Theorist

Mesnard, Michelet and the blueness of the Bay of Island
- Sarah Treadwell


This paper explores the contact of the blue waters of the pacific. Deep analysis of one particular drawing is talked about to discover the meanings of the foreshore, boats and architecture. "Watercolor that takes the liquid effects of the sea as a central concern." Much has been written about the "Fluid space of new architectural media and references of floating architecture." Architecture is the focal point of the paper that considers water through submersion and buoyancy rather than flotation. Vessels and architecture.


Two drawings are talked about in this work. A nineteenth watercolor piece of work by Theodore Mesnald and his companion with media was used is a lithography printing process by Bichebois Blanchard. These two works fight each other through media, perspectives, vanishing points, geography, lines and missing elements. Nineteenth century images struggle with this.


Architecture occupies space by floating, buoyancy and resistance. Architecture and vessels. Water can also be seen just as a surface until disrupted. 







VOLCANIC MATTER: The Architecture of Whakaari/ White Island


Dr Sarah Tredwell, PHD (AUCK)

Associate Professor

School Of Architecture

Sarah Tredwell explores the architectural history of White Island, through her reseach which is portrayed through images from the nineteenth century and past films. Sarah investigates the material history of the Island, though the shaping and layering of volcanic activity that has shaped the land, which resulted settlements not lasting. Traces of architecture that accomadated the mining men still remain on the island. The first settlement of accomadation was destroyed which was suituated in the crater.  Also becasure of seismic and thermal activity buildings were plunged into the crater, then resulting out at sea from the mud flow. Ten men were killed. A second factory was built out of ferroconcrete. From the extreme circumstances of the accomdation situated on the island they built new huts outside the crater. "The history of building on Whakaari/White Island is of temporary structures." Also the materials use to create architecture on the island cannot withstand the atmosphere on the island, it either gets corroded or corrupts. The land has been recorded as occupiable. Volcanic architecture is very risky and threatening.

The State of a changing art.

Sarah Treadwell questions about the vast technology that is growing at a rapid rate within architecture and what will become of sketch?

Public and academics are experiencing the new age of architecture as it is changing from hand drawn sketching techniques to computer generated.  But are the students and academics producing stronger architecture or just the same? 

Idealism has led architects to re-think the value of drawing and the richness that percieves from the work.


Virtual three dimensional model generated through computer programes can control the complex geometries and delicate modeling that physical work wouldnt be as precise.


Students and architects should move between hand-drawn sketching and complex computer programe to create the right information for the client.

Architecture Between the Colonial and the Indigenous

Sarah Treadwell investigates the architecural drawings and written jornals on the architecture in the period from first European contact with New Zealand . Identifying the architecture that came about the reasons behind it through construction methods, materials and cultural identity.

Rangiatea can be seen as a complex interweaving and restructuring of two architects.

Rangiatea is a Maori church at Otaki on the west coast of the North Island. The focus of the study  includes the architecture from the North Island.


The church cannot be expressed as a pure form in this situation and neither as a meeting house. People argue about the arrangents of a church. Rangitea lacks this  to become a church and so it is pushed towards it being a meeting house. The two architectural forms are connected .