VisionOn

This series may indeed represent a watershed for the profession in Auckland as Pete Bossley suggested in his summing up. There are a few things that may have led him to that conclusion.

Just the fact that the city and its urban design were discussed in a public forum by a group of architects and urban designers may have been an uncommon occurrence over the last couple of decades.

It also seemed uncommonly inclusive for an architectural event. The audience was made up of architects and urban designers, people from the council, members of the public, developers and students. Part of the pleasure of attending came from the realisation that the members of the profession do indeed have considered, thoughtful views about Auckland, and others are interested in hearing them.

The organisers (Charissa Snijiders, Pip Cheshire, Kevin Clarke and Christina van Bohemen) made a great call by deciding to cast a wider advertising net than is usual for such events and by charging an entry fee. Both of these factors contributed to pulling in the punters to such an extent that the theatre was filled and some latecomers had to be turned away.

Of course none of this would have happened without good speakers and thanks should go to the nine people who put a lot of time, effort and experience into their presentations. They presented an image of the profession as thoughtful, understanding and passionate about the city.

There was time at the end of each session for discussion from the floor and it tended to be fairly lively. Again it seemed quite inclusive with comment coming from different quarters. Nigel Cook, in his interminable style, provided the antidote for everybody sinking into feel-good camaraderie by pointing out that, in his view, everybody who works for the council is thick.

Clinton Bird and Richard Goldie (the urban designer who dabbles in architecture versus the architect who dabbles in urban design, as someone pointed out) both provided design schemes for the parts of the cities that they discussed. These projects were extremely invigorating and well received by the audience. As Pete Bossley remarked, it is this ability to consider, sketch, model and communicate a vision of a possible future that gives architects and urban designers a chance to connect with the public.

Aaron Sills