CAMELSPACE HELPS AUT STUDENT HEAD UP AUCKLAND’S FIRST ARCHITECTURE CONVOY


Jessica Mentis, a final year spatial design student at the Auckland University of Technology headed up the city’s first ever architecture convoy on Friday (16th October), with the help of leading event structure and scaffolding business, Camelspace. The parade was held as part of Auckland Architecture Week 2009.

Jessica was given the opportunity to have her design, ‘Tower of Twittering Auckland’, lead the convoy after winning Stage 1 of the Architecture Week ‘TRANS-FORM-ers’ competition which she entered in July. The challenge was to design a piece of moving architecture.
Camelspace donated their time and materials to provide Jessica with a framework for her design.

‘Camelspace were able to provide me with a pyramid shaped tower, made out of scaffolding,’ explains Jessica. ‘This structure was at the centre of my design. It acted as a kind of aerial throughout the parade receiving tweeting signals. Then, at the end of the convoy, it was transformed into a stage, allowing the audience to climb it and send their own tweets.’
‘I am so grateful to Camelspace. I couldn’t have done it without them.’

‘We jumped at the chance to get involved,’ adds Phil McConchie, Commercial Director and co-founder of Camelspace. ‘We place huge importance on putting something back into our local community, and helping the next generation along. We were also really impressed with the design that Jessica came up with and wanted to help bring it to life.’

The Architecture convoy started at Western Springs, before moving on to Grey Lynn, K’Rd and Queen St. Arriving at Shed 12, 90 Wellesley Street West, the Architecture Week venue, all mobile architectures underwent a transformation, revealing an interior, which were exhibited and experienced as part of the Architecture Week Pecha Kucha evening. Jessica beat 600 other students from AUT, Auckland University and Unitec to take first prize in the design competition.

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