74 | Collaboration brings up the best ideas Bossley Architects T T Sue Russell Highly regarded Auckland-based architect, Peter Bossley, recalls his architecture learning through Auckland University as a most engaging experience, attracting all sorts of people through the doors. “It was a great degree to do and was a way to learn a lot about life,” Peter says. He also admits that he wasn’t originally thinking of architecture as a career, but meeting an architectural technician and completing a drafting course opened his eyes to the possibilities of focusing his professional life around design. “What I realised, learning architecture becomes a way to understand people and how they think. That’s why I’ve always maintained that this training fits a broad array of people, not those necessarily intent on becoming an architect.” The current studio, based in Ponsonby, has been operating 27 years, and today, Peter shares directorship with three others, and says staff numbers range between 10 and 20, which gives good flexibility. “We’re a very collaborative lot with an open studio space and lots of interaction. My experience is that the very best outcomes are reached with several heads around the table. We try to have a very wide spread of projects; it makes life more interesting for us all.” He is also firm in the belief that, regardless of the nature of a build, the budget, and its circumstances, adding the architectural overlay to design and space always results in value added for clients. It’s about creating a better environment and the ways that can be expressed are endless. For Peter and the team, it is this openness to embracing the unexpected that often leads to inspirational design. With a career that’s extended over 50 years, Peter has been associated with a multitude of iconic builds across the country, and although he describes the current market as somewhat quiet, really since Covid visited, the studio’s portfolio of works remains a broad brush of design contexts. And that work extends overseas as well, with a large regional eye centre for the Fred Hollows Foundation in Papua New Guinea currently under construction. Bossley Architects has enjoyed an association with the foundation over many years, Peter says. “We’ve currently got some boutique commercial projects, some apartment buildings, and a project up in the Bay of Islands, so we’re all over the place,” he adds. Regarding early engagement with clients, Peter says bringing preliminary designs into form tends to be a reasonably well-paced process. “We’re pretty quick at the front end, and we spend a lot of time talking to the client. We’re a practice that tends to deliberately design. It’s about understanding the client’s ambitions in a project.” Time out for Peter is painting abstracts, and for exhibitions, the studio is turned into an art gallery. This interest, he says, lends a nice balance to his professional life. He has also served the profession, having been chair of the Auckland Institute of Architects for a couple of years and an adjunct Professor of Architecture at Unitec, among other things. In 2012, his contribution was recognised when he received the NZIA Gold Medal, the profession’s most prestigious award. “Teaching has been a strong impulse through my professional journey, and it’s wonderful to be around the young energy that students bring. I do feel, however, that the pathway has become more constrained these days, more conservative. Architects are somewhat less able to be creative in this more risk-averse environment.” Other projects include the Sir Peter Blake extension to Auckland’s Maritime Museum at the waterfront, and the Park Hyatt Auckland Hotel near the harbour. “The Onehunga Pedestrian Bridge, a very dramatic structure, was another wonderful project to be involved in.” For Peter and his fellow experienced practitioners in the team, mentoring graduate architects is a joy and a process he says is very important. “We can’t expect the architecture schools to produce a complete architect. The mentoring process continues, and it is something we really enjoy.” Peter has been associated with a multitude of iconic builds across the country. ARCHITECTURE Address: Level 1, ANZ Bank 90 Kerikeri Road, Kerikeri Ph: 09 407 3255 Cell: 021 240 7325 Email: teampk@pkengin.co.nz STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING | GEOTECH ENGINEERING CIVIL ENGINEERING For the best solution everytime
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