We like: Gisborne's PAULNACHE gallery

Gisborne's PAULNACHE gallery proves that you don't have to live in one of the main centres to enjoy regular visits to top-notch dealer galleries. Matthew Nache (below left) and Gene Paul set up PAULNACHE over five years ago, and now boast a roster of artists that includes Joanna Langford, Ben Pearce, John Walsh, Robert Jahnke, James Ormsby and Dion Hitchens. Many of the artists have connections to the East Coast themselves, so their presence on the walls of this gallery makes even more sense. Check it out if you're passing through the first city of the sun this summer. The photograph is by Paul McCredie.

We like: Home Work (subscribe to HOME and get a free copy)

We like Home Work, a new book that invites readers inside the homes of twenty New Zealand architects - the rules being that the architects must have designed their homes themselves and still be living in them.

It's a fantastically eclectic selection of houses, from 1950s classics to contemporary extravaganzas such as Neville Price's Northland home on the cover. (We've run an excerpt from the book about Tony Watkins' house at Auckland's Karaka Bay in our current issue).

The photographs, we're proud to say, are by HOME New Zealand contributor Patrick Reynolds, with erudite text and informative interviews with the architects by John Walsh, editor of Architecture NZ.

The good news is that if you subscribe now (or renew your subscription) to HOME New Zealand, you'll get a copy of Home Work (worth $75) absolutely free. You can do so by visiting www.magshop.co.nz/home. An ideal Christmas gift, we suggest? You can give somebody a subscription and keep Home Work for yourself...

On the waterfront

The latest Architecture New Zealand magazine contains an editorial and subsequent story by editor John Walsh on Auckland's plans (or surfeit of them) for Queen's Wharf. I live not far from the red gates of the wharf that inhibit public access to one of the city's best spaces - and now live in fear of the "development" of the wharf quickly turning into another classic Auckland planning fiasco. As John points out in his editorial, the rush to turn the wharf into party central before the World Cup kicks off could very easily lead to the kind of rushed and foolish planning decisions the city will regret for generations afterwards.

So, plenty to discuss. Which, to their credit, Auckland Regional Holdings (the wharf's new owners) are doing, at least with the visit later this month of Rita Justesen, chief planner for Copenhagen City & Port Development. Justesen will be taking part in a talk on Monday 17 August. Given that every city down on its planning luck seems to be looking to Copenhagen for inspiration these days, it could be well worth attending. Here are the details:

1. THE WATERFRONT MACRO PICTURE: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
VIP Room, Viaduct Harbour Marine Village, 135 Halsey Street.
Monday 17 August, 5.00pm-7.30pm
Hosted by Auckland Regional Holdings and Sea+City Projects Limited

The seminar will feature three speakers:
- Matthew Comer, Auckland Regional HoldingsPresentation: Auckland’s Waterfront: Transition from Harbour Board to a place for peopleWaterfronts of the world and the drivers for successful renewal programmes
- John Dalzell, CE and Project Director of Sea+City Projects LimitedPresentation: Place shaping in the Sea+City Project and key work streams

Auckland Regional Holdings and Sea+City Projects Limited are pleased to introduce our international guest speaker:
- Rita Justesen, Head of City Planning, Copenhagen CPH City and Port company, DenmarkPresentation: Place Shaping & City BuildingUse of design competitions to drive change in design of public space and buildingsPrivate sector investment and how quality design solutions were achieved.
RSVP to jenny.cheng@arh.co.nz or phone (09) 303 9466 and place a diary note in your calendar for Monday 17 August, 5.00pm-7.30pm.