The Critics for the August workshop

Nina Patel

Nina Patel is a director of Te Wiata Studio- an art, architecture and urban design studio based in Avondale, Auckland. Te Wiata Studio's urban design projects focus on improving local suburban environments and have a special interest in addressing the unique characteristics and identity of Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland. Nina has recently completed a Masters Degree in Urban Design at the University of Auckland.

Will Thresher

Will Thresher is Director of Thresher and Associates. Will has 25 years experience in the design and construction of urban design and landscape projects. He has worked on a wide range of multidisciplinary projects for a variety of local authority, institutional and developer clients in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Will holds a post-graduate diploma in Urban Design, with distinction, from Oxford Brookes University in the UK. He also holds a post-graduate diploma in Landscape Architecture and a degree, with honours, in Landscape Design from Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK.

Brady Nixon

Brady Nixon is property development manger for Progressive Enterprises. Recent projects include the regeneration of the infamous Soho hole in Ponsonby.  Brady developed an innovative master plan that represents a radical departure from former development proposals for the site. The supermarket, specialty retail and office building occupy only half of the site with the balance sold as small lots reflecting Ponsonby existing urban environment.

Fleur Palmer

Fleur Palmer is a senior lecturer of Spatial Design at Auckland University of Technology. She worked as an architect in London and New Zealand and taught at Auckland University School of Architecture before teaching at Auckland University of Technology for the Bachelor of Design - Spatial. Fleur’s current research is involved with spatial justice and the development of affordable housing for a Maori community living in the Far North.  Fleur completed an M. Phil in 2010 through the School of Engineering at AUT, considered how emergent technologies could be applied to developing more sustainable building practices, with a particular emphasis on the development of minimal surface structures. Fleur is of Te Rarawa Te Aupouri and European descent.

Neil Martin

Neil Martin is a practising Architect and Urban Designer. He graduated from the Auckland School of Architecture in 1984 with honours and went on to complete a Master of Science in Architecture and Urban Design, from the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University. Neil worked internationally for 12 years prior to returning to New Zealand in 1998. In Auckland his work has focussed on a range of major civic, community and commercial projects including a central role in completing buildings such as the Auckland Art Gallery-Toi o Tamaki  and the Auckland University Business School (both with FJMT of Sydney). Neil retains an interest in teaching having tutored at Unitec and led studio projects at the Auckland School of Architecture. Neil was the Design Director at Archimedia for 10 years, sat on the Auckland City  Urban Design Panel between 2006 and 2011 and is now an Associate Principal at Jasmax.

Charles Walker

Charles Walker is Acting Dean of the Faculty of Design & Creative Technologies at AUT. He has a BArch from Edinburgh College of Art and an MSc in Urban Development from the Faculty of Business, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow. His PhD from the University of Auckland explored applied ethics in the accreditation of architectural  education. He is a founding Director of colab, a trans-disciplinary network for research and entrepreneurial practice across interactive art, design, computing, mathematics, serious games and philosophy. He is also Associate Director of the Centre for the Study of Creativity in the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences at AUT. Current research includes technology, intelligence & the imagination, and speculative urban futures.

Gary Marshall

Gary has been a landscape architect for 7 years.  Gary has a Bachelor of 3-Dimensional Design (UNITEC, New Zealand), Masters Landscape Architecture, (Lincoln, New Zealand); Advanced Permaculture Design training (Golden Bay, New Zealand and Victoria, Australia).  He is a Senior Associate at Jasmax and is Design Manager of their landscape team.  He has spent most of his career as a project landscape architect focussing on concept development and master planning for a wide range of private and public sector clients.  He has worked in wide range of complex multi-disciplinary team’s projects with particular expertise in integrating green infrastructure and low impact design into his landscape schemes. In addition to his role at Jasmax, Gary has co-founded Auckland Permaculture Workshop - a collaborative design, research and education initiative set up to explore and create innovative solutions for the Auckland bioregion in the realms of ecological design, appropriate technology and social innovation.  For more information see - www.apw.org.nz

Diane Menzies

Dr Diane Menzies is the Director of Undergraduate Programmes School of Architecture Victoria University. She was president of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architecture, and President of the International Federation of Landscape Architects for two terms. Diane has a PhD in Resource Studies, an MBA, a Masters in Management (Dispute Resolution) and the post grad Lincoln Landscape Architecture diploma.  She was a commissioner with the Environment Court for 11 years and her outstanding career was recognised with the New Zealand Order of Merit.

Juan Molina

Juan Molina is a senior architect and urban designer at CPRW Fisher. Juan is a graduate of the Escola Tècnica Superior d'Arquitectura de Barcelona and a Spanish Registered Architect,  member of the Collegi Oficial d’Arquitectes de Catalunya.  Juan was taught by luminaries, Enric Miralles and Ignasi de Solà-Morales and worked with Viaplana and Pinon on the early days of the ‘Plazas duras’ in Barcelona. He has over 20 years of experience as a practicing architect in New Zealand and Spain, projects include the master planning of Britomart with Cheshire Architects.  His latest urban intervention was the instigation of the Candy Chang ‘Before I die...’ wall in St Patricks Square.  

The Master

Dr Simon Nash shows us how to write.

Writing Workshop 9th of August 1.00-4.30

How do you tell everyone in Auckland about your amazing research?? Architecture NZ, Landscape NZ, The Herald, X section, these are all places in which you can disseminate your research work to a wider audience, but how do you do that? What is the editor of Architecture NZ or the Herald looking for in an article? how long should it be? do you need an image?? Come along to the writing workshop tomorrow afternoon and find out the tricks of the trade from Michael Barrett, editor of Landscape New Zealand. You will also want to prove your academic prowess by presenting at conferences and writing for journals. How do you write an abstract? a conference paper,? a journal article?  what are the conventions that you must follow? Dr Simon Nash from Te Puna Ako will unravel the mysteries of academic publishing , so please join us tomorrow from 1.00 – 4 30 in the masters studio.