In October teams of second-year Unitec Architecture students designed, modelled, then constructed interactive light installations in Devonport’s Windsor Reserve for GLOW@Artweek. 

The brief is strict. Their budget is zero. And the installations must be zero waste too, both in the construction and in the afterlife of the projects. These strict conditions on Unitec’s installations for GLOW@Artweek are designed to teach the students about how to reduce waste without compromising quality. It’s an essential skill for future architects who will be working in an industry that is lagging behind in waste reduction.

For most of the students, it was the first project where they built, exactly to scale, what they’d planned and designed. It was an opportunity to learn skills that will last them for their whole professional careers, and a special experience seeing their designs come to life.

The Spinoff followed the process, from design to construction.

This content was created in paid partnership with Unitec. Learn more about our partnerships here.

In the second part of a new event series looking at the future of Auckland, The Spinoff and Auckland Council host In My Backyard: Glen Innes, to ask what the suburb can teach the rest of the city about housing. Photographer Brendan Kitto shares his images from the 2016 exhibition Redevelop which explored housing changes in Tāmaki and new photos of the neighbourhood. 

My relationship with Glen Innes began in the mid-90s when my family relocated from Whanganui to Auckland and their school of choice for me was Sacred Heart College. The bus route was a tour of Panmure and Glen Innes which was an eye-opener for a new kid who had just moved to Pakuranga. Later on, I became friends with Gary Silipa – a Glen Innes local who now runs GI’s The Good The Bad art gallery – which kept me frequenting the area. My documentation of Glen Innes began when the fences went up and the houses came down. The project is neither for nor against the transformation; it’s a visual record of an event that many thought would never occur in their lifetime.