© deZignsite 2021 : deZignsite® is the registered trademark of deZignsite NZ Limited : All Rights Reserved : Privacy Policy : Above – Collett’s Corner Design Competition Submission, Lyttelton, New Zealand, 2018: Contact
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Privacy Officer,
The ‘site’
Christchurch
If you’re not satisfied with our response to any privacy-related concern you may have, you can contact the Privacy Commissioner. Contact details for the Office of the Privacy Commissioner :
https://www.privacy.org.nz/about-us/contact/
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
New Brighton as Campus
Christchurch, New Zealand – 1st December 2020 : Transforming New Brighton “from a neglected and tired suburb to a vibrant student campus with a national and international focus” has been proposed by built environment consultant Nigel Young of AEDIS Ltd, ahead of the Renew Brighton’s public meeting planned for the 2nd of December.
Being held at the New Brighton Club at 6:30pm, the meeting centres around the $2 million from the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust ‘tagged for projects that will improve social and/or economic outcomes for our community.’ Art and design, diving and surfing, construction and restoration, and land remediation and reuse, have been proposed as the core of a new student campus to be centred around the the former Central New Brighton School. Extending to other existing facilities such as the Roy Stokes Hall, the library and pier – and potentially the St Faith’s church – would result in New Brighton becoming a destination based on a semester rather than a day. “The social and commercial outcomes would be a vibrant student centre, the need for student accommodation and the revitalisation of many of the existing and untenanted buildings,” suggests Young.
The proposal is a further opportunity for the adjacent Red Zone – some of which still has water reticulation – as part of the Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor. The St Faith’s Anglican church – which is constructed from stone – could be restored, using it as an opportunity to teach the old skills of stonemasonry under the supervision of the University of Canterbury’s College of Engineering. The former fire station could also be upgraded and considered as a gallery or studio. “All such work in this area, should be considered as training-based in one form or another,” says Young.
“The important point is the shift from a day-based destination to a longer-term one, in this case the academic year.” The influx of teaching professionals, alongside the recognition from association with high-profile tertiary education providers, and the tourism potential in the case of international surfing events, all contribute to the urgent need for a business case to examine this as a valid and viable community outcome. “This is a long-term solution, one that complements the recent upgrades and development with existing facilities. Liabilities become opportunities, and the once vibrant suburb of New Brighton need no longer be a burden to the rate payer,” concludes Young.
ENDS
(400 words)
For more information contact :
Nigel Young
Director
AEDIS LTD
+64 29 777 2137
nigel@aedis.co.nz
www.aedis.co.nz
About AEDIS LTD
www.aedis.co.nz is the website of 4WALLS Ltd, a Christchurch-based design company intent on addressing the problem of affordable housing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its goal is to do so through reducing the capital and ongoing costs of the home, while improving both the quality of the build and the quality of life.
AEDIS : Challenging the Built Environment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3 – 2 – 1 – Blast-off – for Tiwai?
Christchurch, New Zealand – 21st September 2020 – An electric rocket facility based at Tiwai Point, has been put forward as an alternative use for the massive Southland facility, by built environment consultant Nigel Young, of AEDIS Ltd.
Massive capacitors capable of supplying an instant electrical pulse “much like the flash on your camera,” said Young, would be fired at the Moon before a purpose-built rocket would launch, riding the resulting electrical ‘lift’ like a vertical maglev train. “Such a rocket could be used many times, its payload only being limited to the current of the electrical beam.” The capacitors themselves would be fed from equally massive batteries which receive their power directly from Manapōuri Power Station.
“There are a number of ways in which this could be achieved,” said Young, suggesting the electrical beams would lift the rocket beyond the earth’s gravitational pull, from where onboard propulsion would take over to direct its flight path. This would only require the facility to control and direct the rocket into its orbit, using considerably less power and increasing the launch opportunities. “The economics of this approach are very attractive,” he said.
Alternatively, using the beam for the entire process from launch to relaunch via an identical facility on the Moon, would be “economically, the long-term goal,” said Young, with it ‘receiving’ the rocket, drawing it in and turning it around before sending it back to the Tiwai Point facility in the same manner in which it was launched. The Moon facility would ‘receive’ the power beam into huge batteries that would in turn charge identical capacitors, enabling the process to operate in reverse. The upshot of this is that as the capacity of the Moon’s batteries increase, they become sufficiently charged to perform the same thing, returning the rocket to the Tiwai Point launch port. The two electrical beams could meet along the way, thereby both conserving and recycling, while making up for any ‘drop-off’ in intensity as the beam gets closer to the other end. “Think of it as a vertical maglev train, a technology that has been well proven,” he said.
