their Bee School in Victoria Park’s Campbell Free Kindergarten where experienced beekeepers will be teaching beekeeping skills to Aucklanders of all ages. To keep up to date with the For the Love of Bees journey check out our website or our social media resources!
Instagram: @ForTheLoveOfBeesNZ
www.Facebook.com/CityBeeCollaboration
www.ForTheLoveOfBees.co.nz
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| Moa periscope keeps an eye on Freyberg development |
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A special periscope has been installed above the Freyberg Place construction zone in the heart of Auckland’s city centre so kids of all ages can keep an eye on the area’s redevelopment.
The moa, which the children of Lollipops Educare in Central Auckland have named Blaze, offers a unique vantage point to keep track of how the construction below is progressing.
The moa periscope has mirrors that give a movable horizontal and vertical view of the work below and it keeps in the spirit of the Freyberg Place redesign to create a more vibrant, child-friendly public space.
“It encourages Auckland’s young people to interact with the city and the change they see going on around them,“ says Pippa Coom, Chair of the Waitematā Local Board.
Ludo Campbell-Reid, General Manager of the Auckland Design Office adds “Children should be the heroes of urban transformation. These fun initiatives invite our young people to engage with the changing place in which they live and encourage participation in future city building. It’s all for them after all.”
The upgrades to Freyberg Place and the Ellen Melville Centre are expected to be completed by mid-2017 and the moa will move onto other development sites around Auckland to give further sneak peeks.
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| Queen’s Wharf volunteers a welcoming heart |
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| From left to right: Thelma, Cynthia and Tineke ready to answer all your questions with a friendly smile |
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Since the gates of the iconic red fence were opened in 2011, Queens Wharf has become embedded in the hearts and minds of Aucklanders and visitors to the city.
Queens Wharf brings people far and wide to enjoy pop-up events, grab a bite to eat, enjoy fishing excursions, summer BBQs, or to simply soak up the atmosphere on the edge of the sparkling Waitemata Harbour. With the revitalisation of Shed 10 in 2013, Queens Wharf became home to a whole new generation of cruise ship passengers too.
The 2016/17 cruise season is well and truly underway and is one of the busiest yet. Queens Wharf has seen 78 ships call into port so far this summer and has 32 yet to come before the end of the season. This summer also saw the largest cruise ship to ever arrive in Auckland, Ovation of the Seas. So large in fact, the ship had to moor in the slip between the entrance to the Viaduct and the naval base. 4800 passengers ferried into the wharf and were met with a friendly smile from the Queens Wharf cruise ship volunteers.
The Queens Wharf cruise ship volunteers are the welcoming heart of Queens Wharf. The group of 25 friendly volunteers who give up their own time, are the first port of call for cruise ship passengers, visitors to the area and locals alike. The volunteers are hugely passionate about our city and are an endless fountain of knowledge.
From sharing local knowledge and stories, to finding a solution to a problem, offering directions or helping to plan a day in Auckland, the cruise ship volunteers are always eager to help.
With summer only really just kicking in now, we are in for a long, hot and busy season on Queens Wharf. Pop by and meet the team next time you are down there.
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| The Lighthouse lights up Queens Wharf |
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| Photo credit David St George/Auckland Council |
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Welcoming visitors to Queens Wharf and Auckland’s harbor is the long-awaited Michael Parekowhai artwork, The Lighthouse. It is the largest gift of public art that Auckland has ever received donated by real estate firm Barfoot & Thompson Ltd in acknowledgement of its 90 years in business.
Outside it looks like a traditional 1950s New Zealand home, based on a house on the Eden-Roskill border. The exterior colours reference the site and environment on Queens Wharf and the space between the sea and the sky.
Inside reveals something different and unexpected. The Lighthouse is a house filled with light. The interior finishes are highly reflective, with no sharp corners allowing light to bounce around the space.
“We have the whole world in our house. A house that you can look into and see through,” says artist Michael Parekowhai.
“Our ‘chandeliers’ are not ones that hang from the ceiling but clusters of neon lights that represent the constellations and, like chandeliers, illuminate up towards the ceiling. “The coloured light implies the notion of ahi ka; the idea that the homefires are burning and the lights are still on.”
“Within the stars sits The English Channel a polished stainless steel sculpture of Captain James Cook occupies part of the void. Cook is contemplative. He faces the north-west and the light constellations dance off his highly polished surface. He’s not the heroic Cook that we often see; he’s more pensive, more thoughtful, considering what his next move might be,” he says.
The lights will remain on at all times and people will be able to view it through its numerous windows and from the stairs that climb up its western side.
The Lighthouse now becomes part of Auckland Council’s Public Art Collection and will be cared for by the council’s public art team.
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| Events |
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| Photo Credits: Jeremy Toth |
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18 March - White Night - For one night only, an ever-changing roster of artists take over the city, bringing you a diverse range of art, music and theatrical events on and off the streets and in spaces and places you may not even know exist.
29 March – 1 April, 2017 - 4 Days of Fashion in the City Auckland’s largest fashion retail celebration returns to the heart of the city. From the 29th March, we’re celebrating all things fashion you’ll be spoilt for choice with a calendar of over 25 events. Showcasing the City Centre’s unique fashion range from high-end international brands to much-loved chain stores. Come into the city for entertainment, in-store events, fashion shows, beauty workshops, exhibitions, street activations and much more.
This is a must do fashion event on the Auckland calendar. Further information can be found on our website from Monday 6 March at heartofthecity.co.nz
18 April – Auckland Live is thrilled to announce it’s partnering with Independent Music New Zealand to present the 2017 Taite Music Prize, held at The Civic’s spectacular Wintergarden. A new award has been created - the Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award – celebrating the freshest talent of Aotearoa and including a $2000 cash prize and a live performance slot at Auckland Live Summer in the Square 2017/2018 – Auckland’s biggest backyard summer party.
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