The Architectural Centre Designs a Future for the Gordon Wilson Flats and the McLean Flats
The Architectural Centre Inc., Wellington, has developed a design for the strengthening and refurbishment of Wellington’s Gordon Wilson Flats (1954-59), which Victoria University of Wellington has allowed to deteriorate while leaving it vacant and which it intends to demolish, just as soon as it is given consent to do so. The government’s Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Bill has been introduce to enable the demolition, by facilitating the building’s descheduling. The Architectural Centre’s design retains 80 percent of the building’s concrete structure and they calculate that it would save ca. 92 percent of the carbon compared with demolition and building anew. The retention and adaptation of existing buildings is essential in efforts to mitigate climate change, given the embodied energy contained in the existing materials combined with the carbon footprint of new replacement buildings. DOCOMOMO New Zealand commends the Architectural Centre on its initiative and joins with them in urging Victoria University to reconsider its plans.
