12 questions with Peter Beaumont

After a distinguished career spanning more than 40 years, Peter Beaumont has been nothing short of an inimitable figure in New Zealand architecture. The recently retired NZIA Fellow has left behind an incredible legacy centred on the transformative power colour has on shaping human experience. His most celebrated works – including the pioneering Kimi Ora Special Needs School in Naenae and the Wellington SPCA – have garnered multiple awards recognising a commitment to design with integrity that heroes sustainability and strategic use of colour.

Peter's work has substantially influenced students of all ages. In addition to his many projects in the education sector that have had a positive impact on young New Zealanders, Peter has also generously shared his knowledge over many years as a lecturer – inspiring aspiring designers and guiding interns and colleagues through his devoted approach to mentorship.

As the most recent winner of the Resene Total Colour Lifetime Achievement Award, Peter was lauded for his “innate ability to use colour in a practical way that supports architecture, defines spaces and guides movement intuitively,” as well as his generous mentorship, bravery and confidence in exploring colour as a core design tool.

Peter shares more about his most memorable projects, advice that resonated throughout his career and the Resene hues that adorn his home.

What drew you to a career in architecture? Is it something you always wanted to pursue?

Lego, dyslexia and mathematics. Architecture is something that I was drawn to as a child. I was persuaded to try engineering at Canterbury, then finished a math degree before starting architecture school in Wellington. Architecture had been a powerful itch that has taken sixty years to work through.

Looking back on your career, which projects were among your proudest and what made them so special for you?

Kimi Ora School was a new build special needs school with a very challenging brief. This required a lot of research. We did an extensive POE (post occupancy evaluation) on the old Kimi Ora facility to understand how the staff and students interacted. The guiding principle was how the new building and its grounds could staff. Another was the Wellington SPCA, which was a reworking of the heritage-listed former Fever Hospital on Mount Victoria. Again, a challenging brief, limited budget and a brilliant client and project team. A third would be our family home in Brooklyn. It’s a Wellington hillside house with difficult access, multiple constraints and caveats on the site as well as a challenging microclimate. However, it was a nice opportunity to experiment in form, materials and colour – and then we got to live in it, which has been sublime.

Over the past 20 years, our office has employed a new graduate most years and many stayed with us through to registration. Working closely with bright young people has been a great boon. They have talent, enthusiasm, fresh ideas and they’re great at sorting IT issues. It’s also gratifying to see them develop their careers after they’ve left the firm.

What is the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever been given that resonated throughout your career?

Before I went into sole practice, I had been teaching at the university for about ten years, so I met with several architects about my possible transition back into practice. Gerry Melling’s advice was, ‘just get on with it’ – which was great advice, and I very soon learnt that I was not cut out to be a sole practitioner. Within a short time, I had joined forces with Jane Kelly and Warwick Bell, becoming TEAM Architects Wellington.

What would you suggest to someone who is feeling stuck in a rut or struggling with their creativity on a project?

Turn it upside down, literally or figuratively. If you are stuck, you need to change something or even do something else for a while. Take the dog for a long walk.

If you could go back in time and give young Peter one piece of advice, what would it be?

Don’t be so serious, it may never happen. Some projects are just not meant to be, and of the ones that do get built, almost all get knocked over sooner or later.

What do you think are some of the biggest challenges the industry is facing right now? Do you see any opportunities in those challenges to do things better than we were doing them before?

We are still facing huge challenges in terms of energy, resources and the environment, but the more recent emergence of AI could be the greatest disrupter yet. Treats and opportunities?

What is the most inspiring place you’ve ever visited and what made it special?

The Pantheon, Rome circa 2nd century AD. It’s an extraordinary building that’s essentially a single interior space of one material: concrete. A large drum 43m diameter by 22m high with a hemispherical dome and a 9m hole in the roof, the building has proven to be highly adaptive to the cultural and political needs of a city and a nation for 1900 years.

If you could have dinner with an artist or design icon from the past or present, who would it be and what would you talk about?

Hone Tuwhare, Barry Brickell, Ralph Hotere or John Bevan Ford. Topics would include work-life balance, your most underrated colleague, the best dog you ever had and favourite beach or walking tracks.

If you could magically invent something that doesn’t exist, what would it be and why?

Maybe a dog with longevity – although, at my age, the next dog I have may just meet that requirement.

Which is your current favourite Resene colour, what do you like about it and in what design context would you use it?

It’s impossible to give one favourite. At home, I’ve used a lot of Resene Tana and Resene Half Tana in the interior. Our studio is on the top level of the house with daylight and views on three sides. It’s all painted in Resene Tana with a clear finished plywood floor and ceiling and dark grey aluminium joinery. I’ve used darker shades like Resene Stonewall and Resene Double Tana for a strong, calm feeling in the stair tower and our bedroom. Elsewhere, you’ll find Resene Apache, Resene Craigieburn, Resene Grey Suit, Resene Green Meets Blue and that old workhorse Resene Thorndon Cream on a few ceilings. The exterior of the house is painted with Resene Linen on the weatherboards, Resene Arthouse on the ply at the entry alcove and the stair tower wall with some contrasting Resene Awol in the mix.

Colours mentioned in this article

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