Neighbourhood Air Project 2011-2013
Janine Randerson
Exhibited at Screen Space, Melbourne, 2012
and ISEA: Machine Wilderness, New Mexico, 2012.
Neighbourhood Air is an online artwork
that gathers live pollutant level data from city air. A disused traffic control
box in Symonds Street in Auckland is transformed into a air quality monitoring
station. The collaborative project includes urban meteorologists, programmers,
media artists and breathers of city air who provide a continuous feedback
mechanism. Fluctuating levels of air quality data drives the movement of the
abstract interface in real-time. The colour bars represent five weather and gas
measurements including (from top to bottom) relative humidity, temperature,
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Volatile Organic Compounds
(VOCs).
Collaborators:
Dr Jennifer Salmond, School of
Environment, University of Auckland, Dr Kim Dirks (school of Population Health,
Univeristy of Auckland), Jeff Nusz (programming), Chris Manford (programming),
Jason Johnston (audio composition)
See the online work itself:
http://www.neighbourhoodair.co.nz
The everyday collective: Rosebank Road
Paul Woodruffe
The questions
asked were; “How can a multi-disciplinary collaborative methodology be
successfully used for winning support for community initiatives in both
business and cultural enterprises” and
“How can visual
arts be successfully used for drawing business and cultural enterprises
together”. The first question was
answered firstly through identifying the key stakeholders within the community,
both individuals and groups, this was essential before any work could begin,
this activity took up a lot of time and energy attending meetings and
establishing communication frameworks through email and printed material. The
research team partners changed due to the findings from these contacts, William
Barbedes and Issac Flitta were no longer required as it was realized that only
a photographer and archivist was needed from the Design Department staff, so
Faye Norman a Unitec staff photographer was employed to document the
interactions with the local community and work with archive materials gifted to
us by the community of Avondale. Working with Ken Simpson from the Business
Department along with the Rosebank Business Association and four 3rd year
students of the BDVA produced the successful branding of Tepu the Unitec/RBA
joint venture. It involved solving a branding issue that had eluded other
designers, and proved successfully that a collaborative methodology across
disciplines and organizations can contribute to the creation of a business
initiative in an innovative way. The main achievement regarding cultural and
community initiatives was to be involved in the founding of “Avondale Community
Action” a group made up of residents, and NGO representatives with
representation also from Auckland Council with myself representing Unitec. This
group’s aim is to be successful in drawing business and cultural enterprises
together for the improvement of the
Avondale community, and I identified this organization as a way of continuing
my project into the future. My own project did not have the time or resourses
to achieve this on its own, and there were questions of ethics in working on
data collection outside a community mandated group. I have found in the A.C.A,
a partner with which I am able to achieve all of the projects aims but within a
timeframe set by the local community rather than the initial one set through
the project planning timetable. Through this partnership the project has
established a framework and vehicle to enable future involvement of students and
other staff members in research of this kind.
The overall
approach to the project has been one of two parallel avenues of research, one
of collecting extensive data on Rosebank Road in order to find common ground
between business, community and culture, and one of forming strong and lasting
relationships with key local stakeholders in order to make connections between
people and organizations. We had to in effect become “locals” and identify
Unitec as a community partner, and an educational resource for non students,
i.e local groups wanting expert advice. This relationship was cemented by the
Unitec Ethics Committee granting permission to the ACA to undertake a social
survey, and so enabling the findings to be used as hard data.
At the beginning
of the project, before the contacts with the community in Rosebank were
established, a European Union design competition on community engagement and
cultural initiative was entered, we were successful in winning the contract for
Vienna . This project successfully explored a methodology for
engaging local community in design for social improvement using a
multi-disciplinary collective of researchers and students. This project was
undertaken in September 2012 will result in published and presented findings in
March 2013. These findings relate directly to collaborative art and design
practices within communities that engage local people, students and practioners
in the process.
