Town Basin

I haven't spent as much time along the Town Basin as I used to before I retired.  It was always a good place to fill in time or to meet someone for a cuppa or a meal.  It  has been a pleasant place to spend time but the recent redevelopment has made it even more so.

The most recent addition has been the Undertwasser Art Centre, a project dedicated to Friedensreich Hundertwasser, an artist, visionary and ecological activist whose work in Kawakawa we Northlanders have been familiar with for quite some time.  The common themes in his design are bright colours, organic forms, strong individualism (to say the least) and rejection of straight lines.

A cupola covered in $50,000 worth of gold leaf sits on top of the building.  I'm pretty sure I lack appreciation of art, I just can't see the point of it, to me it makes the whole structure look sort of comical. 

 

You can see the little red boat that took us for a trip down the harbour to Limestone Harbour last week berthed nearby.

 

 

Below is the toilet which I think was built first to prove we had the craftsmen capable of completing the creation. Maybe that is an urban myth but the idea appeals to me so I choose to believe it.

 

 

 

Beyond the structure below lay landscaped grass terraces leading down to the harbour edge, making a very pleasant seating option.  There is also an interactive water feature (where, last week,  several children were having loads of fun) and a children's play space.

 

I've always been a bit hopeless with Labels on my blog.  I know I've twice before shown photos of the Waka Wave, one of the sculptures along the waterfront.  Now I know this artwork is best viewed from the water.

Sorry about the large blank space.  I left the draft for a few days hoping I could fix it but ...