Above: Shortlisted design by Auckland firm Williams Architects Ltd.
Five shortlisted designs for the Queens Wharf re-development in Auckland have been met a chorus of public disapproval.
The finalist from New Zealand and China, were chosen by chief executives of the three sponsor organisations, the Ministry of Economic Development, Auckland Regional Council and Auckland City Council with advice from an advisory panel.
The "Opening the Red Gates" design competition received more than 200 entries, but sentiment towards the finalist has been less than enthusiastic, claims the New Zealand Herald.
"It's odd that you arrive in Auckland and you've got no idea this is the largest Polynesian city in the world," said Mike Austin, professor of Architecture at Auckland's Unitec.
Austin, who was unsuccessful in the competition with his entry, is critical of the city not having a ceremonial entry space from the sea, and not likely to have one following the announcement of the finalist. "My version would be to get master carver, sculptor Lyonel Grant to put the new mahau (porch) front on the shed," says Austin.
"The marae could be sloped down towards the meeting house so people stepped up onto it for traditional welcomes. The porch could be used for performances and, during the World Cup, you could put a screen in front of the meeting house and have everybody sitting on the marae."
Like many other submissions, including one from Maori architect Rewi Thompson, Austin's includes a jetty-plus-beach at the end of the wharf for arrival by sea and for waka (caneo) to land. The exclusion of Maoris from the judging panel has incensed Naida Glavish, chair of a group representing indigenous New Zealanders called Ngati Whatua.
"We thought we had long moved on from the 'design apartheid' of the 19th and 20th centuries where our built environments created separate worlds for Maori and European," she said.
Dave Mitchell, from the Auckland branch broadsheet of the New Zealand Institute of Architects is also critical of the competition: "This is an $80 million building project. The total sum to be paid to all contestants for the key design ideas stage is 1/1000th of the project cost. That shows you the value that our national and local governments together place on design."
There has been no analysis of the 232 entries that didn’t make the final cut, except for two-page "Key issues for Stage 2" document.
A joint statement from the Auckland Regional Council, Auckland City Council and the Government stated: "In the brief developed we are aiming to achieve a diverse range of objectives within a limited time frame and budget."
View the entries and finalists.
