Building futures
Mike Hannaway at Government House.
Name: Mike Hannaway.
Occupation: Project Manager/Architect.
Age: 46.
Place I call home: Seatoun, Wellington.
My passions are: My family and sports- especially golf. I tend to get involved in my projects boots and all too.
My hero is: Larry Bird – Boston Celtic in the 1980s. He was a talented athlete to start but became a superstar through hard work, guts and determination.
If I were a famous building I’d be: Chrysler Building New York City – A significant building that has stood the test of time and has a sense of style.
What kept you in Wellington for so long? I love Wellington; I think it is the best city in NZ by a long way. It is big enough to have what you need but without the big city problems. The hills and harbour are magnificent and of course we have a world class waterfront.
What’s your favourite of your Wellington projects? Waitangi Park was fantastic as we were creating a place that my grandchildren would come to, but being involved in the Government House project is my favourite. It was a unique opportunity to have input into such a significant part of New Zealand’s history. The project was well supported to allow us to do it properly.
What have you achieved in the five years on the Government House conservation project? When we started in 2006, Government House was an important building because of its history, but it was getting “pretty tired” and had lost a lot of its original character. We were fortunate to have full support from both the Labour and National governments to return the house to its former glory including reinstating many of the heritage features. We have “re-created” a building that you can really be proud of to represent New Zealand.
You’re headed to Christchurch to manage the project management unit at the City Council. What are you looking forward to? A new challenge, and of course the chance to keep learning. The scale and complexity of the challenges in Christchurch are huge. I’m looking forward to being able to contribute to the Christchurch rebuild and sharing my experience.
Can Wellington help out Christchurch in any new ways at this point? I think that Wellington is already helping out in quite a bit. I know lots of people who are working down there already. Two of my staff on GH have already relocated.
Have we as Wellingtonians learnt anything new about construction from the big South Island quakes? There are always detailed technical lessons to learn, but we have been expecting a big one in Wellington so already place a lot of importance on seismic design. Perhaps the biggest lessons are for the general public in raising awareness of being prepared, getting the disaster kits ready and knowing what to do.
Some examples of the best architecture in Wellington are... Stuart Gardyne and his crew did a fantastic job on the Wharewaka. Yes it is a new building on the waterfront, but it is very interesting, night and day, and really enhances the lagoon and public space. The landscaping there is pretty good too.
And some examples of the world’s best architecture are… I love cities, the collective of all the architecture in New York City just excites. The buildings are great but it is the buzz at street level that all contributes.
If you had no budget, and free rein, what would your project be? Having constraints actually can produce really good designs, as you have to think harder. An absence of constraints and budget might produce something like Dubai…But I’d like to have the opportunity to build myself a lovely house in a nice quiet sunny spot surrounded by bush…with no budget constraints.
And finally, what’s your opinion of the Lobster Loos on the waterfront? Quirky and fun.
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