Rebuild skills stacking up
The Christchurch office of Warren and Mahoney has a new principal who will draw on years of post-earthquake experience.
Architectural firm Warren and Mahoney in Christchurch built a wealth of experience from the post-earthquake rebuild era that leaves it well positioned for ongoing future developments.
Locally born and bred architect Jonathan Coote will oversee the next phase of the firm’s creative output in his new role as studio principal, replacing Graeme Finlay, who will become chairman of the company.
Not that the job of rebuilding in Christchurch is likely to be completed for many years yet – Coote thinks it could be 20 years before the last gaps in the ‘‘boxer’s grin’’ disappear.
But with the central Christchurch experience of recent years Warren and Mahoney can boast it has the skills and staff.
‘‘It’s not just about putting projects together. It’s about procuring materials and working with people. We think with the experience we’ve gained from the big projects our energies are well placed to look after investors who may not have the experience in building and design.’’
In spite of the well-publicised problems with companies such as Fletcher Building, there are many other mid-sized companies that have continued to build on earlier successes – the likes of Armitage Williams, Contract Construction, Leighs and others.
‘‘They’ve maintained their reputations in the sub-$20 million market. There have been projects that have pushed us or challenged us but we can find solutions using the knowledge within the company of people of all ages and experience.’’
The 60-year-old firm nowadays has a staff of 230 in six offices including Sydney and Melbourne.
Coote recently oversaw the rebuild of his parents’ home on Monks Spur, although it suits him and his wife Melanie to live in St Albans with their two children.
He grew up in Sumner, went to Linwood High, and lived overseas for more than a decade, spending several years in the United Kingdom and the Caribbean on Mustique Island, the holiday home of Mick Jagger.
He designed and built houses for the rich and famous, occasionally playing frisbee on the beach with Kate and Pippa Middleton. Communicating with local labourers who could not read or write required innovative drawing skills to get the messages across.
Things tightened up after the
2008 global financial crisis and Coote and his wife decided it was time to return. He joined Warren and Mahoney’s Christchurch studio in 2010 in time for the post2011 surge in work.
Most recently, he has played a major role in delivering Lincoln University’s AgResearch joint facility, the PwC Centre, the recently announced master-plan scheme for Rolleston’s town centre, and Warren and Mahoney’s own open-plan studio in Christchurch.
Warren and Mahoney employs more than 70 people at its Montreal St studio, and is working on several high-profile projects including the Christchurch Convention Centre, the Arts Centre, and the Christchurch District Health Board’s acute services building. It has recently completed work on the city’s justice and emergency services precinct and the Memorial Bridge.