Post by Tony Burton

In the early 1990s I often visited friends in Fallowfield, Manchester. To get from the city centre to Fallowfield you passed under a dirty grey motorway viaduct under which there was a dirty grey concreted children's play area. If you wanted a stock picture of "urban dystopia", this would have been it. On the viaduct, proudly set into the structure, was a sign "First Prize, Concrete Awards, 1967".... The fallout about the cost of the Wellingon library rebuild has turned into an fascinating comms battle. (A great study on the practical challenges of policy accountability in NZ for researchers in an NZ policy department if they were, you know, interested in practical policy in NZ ...?) On the one side, a flock of releases about prizes, awards and commendations by representative organisations for the architects, engineers, etc who funded a second home or two from Wellington City council turning on a money tap and bathing in ratepayers' cash (See https://lnkd.in/eVhDSPfD). On the other side, the current Wellington City political representatives, aware they are going to have to explain to voters why rates are going up, making a public show they want. (See below) My guess is the "Wellington Regional Architecture Awards" for 2026 are going to age just as badly as concrete cousins of the 1960s... https://lnkd.in/eNCwgTfx