Large-scale projects such as the Awatea St stadium and harbourside development divided opinion, but panellists Ted McCoy, Peter Entwisle, Michael Wyatt and Michael Findlay all voiced concerns about the Dunedin City Council's plans for an extension to the Dunedin Town Hall in Harrop St.
During opening remarks, panel chairman Douglas Lloyd Jenkins, a design writer and director of Hawkes Bay Museum and Art Gallery, made light-hearted comparisons between cities in Australia and New Zealand and asked if Dunedin was "like Adelaide - beautiful but dying".
In response, Dunedin architectural historian Peter Entwisle said, in 1981, many in Dunedin thought the city would stagnate if a smelter at Aramoana did not proceed.
"And yet, here we are 20 years on with some . . . saying 'There will be no Dunedin without the stadium,"' he said.
Mr Entwisle said many of the "big ticket" architectural items proposed for the city, such as the Harrop St extension, were motivated by city leaders who wanted to leave a mark on the city.
Retired Dunedin architect Ted McCoy discussed the potential waterfront development beyond the scope of the scheme proposed by the council.
When discussing Harrop St, Mr McCoy said cities were often judged by their public spaces and parks, rather than their buildings.
He believed the three heritage buildings in Harrop St - St Paul's Cathedral, the Municipal Chambers and the Town Hall - would be complemented by a park area rather than a modern, adjoining structure.
