New Zealand Architecture Now

Matthew Colloff, an environmental scientist at ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society , is the author of the marvellous book: ‘Landscapes of our Hearts: Reconciling People and Environment’.
In this brilliant conversation, he sets us off on a journey of place, country, landscape, urbanism, community, culture, architecture and society.
Currently working in public policy, researching and advising on adaptation to climate change, he speaks to the interaction between values, rules and knowledge in adaptation decision making.

 ‘Landscapes of our Hearts:’ won the 2021 NSW Premier's History Award in the NSW Community and Regional History category.

The inspiring and active Ellen Young is Managing Director of Paper Road: Connecting Community and Place.
Based in Whanganui, with her unique previous ‘placemaking’ experience at Whanganui District Council, Ellen is now in a position to lead and advise community co-design processes with local councils in our regions.
Her discussion highlights the advocacy processes with councils and communities in activating vital street and public place urban design schemes.
There is much to learn here from her philosophical, yet feet on the ground, knowledge of these important contemporary works.

We speak with Joel Cosgrove, social geographer and core curator of Wellington’s Eyegum Music Collective.
We discuss their Welcome to Nowhere festival as placemaking, our urban 3rd spaces and collective public space. 
He suggests that much of what we worked on in the past shows more examples than the works of present development. It's time to think back as we think forward. 

French Canadian contemporary artist Micheline Robinson, tells her story of placemaking activism and creativity in Hoylake Town on the Wirral Peninsula, near Liverpool. 

In 2009, Micheline, amid renewed growth as an artist, awoke to the declining town quality of Hoylake and the many small towns in the Wirral Borough Merseyside and did something about it.
As a leading figure in the focus for this regional revitalisation, Micheline’s colourful narrative sets up parallels for our current placemaking awareness here locally, nationally and internationally.

Micheline Robinson is now a resident of the Kapiti Coast.

Michael Gloster, discusses the 40-year history of the brilliant Noosa Council in shaping the iconic Noosa coastal district, on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland.
Anyone who is passionate about the coastal environment and human settlement planning, can be enriched by this world-leading urban and regional parks development story.

Michael Gloster, author of 'The Shaping of Noosa', is an architect, urban designer and policy planner.

Afdel Aziz (The Conspiracy of Love) discusses his groundbreaking documentary ‘The Genius of the Place'.

This extraordinarily beautiful film introduces us to Geoffery Bawa and his architecture in Sri Lanka.
Bawa (1919 – 2003), recognised as one of the influential architects of the twentieth century, devoted his work to the discovery of a contemporary Sri Lankan sense of place.
Afdel’s interview reveals the importance of the film as a story of Bawa’s life and work within the utterly beautiful Sri Lankan geography.

Afdel enchanted his film with special interviews among the talented Sri Lankan architects, artists, and craftspeople with whom Bawa collaborated, to bring forward his formative expression of a de-colonised Sri Lankan architecture.

We meet TreeSpace Kapiti.
Viola Palmer, and Geoff Scrase, two members of TreeSpace Kapiti introduce us to this new urban tree advocacy group. 

Advocating the importance of tree canopy quality in urban areas for well-being, suburban temperature cooling, and carbon sequestration, they also discuss their latest local planting project, the Miyawaki tiny forest concept.

An action-packed interview with James Beban, Co-Owner Urban Edge Planning.

James advises where NOT to build, as an expert in natural hazard policy formation and research.

The multi-disciplinary Urban Edge team describe ‘quality’ as their core principle across all aspects of the firm; Resource Consent Planning / Landscape Architecture and Urban Design / District Plan Policy and Private Plan Changes / Natural Hazard Policy Formation and Research.

They have a team of Planners, Landscape Architects and Urban Designers.

Their services also include strategic policy advice for local and central government; evidence for council and Environmental Court hearings; Stakeholder and Community consultation.’

Michael Anistasidis discusses mortgage finance, especially for First Home Buyers.

Michael clearly and in straightforward language describes the important work of property finance for his clients, particularly First Home buyers.

Michael’s understanding of this country’s property market and the current housing landscape is underpinned by a commitment to service people’s need for a home.
Broad brush discussion on Aotearoa New Zealand’s current housing issues, the cycles of the market, and the kinds of questions we need to ask of the collective challenges ahead of us.

contact Michael at https://www.michaelmortgageman.co.nz/’

Economist Mary Hedges, fundraising manager for the restoration of Christ Church in Ellerslie,  discusses the ‘hook’ that enabled their highly successful fundraising campaign for this historic restoration.
The hook: stained glass windows donated by foremost,  Victorian stained-glass designer and fabricator Alfred Bell of Clayton and Bell.  Mary clearly understood every element of the design report by heritage architects Salmond Reed Architects, to inform their funding application.

This is an exciting adventure of local history, involving Albin Martin, one of the founders of the church and considered ‘The Father of Art’ in Auckland.