This pair of enormous mirrored-steel boxes connected by a glazed bridge were designed by Antonini + Darmon and RMDM, to complement and extend an aluminium-clad archive facility outside Paris.
The CTLES (Technical Centre for Books of Higher Education) is a national public administrative institution located in the Parisian suburb of Bussy-Saint-Georges, around 25 kilometres east of the city centre.
The facility is operated by the Ministry for National Education, Higher Education and Research, and is responsible for the preservation and communication of documents for universities and research centres in Paris.
Continue to the full article here on de Zeen
Wintec and Waikato District Council will launch a cadetship programme next year that will create employment opportunities for civil engineering students and ensure the council has a highly skilled and qualified workforce.
The cadetship scheme is an opportunity for Wintec students studying the civil elements of the New Zealand Diploma in Engineering and the Bachelor of Engineering Technology. Under the scheme, students will work and study part-time for two years before completing one year of bonded employment with Waikato District Council.
Wintec Chief Executive Mark Flowers says the scheme is a great example of Wintec working with industry partners to deliver real-world training for students and highly qualified graduates to employers.
“I really commend Waikato District Council for driving this initiative – it’s a win win for all. For our students it’s a great opportunity to study and work in a real-world environment and get the benefits of having employment in their chosen career path.
“We’re training students for a rapidly changing world and the practical and soft skills they learn through on the job training are critical for their success. Working with industry also means we continue to be relevant and authentic in what we deliver to meet their needs.”
Waikato District Council will recruit cadets from Wintec year one and two students this year to launch the scheme for the 2018 study year. The aim is to have up to six civil engineering student placements with Waikato District Council by year three.
“We’re delighted to work with Wintec on this scheme and we regard this as an effective recruitment tool,” says Waikato District Council’s General Manager Service Delivery Tim Harty.“The council is considered to be a perfect training ground for students to develop a range of skills, knowledge and technical experience. The cadetship will provide real-life practical experiences as well as the opportunity to be immersed in a range of areas relevant to the cadet’s specific area of study.”
Wintec is also working with other industry partners to secure similar cadetships for its students.
| A Wintec release || July 24, 2017 |||
We are pleased to hear that the Government is planning to review incoming immigration changes with a specific focus on how they will affect the regions. Effectively addressing skills shortages in manufacturing and other sectors needs to remain a core part of our immigration system – notwithstanding changes that may be required to address other issues associated with current high levels of net migration, say the New Zealand Manufacturers and Exporters Association (NZMEA).
NZMEA Chief Executive, Dieter Adam said, “In particularly, the 12-month stand-down after three years did not make any sense to businesses – having to send quality workers back home not long after they completed the inevitable on-the-job training required to become fully productive and integral to their business operation. The skills they may take with them often simply cannot currently be filled by New Zealanders.”
“Unlike in other sectors, labour shortages in manufacturing are almost completely in the skilled workers category, especially for those with trade skills and experience.
“The Government’s approach to use pay levels as a surrogate for skill level was seen as a sensible approach by some of our members, where it was seen as potentially a smoother pathway to fill high income skill shortages, but others argued it is crude and has a number of issues. It ignores the fact, for example, of regional variation in pay for jobs at the same skill level, and it may unintentionally lead to wage inflation by artificially setting a base line across the country for what machine operators, for example, should be paid.
“The NZMEA is not simply advocating for a continuation of current immigration policies and practises, which have led to immigration outcomes that may well be unsustainable in some areas. The Government needs to go back to the drawing board and come up with changes that address these issues without cutting off the much needed supply of migrants to fill skill shortages, especially in the regions outside of Auckland.” Said Dieter.
| An NZMEA release || July 24, 2017 |||
Property Council New Zealand welcomes the Government's announcement of a Crown company to invest in housing infrastructure.
“The Property Council has long called for adequate funding tools, and at last the Crown gives us a useful solution to address New Zealand’s housing crisis,” says Connal Townsend, chief executive, Property Council New Zealand.
“We have a severe lack of housing. If we continue along this path, you will see more homelessness.
“The development community is ready to respond to the urgent need for more housing. The handbrake has been a lack of infrastructure such as roading, water and sewerage that supports development. Building cities costs a lot of money and infrastructure is a large proportion of that cost.”
"The $1 billion Housing Infrastructure Fund whilst a great initiative does not address how some councils, who are ruled by strict debt ratios, would be able to carry that debt on their balance sheet."
Mr Townsend believes this move by the Government to co-invest $600 million alongside local councils and private investors in network infrastructure for housing development, will finally start to remove the handbrake.
“The traditional way we have funded growth in our cities is way out of date and cannot deliver the infrastructure and housing we need.
“By setting up a Crown company, the Crown retains the legal ownership of the debt, thus allowing councils to access the fund and get much needed infrastructure built. This has enormous potential, provided councils also partner with the development community.”
| A Property Council NZ release || July 24, 2017 |||
Air New Zealand has announced it will nearly double capacity on its seasonal Auckland to Denpasar service in 2018 and will also extend the season it flies there by almost two months.