Maglev technology – linear propulsion which uses the principle of opposing magnets to propel a vehicle in a frictionless manner – is not new. German inventor Alfred Zehden was awarded a patent for it as far back as 1905. It’s ‘wheel-less’ nature makes it quiet and vibrationless, reducing both capital outlay and ongoing maintenance costs. The minimal requirements for onboard fuel to power the directional rockets once in orbit, is the only fuel required. “This is as green as rocket technology gets,” Young said, describing it as “the ultimate way to offset our carbon footprint and reduce our green tax liabilities.” Green rockets, economic, recyclable and the ability to reuse an existing facility. The machine shops and the top-grade aluminium from its pot-lines make the whole operation self-sufficient, while retaining the expertise of the skill base that already exists in Invercargill. “New Zealand punching above its weight yet again,” concludes Young.
ENDS
(511 words)
For more information contact :
Nigel Young
Director
AEDIS LTD
+64 29 777 2137
nigel@aedis.co.nz
www.aedis.co.nz
About AEDIS LTD
www.aedis.co.nz is the website of 4WALLS Ltd, a Christchurch-based design company intent on addressing the problem of affordable housing in Aotearoa New Zealand. Its goal is to do so through reducing the capital and ongoing costs of the home, while improving both the quality of the build and the quality of life.
AEDIS : Challenging the Built Environment
Writing :
12 – 18 month plan determined each month in consultation with the client, insuring a consistent and cohesive output for the search engines. This is how the profile and presence is developed and maintained. SEO optimisation is included. Typical word count and prices :
Essays : 2,000 – 3,500 words :
$750 – 1,500.00
Press releases : up to 500 words
$250.00
Research : $80.00 / hour
Photographs : $150.00 ea
(All prices in $NZ and exclude GST or local taxes.)
Modeling :
AutoCAD : $80.00 / hour
SketchUp : $80.00 / hour
Hand drawn : $80.00 / hour
Technical Manuals :
Newsletters :
The importance of well written and regularly posted blogs, relevant articles and informative essays, cannot be underestimated. While existing clients know how to get hold of you, it’s your new ones that need to be established.
If we divide the source of your clients into short term, medium tern and longterm, then it probably looks something like this :
• Short Term – existing and word of mouth
• Medium Term – Short term plus reputation
• Long Term – reputation plus marketing
Reputation is critical, and that’s your responsibility. But marketing isn’t as straightforward as it once was. Covid-19 now means a lot more people working from home, with an increasing reliance on ‘online’ – which is where the majority of your new clients will come from. An online future requires an online presence, one that is up to date, relevant and interesting – all which require time and take you away from billing time – your income.
Your online presence is where you get not only to say what you think, but to be heard. Whose profession doesn’t have issues that can’t be resolved due to the lack of :
• communication
• accountability
• stubbornness
How often does this affect your public profile and ability to generate new commissions, and where do you find someone to help you make a difference?
AEDIS can change that :
• Blogs
• Articles
• Reports
• Newsletters
• Photographs
• 3D illustrations
• Technical manuals
• Profile and presence
Your practice is an experienced and competent expert in its field, which means you recognise the cost advantages of contracting out in order to charge your own higher rate – get in the experts who don’t charge as much as we do – it’s basic commercial commonsense.
L eonardo da Vinci once said : “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” – clearly he didn’t live in the 21st century! Yet a simple life has become increasingly the goal of many of us. We’re downsizing, consolidating and amalgamating, with an emphasis on intentional living – towards the post-pandemic ‘new normal’ – where we used to be, socially and communally.
deZignsite is part of that ‘new normal’ – perhaps even pioneers – we certainly have the spirit of pioneering.
So what will it look like for? And more importantly, how can deZignsite help you achieve you fulfil your design legacy?
