Have your say: Positive move

Birkdale Intermediate principal Richard Coote weighs in on the Hundertwasser debate after his school unveiled a new library entrance earlier this year. .

I am writing in support of Whangarei's Hundertwasser.

Here at Birkdale Intermediate School the building of Hundertwasser's Pavilion for Nature has been an overwhelming success.

The Pavilion has become a source of pride for our students, teachers and wider community. The positive feedback we have received from a wide variety of people has been overwhelming. A local bus driver called in last week to let us know he was hearing wonderfully positive comments and that he was proud that we had this wonderful structure in our community for generations to come.

The feeling I am getting from the people who comment on the Pavilion is that they are excited by the fact that Birkdale, a typical Auckland suburb, now has something special that sets us apart from sprawling suburbia.

We believe Hundertwasser's Pavilion is a visual sign that marks our school and community out as a place that values innovation and creativity. A place that embraces difference. We hope it will encourage curiosity and wonderment in our children, helping them to think outside the square.

Our students are delighted that this innovative colourful structure is now a central part of our campus. After the opening our teachers have remarked on the number of students who sit under the structure during break times, play tag games of their own invention between the columns. Some can even be seen hugging their favourite column.

Although only open a few weeks, we are receiving visitors from across Auckland who have made a special trip to see the Pavilion. An elderly lady from Milford made a special trip with her sister from Henderson to see the structure. A couple from Germany called in and asked if they could take photographs to put up on their blog. Yesterday a car load of visitors arrived after school for a close-up look.

Good luck with your development. It will be a positive move for your city.

Richard Coote
Principal

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