b"blue skymuch about the possibilities of colour in art, installations andResenearchitecture, and Ive found the flexibility of the formulas areHappy Hour quite endless and scaleless, says Jack. Resenes super supportivetop tipand knowledgeable staff are an amazing network of people who encourage local creatives like me to turn ideas into fully-realisedInspired to create a colour palette from a photographic reference? possibilities. Given the scale and impact Resene has had in theUpload your image to the free online Resene Colour Palette creative and building industry here in New Zealand, its amazingGenerator, www.resene.com/palettegenerator, or use Resene to still see how active they are in supporting communities. ColourMatch Online, www.resene.com/colourmatchonline, to Jacks third project for Heart of the City formed part of hisfind the nearest Resene paint colour matches.thesis. Titled Dandelion Minds, stories that make a room, Jack was inspired by the propagation and resiliency of these ubiquitousleft: Jack Wus Dandelion Minds, stories that make a room project brought Aucklanders together to paint a community garden using Resene Jack Wu takes a multidisciplinary approach to activating urbanplants. Dandelions are often looked down upon as a non-nativetestpots, including Resene Pohutukawa, Resene Happy Hour and Resene species, but these resilient wildflowers have enchanted people for spaces, orchestrating opportunities for colourful interactions. centuries with their representations of hope, perseverance andSunshade. The activation for Heart of the City formed part of his Master of Architecture (Prof) and Urban Planning (Prof) thesis.N ow that such a large portion of our lives seems to existOn top of his studies and teaching, Jack has been creatingtransformation. When you blow a dandelion puff, you are givingResene Resene Resenelife to many more. They are carriers of one life to another and only online, many struggle with feelings of isolation. Evenwork at varying scales, from housing to community projects tocarriers of one's wishes, he says. Ghost Sunshade Pohutukawawhen we are out in the world, so much of our time is spentinstallations and furniture. He has also completed a number ofHisconceptwastopromptcitizenstopaintaflowerfor shuffling between our homes, our vehicles and our workplaces.activation projects for Heart of the City, Aucklands city centresomeone they love using Resene testpots on to a piece of a With minimal unexpected interactions, we have a tendency tobusiness association. The first two projects, The Box (2021) and3 x 5m modular installation. Jack documented more than 300diverse creative circle present in Tmaki Makaurau. But Jack sees get stuck in a mindset where we forget just how interconnectedThe Chairs in the Room, quiet beside the Elephant (2022), he didpeople who contributed to decorating the mural during its week- the future of n/a as something yet to be defined.we really are. But its something that Auckland-born architecturalin collaboration with talented friends who share Jacks interest inlong creation process, which took place on Aucklands OConnellI think the direction is dependent on collaborations, with a designer Jack Wu puts a great deal of energy into contemplating. connecting community members. Street and Freyberg Square. The modules started out separated,particular focus on making design accessible and brandlessJack says he first discovered his love for human-centric designI think I have been lucky in that, no matter where I haveserving as low tables for community members to gather aroundcoloured by the networks and environments it engages with, and urbanism during his most formative years and he made angone, everyone has been so friendly, inspiring andmost ofandpaint,sparkingconversationbetweenstrangers.Oncehe says. In terms of further architecture and planning work, for effort from a young age to actively immerse himself in diverseallpassionate. Because of that, I have been fortunate to buildcompleted, the panels were united together into a city gardenme, it is important to understand that everything is relational communities. Being from a first-generation immigrant family,a strong network of people who I am lucky enough now to beand displayed in front of the School of Architecture and Planning.whether that be between scales, time or people. Design is whereconversationscarryandconstituteculture,Ibecamefriendswith.ConversationsgoalongwaywhenitcomestoDerek Jarman was heavily influential to the concept, Jack says.temporal, relational and social. It's this sense of not attempting to fascinated by the possibility of architecture, installation art andopportunities, particularly in New Zealand, he says. Jarmans garden played a vital role in slowing down the ravagingachieve perfection; that everything will, in the end, be exposed to activationparticularly for its capacity to connect worlds thatForJack,thekeytakeawaywithhisHeartoftheCityillness of HIV. As his partner