“This building in High Street, Auckland, is a real outsider for me. It was designed by Peter Beaven in 1965 and it forms the Canterbury Arcade along with a couple of older buildings that run through to Queen Street. For me it’s a great representation of the hotchpotch character of Auckland’s inner city, the often haphazard way that buildings have been inserted and built around over the past century or so. I like the way this development has generously embraced its neighbours, creating new connections between them as well as the arcade beneath. I also like this building’s shape – the slimness and elegance of it. When I first saw it I thought it looked like something from a classic ‘60s illustration. The other evocative aspect for me is that it reminds me of a distinguished sort of gentleman – someone from the ‘60s who still dresses in a certain way. It’s a building that is timeless and yet admirably of its time.”
