[NEWS] + SKY TOWER HAS A NEW LOOK

We are in awe of [SKY TOWER's] new look. Apart from the usual gold, red and blue, the upper part of Auckland's most famous landmark changes colour every two seconds and it looks fabulous. There has been very little mention of the new look but I am sure that we will be hearing more in the next couple of days.

[NEWS] + CITY HALL ABLAZE WITH COLOUR

Telecom 2 - Auckland City Council (caught sleeping again) 0

It was during December 2008 when Telecom transformed Victoria Park with a 27m tall Christmas tree that sent messages to Santa and had thousands of us enthralled by its beauty. Now Telecom have done it again - light artist Mike Mizrahi was hired by telecom to transform Auckland's [CITY HALL] into a magical wonderland for the promotion of Telecom's new XT Mobile Network.

After micro-mapping every inch of the surface of the civic building, they used lights, video and colour to turn the building into a psychedelic, technicolour explosion. Images cannot translate the splendour that I witnessed but you can try to use your imagination.

The spectators gasped with joy when the [CITY HALL] transformed from an architectural structure into a big house consisting entirely of candy. Needless to say that the children loved it.

The sandcastle brought back wonderful memories of when I was a child and we would leave our landlocked locale for a month of candy floss and toffee apples at the seaside resort of Durban, South Africa.

Scientific endeavours were not forgotten - a futuristic display of numerals (matrix style) dancing across the building enthralled us and a rocket blasted off from the clock tower and took us to saturn.

My personal favourite was the lighthouse - the clock tower was transformed into a red and white beacon of hope while the semi-circular part of the building became the rocky base complete with crashing waves and seagulls. It was so beautiful.

More photographs can be viewed HERE

[PROJECT] + ST.PATRICK'S SQUARE UPGRADE [PART A]

Well I never. Auckland City Council has actually done something right for a change, they have thought outside of the square. [EYE] on Auckland is pleased to report that the [ST.PATRICK'S SQUARE] upgrade is looking rather flash. It is far from finished but if they continue on this path I am sure that we will all be very happy with the finished product and would want to be seen there.

The paving is fabulous. I love the diamond shapes that create 3D patterns on the pavement and it is way better than the usual mind-numbingly boring rectangular bits they place all over the city sidewalks. BRAVO ! The lights are a triumph, very retro, a gorgeous organic shape and best of all - they have colour. Give yourselves a pat on the back Auckland City Council - you have done well. Bravo ! 

[INFRASTRUCTURE] + SH20 MOTORWAY EXTENSION

As much as we are opposed to cars and motorways, we fully embraced the opportunity to take a walk on the new [SH20] motorway extension before it opened to motorcars. As usual curiosity got the better of us and we had to go and investigate. We are pleased to report that [EYE] on Auckland was impressed with some of the design features while other areas failed dismally !

[THE GOOD]

We love the motifs on what could have been barren concrete ! We immediately thought of flax plants and adored the retaining walls supporting the Hillsborough Road flyover - it evokes feelings of lava flows forming contour lines around solid objects.

We also liked the landscaping, especially the diagonal lines created by carefully placed shrubs.
[THE BORING]

The pedestrian / cycle bridge is very mediocre. It lacks colour as much as it lacks expression and excitement, [EYE] on Auckland can think of many alternatives which you can view HERE.

[THE UGLY]

We are sure that this retaining wall was supposed to draw reference to the scoria of the volcano nearby but fake rock is always a big NO-NO in our book. One can only hope that it will start to look more "real" as time goes by and it is covered by moss.

[NEWS] + QUALITY OF LIVING, AUCKLAND IS 4th BEST

Auckland ! it is time to celebrate but there is no time to rest on our laurels. While I am typing other cities competing against us are making big plans to dethrone us. I hope that these results don't make the little grey and repressed men at the city council think that they have done enough - HARDLY ! Thankfully for Auckland, design, creativity and architecture is not one of the criteria that we were judged on. Now for the big news -

Auckland has moved up one spot from 5th in 2008 to 4th spot in 2009 for quality of living. Vienna topped the 2009 Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, but Australia fared well with Sydney placed 10th, Melbourne 18th, Perth 21st, Adelaide 30th and Brisbane 34th. Apart from Sydney, Auckland was the only other southern hemisphere city to make the top 10. The survey, compiled by global consultancy firm Mercer to help calculate remuneration packages for expatriate workers, ranked 215 cities against a range of political, social, economic, environmental, personal safety and public service criteria. "Both Australia and New Zealand (Wellington ranked 12th) boast some of the most liveable cities in the world," Mercer spokesman Rob Knox said yesterday. For further information please visit: MERCER INDEX