NZ visual diary - entry 50

Fanshawe Street visual promenade

Visual promenade?! Rich, it's just a staircase.

No, it is more than just a staircase. There's an intentionality that works against a careless and uninformed descriptor.

The promenade runs on an incline along the eastern edge of the Fidelity Life House, a contemporary steel and glass building on Fanshawe Street (136 Fanshawe Street).

The glass of the building's eastern face invites three stunning visual accoutrements, specifically the outward play of reflections on the glass; the etched design on the glass facing; and the interior wooden lattice work that creates a sculptural frame for the window. All three elements have been captured in my image, although one needs to look closely to see the latter two elements.

Here is a visual aid:

Furthermore, the elegant metal railings, the repeating pattern of wooden slats along the outer edge of the building's face and the cement garden boxes of grasses and ground foliage are lovely finishing touches.

Taken in sum as the intentional expression of contemporary architecture's aesthetic for a permeable visual membrane between the interior and exterior of a building, this flight of stairs, I would insist, should be seen as something more than a mere conveyance. It is integral to the building's form and architectural purpose. It is a visual promenade.