By BERNARD ORSMAN
Council managers are considering a plan to rip the front off Auckland's Aotea Centre and rebrand the landmark as a hip location for cafes and bistros within Aotea Square.
The concept would see the concrete Fay Richwhite Terrace that impedes access to the Aotea Centre replaced with a
glass frontage and cafes as a key element to upgrade the square.
The plan is being promoted by The Edge, the council-owned entertainment and conference business that includes the Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall and the Civic Theatre.
The Edge operations director Tim Dowson said the front of the Aotea Centre was a "bloody great hunk of concrete" that stopped people in the square engaging with the building.
"You could literally take the front off the building and still maintain a grand entrance to the marble BNZ Foyer but create a visual link so people could see from the square straight into the Owens Foyer and get a sense of the architecture of the building," he said.
Council heritage manager George Farrant said the Aotea Centre, completed in 1990 at a cost of $128.5 million, had not acquired heritage status and it would be reasonably easy to change the frontage.
"It is ... rather blind to passersby and if you have a restaurant it is better to have it on the outside rather than bury it inside," Mr Farrant said.
The centre's board of management yesterday unveiled the concept as part of its vision for the Aotea quarter, including a new arts precinct with rehearsal, administrative and education facilities for performing arts companies, a new 1200-seat theatre and improvements to the Aotea Square market.
The board also put in a fresh bid for an international convention and exhibition centre, after being knocked back two years ago and given $7 million by the Auckland City Council to upgrade its existing facilities.
Board chairman David Wolfenden said the quarter lacked adequate rehearsal space for the city's major performing arts companies - the Auckland Philharmonia, Auckland Theatre Company and Black Grace dance group.