The airline currently operates two services per week from Auckland to Denpasar International Airport between the end of May and mid-October, increasing to three services per week during peak times.
Next year the airline’s Auckland to Bali season will start at the beginning of April with up to five services operating per week using the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, subject to regulatory approval.
Air New Zealand Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace says Bali continues to prove popular with customers.
“The increase in services between Auckland and Bali, as well as the extension to the seasonal service represents year on year growth of more than 90%.”
“Today’s news will give leisure travellers more options when it comes to getting to Bali, with more than 1500 seats available per week each way at peak times.”
The additional capacity for the 2018 Bali season is on sale now.
| An Air New Zealand release || July 24, 2017 |||
New Zealanders have long been known for their love affair with the sea, but owning a boat is seen as an expensive exercise for most. Tauranga-based boat design company Hallmarine Design has come up with a solution: its Purekraft boats, which are flatpacked kitsets, a bit like IKEA furniture, making them far cheaper to ship around and easier to construct.
Elly Strang writes in Idealog - It’s a romantic notion that plays right into the Kiwi ideal of DIY and do it yourself – building a boat from scratch. However, aside from professional boat builders, most wouldn’t attempt to build their own for fear of the expenses involved – or worse yet, the risk of a poorly put together, leaky boat.
However, Jarrod Hall of Tauranga-based Hallmarine Design says his company has a solution for hobbyists: A boat which has parts that are cut by a CNC machine, with ink markings to show where parts meet and should be welded. It is then folded and are flatpacked to reduce shipping costs.
The result is a boat that’s innovative in the same way IKEA furniture was when it first shook up the furniture scene: A cheaper, build-it-yourself product that can be constructed from scratch, if you follow the (in depth) instructions. There's also the ability to customise the motor, seats and paint job.
“It appeals to those with the do-it-yourself kind of attitude, and they also know that it’s been well built, considering they’ve built it themselves,” Hall says.
Understandably, there’s a few more components to building a boat than say, a bookshelf.
Hall says it depends on the size and the model, but the design process couldn’t get much easier in terms of building a boat. While there may be hundreds of components, parts are printed by the machine and interlock together, while Hallmarine Design folds as many parts of the boat as possible so it reducing welding and build times, as well as wastage.
Continue to read the full article in Idealog here
Air New Zealand’s inaugural service to Haneda Tokyo has departed with the Boeing 787-9 aircraft scheduled to touch down in Tokyo at 11.00pm (local time).
The new Haneda service will depart Auckland on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays from July - May, offering customers a second point of entry to the Japanese capital alongside the airline’s daily flights to Narita Tokyo Airport.
Air New Zealand Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace says demand for travel between the two countries continues to soar and the new Auckland-Haneda direct route will boost annual capacity to Japan by 15%.
“Located just 20 kilometres from downtown Tokyo, Haneda Airport offers great convenience for Kiwis heading to the central city and for Japanese tourists travelling to New Zealand.
“With the 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Summer Olympics ahead, we look forward to building on our existing services and further growing demand for travel at both ends of the route.”
Air New Zealand also operates a seasonal service between Auckland and the Japanese city of Osaka between October and March.
Japan is one of New Zealand’s fastest growing outbound travel markets, with the number of Kiwis travelling to Japan up 25% to the year ending May 2017. Japan is New Zealand’s sixth largest tourism market and the number of Japanese visiting New Zealand also grew over this period by 8.5% to 101,616.
| An Aire New Zealand release || July 21, 2017 |||
The number of women working in construction in Canterbury has more than doubled since the quakes, Minister supporting Greater Christchurch Regeneration Nicky Wagner says.
This week’s Greater Christchurch Dashboard — Women in Construction shows the number of women working in both residential and non-residential construction in Canterbury has increased from 3400 in March 2010 to 7600 in March 2017 — a 124 per cent increase.
“That’s 4200 more women employed in skilled trades such as carpentry, plumbing and gas fitting,” Ms Wagner says.
“More and more women are embracing rebuild opportunities by entering and succeeding in this traditionally male-dominated industry. Women can bring a fresh perspective, strengthen customer relations and improve business performance.
“The Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT), which was responsible for repairing Christchurch’s quake-damaged infrastructure, proactively encouraged women into its workforce through the SCIRT Women in Construction working group.
“Between 2014 and 2015, the number of women in crew roles at SCIRT doubled from 6 to 12 per cent.
“Women are also increasingly represented in trades training at organisations such as the Ara Institute in Christchurch, where the number of women in trade courses rose from 118 in 2011 to more than 300 in 2016.
“With a skills shortage around the country, it’s great to see more women in construction — it makes good business sense and benefits Christchurch and New Zealand economically.”
Related Documents
Greater Christchurch Dashboard - Women in Construction.pdf (pdf 102.55 KB
| A Beehive release || July 23, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242