B Innovative, April 2002

Does Design Matter? Does Auckland Give a Damn?

In a world where ‘design’ can command the front cover of Time Magazine, where cities position urban design and other creative arts in their strategic front line when competing for inward investment and economic growth, is Auckland simply off the pace, or is it residing on another planet?

Good urban design is a holistic approach to the design of the built environment, best described as ‘the art of creating desirable places’.

With the introduction of People, Places, Spaces: a Design Guide for Urban New Zealand, we face the debate as to whether the concept of Design Guidance is too prescriptive for free-thinking Kiwis, or an important step in making international best practice design the norm in New Zealand rather than the exception.

Is There A Skill Shortage?
Maybe… But there is no shortage of help on hand!

As Auckland develops a taste for good urban design, the question of whether the city possesses the design skills to deliver becomes increasingly pertinent.

For the last three years, Chow:Hill Architects has run an educational programme at UNITEC School of Architecture comprising a thirteen week full-time teaching module covering Urban Design, Architecture and Interior Design. Chow:Hill run this programme voluntarily and are the only firm of architects in New Zealand to offer this scale of investment in educating our future designers.

This year, the Chow:Hill team has been joined by some of our key clients representing a wide spectrum of Auckland society: Nigel McKenna (Melview Developments), Murray Bolton (Auckland Bridge Climb), Dena Gilmore (Manukau City Council’s Planner for Libraries) and Wayne Otter (New Zealand Aids Foundation). These are people who will help shape Auckland’s future they make things happen! The value they bring to our teaching programme is enormous.

The fact that they have been more than willing to volunteer their personal time to help educate our future architects and urban designers surely removes any doubt as to whether the real “players” in the city care about the design. They care very much!