The Unstable
City
Allan McDonald,
Jeanette Budgett, Krystina Kaza
Post the
Canterbury earthquakes the economic viability of much of New Zealand’s
Victorian and Edwardian architecture is in doubt. This project attempts to
raise the public’s awareness of the issue and by creating an archive of images
that document this historic layer of our architectural heritage to discuss its
significance to our urban landscape. The scale of the problem, 4300 potential
earthquake buildings in Auckland alone, prohibits a comprehensive documentation
of all buildings at risk. Auckland Council’s reluctance to identify all
buildings for reasons of commercial sensitivity has been one reason for a shift
in the focus of the project. A selective
gaze celebrates an architectural historical layer that is under increased
threat. The project is far larger than initially anticipated.. The Canterbury
Earthquakes Royal Commission has estimated between 15000 - 25000 buildings
are earthquake prone nation wide
and has recommended a 15 year time frame
to strengthen or demolish these buildings. This is a reduction to the timeframe
that currently exists and if passed into law the implications for heritage
architecture are profound and troubling, most especially in New Zealand’s
smaller towns and cities with marginal economies. Widespread demolition is a
likely result if an enforced and unaffordable strengthening regime is proposed.
The results of this research ‘The Unstable City’ an e book , with photos by
Allan Macdonald, images by Krystina Kaza , and writing by Jeanette Budgett, was
recently published by Unitec ePress.
http://www.unitec.ac.nz/epress/index.php/httpwww-unitec-ac-nzepresswp-contentuploads201306unstable-city-final-pdf/
Unitec Online
Plant Database
Penny Cliffin
The project goal
to develop an online plant database to support the development of teaching and
learning for landscape architecture students has been achieved through
development and refinement of the existing Facilities Management database. The
project constitutes an important pilot scheme investigating effective
biodiversity monitoring technology. In developing teaching resources for the
Landscape Architecture programmes at Unitec, I have been researching the
usefulness of online plant databases. Traditionally there has been an issue for
both landscape students and professionals in the availability of comprehensive
and up-to-date plant selection data. Plant texts are expensive to produce, and
go out of date. Online plant information has revolutionised accessing plant
information for lay people as well as landscape professionals. Opportunities
for capturing valuable plant research exist in tertiary institutes. Each year
students research and compile plant selection information from a wide range of
sources as part of their course requirements. Every year this research data
leaves with the students, and is not captured or expanded in its use. On line
databases are an effective way of storing large amounts of plant selection data
in an easily retrievable and updatable format, which can be easily shared. By
developing a new interactive database this information can be captured,
gradually building a comprehensive database.
The project goal
to develop an online plant database to support the development of teaching and
learning for landscape architecture students.
To work with
computing to use the latest in data base technology to produce a flexible
continually updating plant data base.
Provide students
with an interactive resource that can be used for both the collection and
display of plant data.
Develop the
previous research on assembling a database for the UNITEC arboretum.
The project goal
to develop an online plant database to support the development of teaching and
learning for landscape architecture students has been achieved through
development and refinement of the existing Facilities Management database.
The secondary
objective of working with computing students to develop an interative
application for smartphones did not eventuate, as the project was not selected
by any senior students. I therefore continued working with Daisy Tang a landscape
architecture student and John Correll from Marketing to link the database to a
publicly accessible website – www.unitec.ac.nz/trees and now provides students, staff and the
public with an interactive resource that can be used for both the collection
and display of plant data.
This project
constitutes an important pilot scheme investigating effective biodiversity
monitoring technology. The next stage intended is for this Unitec pilot to be
presented to Auckland Council as a model for wider tree data collection for the
greater Auckland area.
Organisational capability enhancement in Maori Business
Ngaire Molyneux
Maori business
is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with in contemporary New Zealand society. Increasing incidence of Treaty of Waitangi
settlement has meant that iwi are often more secure in their land tenure, more
confident in the discharge of their fiscal responsibilities, and much more
positively positioned to offer support and guidance to fledgling businesses
with the potential to build both individual and collective wealth both
economically and socially.
Evidence
suggests that Maori are among the most entrepreneurial ethnicities in the world
the antithesis to this is that Maori businesses are among the highest failure
rates, however Maori business that succeed, do exceedingly well. More recent research in identifying reasons
for failure rates can be attributed to simplistic fundamentals of business
management complicated through cultural dynamics and political forces. Current in depth research is needed in this
area through a well developed programme initially aimed at a selected group of
Maori business. The world is changing
positively for the Maori economy and opportunities are evident the challenge is
to be poised to maximise on these.
Discussions with Maori entrepreneurs, business owners and Maori
organisations have reinforced this idea and highlighted the need to work in a
truly collaborative manner in order to ensure real results.
