Latest news with #Beca
NZ Herald
22-04-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Waikare Gorge highway realignment plans pass crucial consent milestone
A spokesperson said with the applicant's agreement, processing timeframes were extended until the district council designation process was complete and 'draft conditions of consent could be worked through and finalised'. The district councils have consented changes enabling farmland to be used for the road on the near-4km route announced four years ago bypassing the gorge and the southern-approach township of Putorino. NZTA senior project manager Chris Mahoney said once property agreements had been finalised, NZTA would be looking to bring forward early enabling works. In the past fortnight, a tender process ended with Beca and Stantec appointed to a joint 'Principal's Technical Advisor' (PTA) role and the Design and Construct (D&C) contract will be awarded via a tender process later this year. 'As much as possible, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi will be working with local contractors, supporting the local economy, while also accommodating the area's planned growth and ultimately increasing reliability and efficiency for freight and other road users,' Mahoney said. The priority was to see construction under way as soon as possible. A funding green light was announced by Government in February, and Mahoney said this week: 'At this stage, we are on track to begin main on-site construction of the realignment early next year.' There is expected to be little disruption to traffic during the construction, which is mainly off the current highway and includes a bridge over the gorge. The road through the gorge was closed for three months in 2023 after the Waikare River bridge was destroyed in Cyclone Gabrielle, with no suitable detour. A one-lane temporary Bailey bridge was opened the following May and has now been in use for almost two years. With a cost estimated by Minister of Transport Chris Bishop in February at possibly up to $425 million, it will be the most costly highway project ever in Hawke's Bay.
The Guardian
28-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Peter Davies obituary
My colleague Peter Davies, who has died aged 80, was an artist, arts administrator and latterly professor at the University of Sunderland. He raised the profile of visual arts in the north of England and also championed Welsh identity – especially through the Beca group of artists he and others formed in the 1970s with his brother, Paul. Between 1974 and 1992 Peter was visual arts officer for the public body Northern Arts, where his greatest successes included establishing the first forest sculpture trail at Grizedale, Cumbria, in 1977, and public art commissions such as the Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen Bottle of Notes sculpture unveiled in Middlesbrough in 1993. Peter also initiated Art in the Metro programmes, and artist residencies for Durham Cathedral and Sunderland FC. Peter was born in Swansea, south Wales, to James Davies, an RAF officer, and Beryl (nee Peregrine). The family moved often for his father's postings and Peter and Paul went to numerous schools before boarding at Plymouth college in Devon. Peter went on to study fine art at Goldsmiths' College, London, where he met Annette Fox, a fellow student, whom he married in 1969. After a summer trip in 1967, between 1968 and 1972 Annette and Peter worked in the US. Peter first took a teaching post at Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and then was appointed a lecturer at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Contemporary art was changing and moving outside the gallery. Inspired by this, Peter curated the institute's 'visiting artists' programmes. As Chicago was an ideal stopping-off point between New York and Los Angeles, he attracted well-known artists and thinkers such as Richard Serra, Sol LeWitt and Lucy Lippard. Back in the UK, Peter joined Northern Arts and the couple settled in Tynemouth with their three sons, Jesse, Gabe and Owain. He gained an MA from the Royal College of Art before he went on in 1992 to become a freelance and consultant. In 2000 Peter was appointed a senior research fellow at the University of Sunderland, and later became a professor and head of glass and ceramics (and my manager), based in the university's National Glass Centre. He developed 'reach in' strategies, inviting artists to work with glass and ceramics – often for the first time. Peter's book Glass North East (2007) showcases the innovative outcomes. He oversaw the expansion of PhD numbers and secured funding for equipment to advance glass art, such as waterjet cutting. After his retirement in 2010 Peter refocused on his own art and had several exhibitions with Beca. The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth, recognised his importance and added Peter's works to their collections. Peter is survived by Annette and their sons, and by five grandchildren, Bethan, Bo, Blake, Wolf and Farryn.
