Friday 1 March 2013

Transitional Works Selected For Lyttelton’s Civic Square Site

Oversized armchairs; a listening post with recordings of the local environment and a double-sided seat with a built-in lamppost and herb garden are among the seven transitional works selected to enliven the Lyttelton civic square site as part of a Council-funded Transitional Project.

This is one of three Transitional Projects funded by the Council as part of the Suburban Centres Programme to help provide facilities, promote activity and enhance the look and feel of the most damaged suburban centres. The other two Transitional Projects are in the design phase and involve interactive artwork and quality street furniture that can be circulated between Sydenham, Linwood Village, Selwyn Street shops, Sumner, Ferry Road, Edgeware and New Brighton.

City Planning Unit Manager Brigitte de Ronde says all of the 14 proposals received from Lyttelton-based designers, artists and craftspeople for 44 London Street* site are creative, functional and striking.

“At $70,000, the Transitional Project budget is not large and it limits the number of works that could be selected. The ideas contained in the proposals that missed out on selection will not be lost, however. These will be included with the ideas gathered from the community at upcoming drop-in sessions to look at options for the permanent design of Lyttelton’s civic square.”

Mayor Bob Parker says Lyttelton residents and people visiting the civic square can also expect to see a visually represented poem about post-earthquake Lyttelton, a multifunctional Hundertwasser-style stall and lava flow steps connecting the upper and lower parts of the site.

“It is really exciting to see the civic square progressed, and the creative energies of the community harnessed to come up with some truly stunning ideas. The works will add a sense of fun and energy to what has become a special public gathering place for the Lyttelton community.”

The seven successful works will be installed on site by the end of May and will remain there until permanent construction of the square begins. Depending on community feedback, it’s possible some of them may be incorporated into the permanent design of the new civic square. If not, they will be relocated to other sites within Lyttelton.

To view a more detailed description of the seven selected works click here.

Lyttelton’s civic square drop-in sessions

The Lyttelton/Mount Herbert Community Board is keen to involve the community in developing design options for the permanent construction of the new civic square.

The first step is the drop-in sessions where the local community and people who visit the area are invited to confirm what features they want to see, and how they want to use the civic square.

The drop-in sessions are on:

• Saturday 2 March 10am–2pm
and
• Tuesday 5 March 4.30pm–7pm

at the former supermarket site, 17 London Street, Lyttelton.

Or you can forward your ideas to the Council until 18 March 2013 by:
• emailing them to LytteltonCivicSquare@ccc.govt.nz ; or
• commenting on the Council’s Have Your Say website www.ccc.govt.nz/haveyoursay ; or
• printing the form on this website, completing and posting it to Freepost 178, Christchurch City Council, PO Box 73011, Christchurch 8154 – attention Jennie Hamilton.

* In July 2012 Christchurch City Council purchased the site at 44 London Street Lyttelton, for the development of a civic square. This was identified as a priority by the local community in the Lyttelton Master Plan.

www.ccc.govt.nz/suburbancentres

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On Failures Of Care For Those With Mental Disabilities

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