Chris Barton

Directional dimensions

Projects | Chris Barton discusses the whys and wherefores of Warren and Mahoney’s design decisions for Auckland’s Commercial Bay office tower and retail precinct.

Gymnastics of the cross

Projects | Chris Barton explores the religious expression embodied in the design of The Chapel of St Peter by Stevens Lawson Architects.

Editorial: Chris Barton on post-COVID environmentalism

Practice | The Architecture NZ editor weighs in on experts’ claims that sustainable buildings will become mainstream in a post-COVID era.

Editorial: Chris Barton on COVID-era architecture

Practice | The effects of healthy obsessions on architecture can be profound. The challenge for architects now will be creating something that also deals with fear: something inspirational and uplifting.

Of lollies and eloquent eyebrows

Projects | B405, the Jasmax-designed UoA Faculty of Engineering mothership, is a building of two halves. Chris Barton comes to terms with it: inside and out.

Editorial: Chris Barton on monuments

Practice | “If architecture is to play a part in this transformation [of problematic public monuments], it’s also necessary to build anew, rather than just demolish.”

Garden party: Metlifecare Gulf Rise

Projects | Due to COVID-19, no site visits were allowed at this innovative retirement living facility at the time of writing. But Chris Barton perseveres and is captivated by the space.

Editorial: Chris Barton on the way forward

Practice | “Of the many insights COVID-19 brings, the realisation that our economy is built as a house of cards is one of the more sobering.”

Happy Days domain

Projects | Chris Barton explores DKO Architecture’s mix of terraced and apartment living at a former quarry site in Auckland’s Mount Wellington.

Transforming timber

Projects | We look at an innovative New Zealand-made timber pavilion, slated to appear at the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale in Italy.