Main designer: Ian Athfield (Figure 3)
Wellington Civic Square was designed in based on a brief of a new development of civic centre. It involved three Wellington architectural firms to work on a concept plan. Ian Athfield was the dominant force during the development stage. He later on became directly involved in the Civic Square design (Niven 32-33).
Sir Ian Athfield was an architect born in Christchurch, 15th July 1940 and passed away on 16th January 2015 at the age of 75. When Athfield was a young man he became very interested in the strong local brutalism architecture of Miles Warren, Maurice Mahoney, Peter Bearen and others. During his study in Auckland University, European architects hugely influenced him, such as the famous Modernism …show more content…
It was built and constructed for its public use to showcase the civic development of Wellington. Also, it holds some of the most remarkable events on a local, national and international scale. The features of some of the most unique works of art in the Square were designed due to the bicultural nature of New Zealand in partnership with many different sculptors and artists.
Civic Square represents the “heart” of Wellington City due to the surrounding civic building’s development. Since the council reclaimed the land of the site in mid 1880’s, it has gradually built sequences of significant public buildings. For example, in 1904 the Town Hall was established, then in 1940 Wellington Library was created and the Council Administrative Building was built in 1951 (Wellington City District Plan). Before Civic Square, these buildings were in three different blocks of land bounded or intersected by Mercer Street, Wakefield Street and Jervois Quay. Once Civic Square was introduced, these buildings all linked together and the Square itself turned into an enclosed civic space. At the current state, it is a very attractive area for gatherings, lunchtime breaks and events used intensively. Local Wellingtonians and visitors use it extensively (Gatley
Wellington Civic Square was designed in based on a brief of a new development of civic centre. It involved three Wellington architectural firms to work on a concept plan. Ian Athfield was the dominant force during the development stage. He later on became directly involved in the Civic Square design (Niven 32-33).
Sir Ian Athfield was an architect born in Christchurch, 15th July 1940 and passed away on 16th January 2015 at the age of 75. When Athfield was a young man he became very interested in the strong local brutalism architecture of Miles Warren, Maurice Mahoney, Peter Bearen and others. During his study in Auckland University, European architects hugely influenced him, such as the famous Modernism …show more content…
It was built and constructed for its public use to showcase the civic development of Wellington. Also, it holds some of the most remarkable events on a local, national and international scale. The features of some of the most unique works of art in the Square were designed due to the bicultural nature of New Zealand in partnership with many different sculptors and artists.
Civic Square represents the “heart” of Wellington City due to the surrounding civic building’s development. Since the council reclaimed the land of the site in mid 1880’s, it has gradually built sequences of significant public buildings. For example, in 1904 the Town Hall was established, then in 1940 Wellington Library was created and the Council Administrative Building was built in 1951 (Wellington City District Plan). Before Civic Square, these buildings were in three different blocks of land bounded or intersected by Mercer Street, Wakefield Street and Jervois Quay. Once Civic Square was introduced, these buildings all linked together and the Square itself turned into an enclosed civic space. At the current state, it is a very attractive area for gatherings, lunchtime breaks and events used intensively. Local Wellingtonians and visitors use it extensively (Gatley