Lecture series focusing on housing in Auckland

World-renowned architects, planners, artists and designers will feature in the up-coming Communiqu lecture series at the University of Auckland.

Hosted by the School of Architecture and Planning and supported by Transforming Cities, this years theme is 'A place to live with many speakers focusing on housing in Auckland, a topic of increasing concern to many people.

Communiqu lectures target issues relevant to architecture and planning, but intentionally seek to present an expansive view of these subjects. The aim is to foster critical discussion and debate. Among this years outstanding speakers are award-winning international architects Brigitte Shim, Esa Laaksonen, David Howell and Alejandro Haiek Coll.

- Brigitte Shim, and her partner Howard Sutcliffe of Shim-Sutcliffe Architects in Toronto, are recipients of a 2014 University of Auckland Distinguished Visitors Award. In their work Shim-Sutcliffe seek to intertwine light, water and landscape in exploratory and innovative ways while reflecting a shared interest and passion for the integration and interrelated scales of architecture, landscape and furniture. In her lecture Shim will link early work and recent work and the shifting scales within each project. Shim-Sutcliffe are the recipients of twelve Royal Architectural Institute of Canada Governor Generals Medals and Awards for Architecture and last year they were both awarded the Order of Canada.

- Helsinki architect Esa Laaksonen will focus on archetypal architect and particularly Alvar Aaltos French masterpiece Maison Carr. The house, completed in 1959 for the wealthy art dealer Louis Carr, is considered a work of art with Finnish design and craftsmanship. The interiors were constructed to accommodate Carrs extensive collection of Modern art and remain exceptional within the Aalto oeuvre.

- New Zealand-born, New York-based David Howell has a 25-year background as an architect and designer. He established his first solo architecture practice in Auckland in 1990 before relocating to New York and founding DHD Architecture & Design. His work is distinguished by the pairing of distinct philosophies from two hemispheres, where the towering history of New York and Americas architectural traditions merge with the indoor-outdoor living, modern idioms, and relaxed environmental design common to New Zealand. He has produced a wide range of award-winning buildings in the United States and beyond, including commercial, residential, retail, and hospitality projects. He will be presenting a selection of his recent works.

- Alejandro Haiek Colls projects in South America, focused on abandoned urban sites as spaces for regeneration, have a strong social component. Recently awarded the International Award for Public Art for the Tiuna el Fuerte Cultural Park project in Caracas, Venezuela, Haeik Coll uses art, applied sciences and local intelligence to explore the role of public art and architecture in place-making. His lecture Public machinery will focus on the aspects of his practice that generate architecture as an outcome of engagement within local communities. He describes his practice as one of slow architecture because of its process of engagement.

- Geographer Ngarimu Blair has 15 years experience in advancing a range of iwi issues in Auckland. His lecture From Maungakiekie Pa to Kupe Street discusses Ngati Whatua Orakeis plans to assist its people into home ownership. Overcoming significant socio-economic, planning and financing barriers they hope to create a modern pa at Orakei, one of Aucklands most affluent suburbs. Blair is a Treaty settlement negotiator for Ngati Whatua. He is heavily involved in Ngati Whatuas innovative tribal housing projects. He is also a trustee on the Ngati Whatua Orakei Trust, a Director on Waterfront Auckland, Ngati Whatua Orakei Whai Rawa Ltd and Nga Tira Ltd.

- Ann Dupuis and Penny Lysnars lecture Housing choice: The human dimension looks at housing choices and constraints. The notion of greater housing choice is firmly embedded in urban intensification planning and policies. In Auckland it is claimed that apartment buildings and terrace houses offer greater housing choice. However, what is often overlooked in this rendition of housing choice are the people who are making choices to live in intensive environments and the extent to which their choices are exercised within sets of constraints. Dupuis and Lysnar will discuss the human dimension of choice making, and explore the constraints and trade-offs that lie behind housing decisions. Ann Dupuis is Associate Professor of Sociology at the School of People, Environment and Planning, and Regional Director at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, at Massey University. Dr Penny Lysnar is Business Liaison and Research Development Manager in the Transforming Cities team at the University of Auckland.

- Scott Figenshows lecture Achieving 20 percent by 2020: How is it going to happen? explores the reform of social and affordable housing in New Zealand. The Government has set the goal for 20 percent of the countrys social and affordable housing to be delivered by community housing organisations by 2020. This is a great goal but how are we going to get there? What are the policy levers we need to pull? Where will the finance come from? How will social and community housing achieve the kind of long-term stability that currently exists in the health, education, and superannuation systems? Figenshow will address these questions and offer some possible answers. Scott Figenshow is Director of Community Housing Aotearoa and has extensive experience in the field of community housing across non-profit, government and the private sector.

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Lecture series focusing on housing in Auckland