Intense

File under: urbanism, events, Wellington

After a tantalising build-up, IntensCITY Week finally kicks off at 11:15am today, with the launch of the Capital Centre exhibition at the corner of Aitken and Molesworth streets. The details are all on the web site, with the full brochure available at cafés, libraries and random spots around town, but I thought I'd post a list of the Wellington 1990-2040 lecture series at the City Gallery lecture theatre, as that constitutes the bulk of the specific public events.

Friday 28 September, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Views from up north: How others do it
Presenter: Ludo Campbell-Reid

Ludo Campbell-Reid is Manager Urban Design at Auckland City Council. He was appointed as a result of Mayor Dick Hubbard's mayoral task force. Prior to that, he was chief executive of Urban Design London, giving advice to London's 33 boroughs.

Monday 1 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Looking Back with Fondness: The genesis of urban design in Wellington
Presenter: Stuart Niven

Stuart Niven was the first Wellington City Council urban designer. He is currently Director, Urban Design for the Department of Sustainability and Environment in the Victorian State Government in Melbourne. Stuart will share his knowledge of how Wellington has changed since 1990, and ignite the debate over where Wellington should be in 2040.

Tuesday 2 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
Our Evolving Waterfront: Wellington's growing connection to the harbour
Presenter: Ian Pike

Ian Pike, the chief executive of Wellington Waterfront Ltd, talks about the progressive reshaping of the city's waterfront.

Wednesday 3 October, 12.30pm - 1.30pm
New Zealand's Capital Centre: Matching the urban landscape to its national importance
Presenter: Gerald Blunt

The Council's Manager of Urban Design Policy, Gerald Blunt, will discuss what can be done to make the central city better reflect its symbolic importance as the heart of the nation.

Friday 5 October, 12.30 - 1.30pm
Wellington in 2040: A summary of ideas

Design and development professionals from Australia, Auckland and Wellington will present their ideas on the future of Wellington's public spaces.

The rest of IntensCITY consists of continuous installations and exhibitions, rather than events at fixed times. The Spaces through Time video installations have already started popping up around town, as have the Urban Critique posters, but the best time to see the INSite projects will be this weekend, as the artists will be "in residence" from 10-5 each day.

The heart of IntensCITY will be in the atrium of the State Insurance Building at 1 Willis St (it's hard for some of us old-timers not to call it the BNZ building). It's a rather magnificent space, though it tends to be overlooked by those who don't either work in the building or have an addiction to Mojo, and should provide a wonderful home for exhibiting the entries in the Just Imagine and aBC competitions as well as With My Little Eye. The last is an opportunity for the public to vote for their favourite public space in central Wellington, and should provoke some lively discussion. I'll post more about that soon, and in fact it won't be much of a surprise that IntensCITY events will probably dominate my posts for the coming week.