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The concept design is for Collett’s Corner, a prominent site in downtown Lyttelton, New Zealand. The building will house hot bathing pools, co-working space, restaurant, shop, quirky hotel, cinema and event space and bar.1
Entitled ‘Challenge : Everything,’ the 4WALLS submission challenged: “The ever-changing and dynamic nature of the local community is at the core of this proposal. The proposed submission centres around a free-standing scaffold like structure, with no intrinsic cladding, roof or floors. The intention is to provide a simple serviced framework that can be easily altered according to the requirements of the time, one that reflects the crane and container nature of Lyttelton as a port town. Permanent gantries could be included in order to make the change easier.”
The concept design is for Prefab NZ’s Design Competition : ‘SNUG : A Home in My Backyard.’1 Entered as submission U6J9-SNUG, the 4WALLS submission stated “This is a fundamentally new approach … Nothing needs to be rewritten as such, yet everything changes.”
Our entry centred around the concept of the Vierendeel Truss, in which members are not triangulated but form rectangular openings. Named after Belgian engineer Arthur Vierendeel, who developed the concept in 1896.
Under the headings innovation, practicality and functionality, the submission proposed the use of the commercial curtain-walling technique, adapted for use in a residential environment. This would allow for future alteration through the swapping of panels and glazing as required.
This is where we started, our intent being to get the price down and the quality up. Working with Health Based Building1 to ensure both a moisture-free and toxin-free living environment, we started from the ground up, concentrating on :
Focused around pre-fabrication, our core concepts are :
This came out of our efforts with affordable housing, to be developed as a stand-alone project. Working with EPL and Metro Performance Glass, our goals were to :
The final point is based around the fact that glass weights 2.55 kg / mm / m2. To put that in terms we can understand, a square metre of 4 mm thick glass weighs 10.2 kg. A typical glass sliding door of 2 x 2.4 metres therefore weighs around 50 kg’s – and that’s relatively small by todays standards.
This came out of our efforts with affordable housing, to be developed as a stand-alone project. Working with EPL and Metro Performance Glass, our goals were to :
The final point is based around the fact that glass weights 2.55 kg / mm / m2. To put that in terms we can understand, a square metre of 4 mm thick glass weighs 10.2 kg. A typical glass sliding door of 2 x 2.4 metres therefore weighs around 50 kg’s – and that’s relatively small by todays standards.
A response to the lack of appropriate door handles for those with disabilities, also came out of our efforts in affordable housing. In consultation with Lifemark™1 with whom we had been designing our layouts, we reassessed the requirements and started again. We rearranged the mechanism, increased the dimensions and simplified the movement required. This one is a work in progress however, so we don’t have any pictures to show you – yet.
This came across our path, and we rather liked it – minimalism at its best. But like the door handles, a work in progress …
This is a variation on our affordable housing principles, one that was in the process before the implications of the pandemic. We’ve written a series of blogs around this issue : INSPIRE
O ur history has been brief but by no means unproductive. Our research into prefabricated affordable housing led us to enter both the Collett’s Corner design competition in Lyttelton and the PreFabNZ SNUG Corner competition in Auckland in 2018.
CHALLENGE : EVERYTHING – our mantra – led us to not only relook at the fundamental structure of a house, it carried over into windows, handles for cavity sliding doors, glass balustrades and even home office’s and their layouts.
deZignsite is based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and currently works with:
deZignsite is a member of :
C HALLENGING
THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
At deZignsite we use principles of common sense and dignity to resolve your design challenge – intelligent design.
Accessibility and personal significance are two of our design drivers, in an environment where according to Lord Richard Rogers :
“Form follows profit has become the aesthetic principle of our time.”
T IMELESS DESIGN
ALIGNING IDEAS WITH REALITY
If you have vision and motivation,deZignsite has perspective and structure. Our old-fashioned values of duty and stewardship – we’re spending your money, after all – lie at the heart of our processes. Your design legacy is our challenge – we take it personally.
Nigel started what ultimately became deZignsite in 2018, the result of many years of osmosis. A mantra of ‘CHALLENGE : EVERYTHING’ initially focused on affordable housing, ultimately morphed into anything to do with the built environment.
An architectural technician, academic and artist, Nigel photographs, draws, writes, creates, and generally overthinks everything.
Nigel has been a contributor to a number of magazines over the years, and is currently writing for The Shed. Some of his fine art photography is in the Chambers Gallery collection in Christchurch.