described, for a time he cheatedcontingencies and be adaptive. So, I want to allow that to happen are otherwise hostile to others. installations is that they allowed him a chance to break away fromdeath by hiding amongst the flowers and dancing with the bees.and not perpetuate the idea of perfection.Jack is on the cusp of finishing his Master of Architecture (Prof)his academic and professional life and focus on something bigger.Since Jarmans death, the garden has continued to be cultivatedA dream project for Jack would be to create a space that could and Urban Planning (Prof) degree and entering his fourth year ofThese projects allowed me to be actively engaged and thus partby his partner, friends and supporters. curate and showcase interesting installations and activations. I teaching for the University of Aucklands School of Architectureof the environment that we aim to shape, which is rare. UsuallyThe garden directly inspired the paint colours that were used.Folly Competition. If selected as the winning design, it will giveactively engaged with other networks beyond architecturelocalhave always wanted to design a gallery or an exhibition. Maybe and Planning. As one of the younger teachers in the programme,theproductofthisdegreeandprofessionishiddenbehindJackhandpickedfifteenhuesbyreferencingphotographsofJack another opportunity to bring an idea to life using Resenenetworks, in particular. I see it as a sort of architecture-adjacentits because Ive been following Hans Ulrich Obrista director at he believes its easier for him to connect with his students.photographs, awards and a sort of power structure that makesJarmans garden, including Resene Pohutukawa, Resene Happypaint. According to Jack, he and Raimana were interested in wayspractice that focuses on spacemaking through objects, drawing,the Serpentine Galleriesfor too long, but the idea of curating is I aim to teach without holding worlds apart, by embracinginvisiblewhatsreallyimportant.So,theseinstallationswhichHour and Resene Sunshade. they could use off-white colours when they were coming up withconversing and making at varying scales. quite attractive to me. When something is allowed to go beyond cultural differences and the things that make people unique,evolved in design-confidence one after the other were a sort ofThe whole project was honestly sort of crazy, recalls Jack.its design. The idea of the folly was that it gave opportunitiesWhen creating the identity for this new project, Jack lookedits autonomous self in order to relate to something else, it almost Jack says. For example, one of the courses I have taught wasoxygen when compared to those current realities. Despite weather uncertainties, the turn-out was amazing. I had afor the landscape to colour the white space. Like a fallen leaf onto his favourite hue, Resene Ghost. Grey is my favourite colour,creates a conversation between things.media-based and focused on expanding architectural thinkingIneachofhisactivations,Resenepaintshaveplayedanbrief description of the thesis printed out, so people knew what theya white background, using white Resene paint would allow theand Resene Ghost is a beautiful, smooth grey. Its between lightWith so many irons in the fire, Jack is surely one to keep an beyond the built environment. I was interested in using this courseimportant part. Jack loves putting Resene testpots into the handswere part of, and just the amount of people who actively engagedspace to track the colours of the immediate site both seasonallyand dark, its a soft shadow and its become the colour of the n/aeye out for as he conjures up more ideas for activating shared to offer students an opportunity to connect with themselves asof the public to see what theyll create togethera sum of manyin conversation and showed support for it, I was beyond grateful. and over time as it ages. profile, he says. spaces and connecting members of our local communities. individuals, ungoverned by the restraints of typical design outputs.parts and perspectives. I am super grateful to have had ResenesJack also recently collaborated with Raimana Jones to createThen there is nowhere architects, also known as n/a, which isDuring the inaugural Auckland Design Week, n/a collaborated This year, I will be teaching a Master of Advanced Studies designsupport with these particular projects. Apart from appreciatinga concept for an installation titled Perch & Promenade: A Follya side project Jacks currently working on. n/a is a design studioon an activation piece for the event titled Bold and Brave to gatherTo see more of Jacks work, check out his Instagram profile atpaper, which I co-wrote with the amazing Dr. Andrew Douglas. the array of product choices Resene offers, it has taught me sonamed Ophelia thats been shortlisted for the 2024 Brick Baythataimstoforwardco-learningandco-practicebybeingmembers of the community, spur conversation and celebrate thewww.instagram.com/j.vvu.56 blackwhitemag.com blackwhitemag.com 57"