Charles Renfro, New Zealand bound

Now this really is exciting news (which you may have also seen in the magazine itself): with the help of the lovely folk at First Windows & Doors, we're bringing New York architect Charles Renfro of the firm Diller, Scofidio + Renfro to New Zealand, where he'll be giving lectures in Auckland and Wellington.

DS+R are best-known at the moment for their work designing the High Line, New York's triumphant sliver of parkland that runs along an abandoned elevated railway on Manhattan's lower West Side. These photographs of it are by Iwan Baan:

And this is Charles himself:

It'll be Charles' first visit to New Zealand. His Auckland lecture is being held on Tuesday April 13 at 6pm at the Fisher & Paykel Auditorium in the Owen G. Glenn building on the University of Auckland campus. His Wellington lecture is being held on Wednesday April 14 at 6pm in the Adam Auditorium in City Gallery in Civic Square.

Charles will have a lot to talk about, including DS+R's work on the Boston Institute of Contemporary Art and the refurbishment of New York's Lincoln Center. The common thread in all these works is DS+R's determination to use these structures to add dynamism to the urban realm outside them - their designs are the opposite of self-contained.

Tickets are $15 for subscribers and students, and $20 for regular folk. You can purchase them at www.ticketek.co.nz (just type 'Charles Renfro' into the search box).

You can see more of DS+R's work at www.dillerscofidio.com. Please come to the lectures - we think Charles is going to be one of the most interesting speakers you'll see in the country this year. Thanks again, too, to First Windows & Doors for their generous support of his visit.