There are still
many questions and to an extent recommendations on moving forward to enhance
Maori business and in many cases Maori are doing just that. There is immense opportunity based on the
findings from the research carried out in this project to develop an innovative
and cutting edge platform for some truly outstanding collaboration among Maori
entrepreneurs and business professionals based on traditional Maori Kaupapa and
contemporary thought processes from a gathering of mindsets and knowledge.
Maori have
always been a strategic ethnicity outlined through whakatauaki, values and
concepts, could Maori be instrumental in the development of a business model
that will enhance business in general?
To identify the
key reasons for Maori business success, and to codify those reasons as a panel
of critical success factors for Maori business.
To identify
commonly perceived opportunities that are particularly applicable to Maori
owned and operated businesses, and to incorporate those opportunities into a
formally presented environmental analysis.
To identify
commonly experienced challenges that are
particularly relevant for Maori owned and operated businesses, and to
incorporate those challenges into a formally presented environmental analysis.
To identify
stakeholder perceptions of an appropriate role for ITPs in nurturing and
developing generic management skills in small to medium Maori businesses, and
to incorporate those perceptions into a recommended model of ITP partnership
with Maori business.
To identify
stakeholder perceptions of an appropriate role for ITPs in the delivery of
specific capability enhancement services to Maori businesses, and to
incorporate those perceptions into a recommended model of ITP partnership with
Maori business.
To gather
together all of the data acquired through pursuit of the objectives listed
above, and to synthesise these data into a cohesive guide to the design and
implementation of network partnerships between ITPs and Maori owned and
operated businesses. The project helped to articulate and clearly identify the
determinants of Maori business success and the determinants of successful
business in general. The factors that
are unique to Maori business and the factors that are similar if not identical
to business in general. There are
lessons to be learned from both sets of determinants but clearly a combination
of best practice from both sets of determinants would be the most effective and
productive way forward.
Clarity has been
established around areas of focus for Maori economic development in terms of
strengthening capability, increasing collaboration, generating sustainable
growth and optimizing on the comparative advantage. A prototype business model has been established
from which to build and develop based on the findings in the research aligned
to Maori business, non Maori business, Maori economic development and
education. The foundation identified for
the business model is centered in leadership, strategic relationships and
development. This is not new and has in
fact been a key determinant success factor for both Maori and general business.
Resilient
Sprawl
Dushko
Bogunovitch and Matthew Bradbury
Our
research outlines a possible alternative growth strategy for Auckland to the
official ‘compact city’ vision. This proposition recognizes that the link
between density and sustainability is much weaker than commonly understood, and
that the topology and technology of urban infrastructure is bound to profoundly
change over the next couple of decades. We argue that the next million
inhabitants of Auckland should be allocated, roughly evenly, to four main zones
of the city-region – urban, suburban, peri-urban and ex-urban.
This
proposition stems from the recognition that, in the face of climate change and expected
resources shortages in the not too distant future, Auckland has neither time
nor money to rapidly or radically transform its predominantly suburban urban
form. In addition, a high-density city model carries significant risk for a
city founded on a very precarious natural site. We need an urban technological
revolution. It will consist of a profound change in the design of urban
technical systems. They will have to be clean, green, small, smart and
decentralised. Think of the new city as a giant farm - a sprawling artificial
landscape that harvests clean energy, food, rainwater and treats and recycles
its waste locally.
We
believe that for Auckland to retain its status as one of the most liveable
cities in the world, it has to exploit precisely its low density, because that
factor makes its famous lifestyle possible.
Rather
than trying to become a sustainable, compact city, New Zealand's largest
metropolis should strive to become a super-liveable, resilient urban region. A
low-density city that settles around its extraordinary landscape. We see that
the implication of this idea has relevance to not only Auckland but too many
other so-called sprawl cities around the world.
In
the process of developing a new plan and strategy for growth based off landscape
methodology, NZ could discover gold; its industries would be embarking on a
form of green knowledge economy that is certain to be the greatest growth
stimulus in the 21st century and a big exports booster. As the student projects
demonstrate there are many ways this method can be applied while protecting New
Zealand’s natural heritage. Continuing to grow Auckland based on a centric,
compact layout, supported by traditional, expensive and vulnerable
infrastructure, while fencing it off from one of the best residential
landscapes in the world - would be an environmental, cultural and economic
tragedy.
The
research work is to be published as an e book by Unitec Press.
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