October 21, 2025 • 9 mins
To celebrate it's 50th anniversary Nick Mills chats to Victoria University's Robyn Phipps, Dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation.
They discuss the rich history of the programme, the success stories that have come from it, and how the next fifty years look for the faculty. They also talk about the celebrations and the exhibition - which is open till November 4th.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News talks'b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We promised to talk to someone at Victoria University because
architecture at Victoria University is celebrating fifty years. We're going
to talk to hopefully she's online. Robin Phillips, who is
the dean of the Facility of Architecture and Design and Innovation. Robin,
good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
We'll good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
How are you great things?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Why was it such a bold experiment you deciding or
I think people before you deciding to start the architecture.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
School, Well, there was a nineteen fifty eight conference that
was done at Oxford University which said that architectures should
become much more about technology and science than it had
previously been. And it was this mental was picked up.
It was picked up by the Architecture Center who lobbied
(01:07):
with the university, Victoria University, and they took a brave
step and they said, hey, let's do something that's really
quite different to how other architecture schools around the world
had been set up at that point in time, so
quite a different look at the curriculum. And the Professor
gurd Block, who was the inaugural professor set up a
(01:28):
really different program and it started off with a degree
initially in building science and then went on to a
degree in architecture, which was the pattern that lasted for
quite some time. This still is the foundations, the roots
of what we do, but we also do a huge
amount with creativity and design on top of that.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Now, back fifty years ago, I bet you my last dollar,
there was some sort of resistance to bringing in the
new things into a stable architecture degree.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Well, it they were setting up a degree from the start,
so it was ground up. So when it started up,
it was up in some old houses up in Cold
and Parade above the university, and they had some workshops
up there. But it was the first school. The first
intake was only twenty five students, so very very small initially.
(02:19):
We compare that to now where we take over three
hundred students into our first year.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Can I just ask you this question before we go
on to more specifics, And I've asked myself this all
the time. I've worked with numerous first year architects students,
and there is no question of all the students that
I've worked with, architects students are more stress more, especially
in the first year. Why is it so hard to
(02:45):
get past the first year?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
There's a lot of knowledge that is required in that
first year, and there are naturally a reasonably competitive bunch.
They work very hard. They are learning both very high
level all skills in terms of we teach them really
(03:08):
quickly a lot of the software systems that they will
be using when they're out in practice, so that they're
learning right across the board. Some students find it difficult,
some find it easy, and it all depends but on
your bent and what you go into the degree with, right, But.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
It seems to me, and this is not a one
year wonder, this is something that I've you know, I've
worked in hospitality all my life, so I've had a
lot of students that come through, and every single one
of them says that architecture is the toughest first year
in university.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, when I hear the same thing from law and
from health too, so.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
I never heard the same thing with Laura and else.
But anyway, let's move on. I mean, you've said the
fusion of architecture and technology and building science change New
zeal how New Zealand build because of your faculty can
you give us an example of a project where innovation
and science really showed some impact.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I'll give you an example of one. So recently we
had a student who came through the Better of Architecture
studies and then went to do his masters and then
went on to do a PhD. And this student is
his name with Jed Finch. His name is. He's still around.
And Jed wanted to look at how do you make
(04:38):
what we call a circular economy? So how do you
make components of a house that you can build in
one way and then you choose to reconfigure And so
rather than throwing all that whole wall into the landfill
and starting again, you can pull it apart and rebuild it.
And Jed started making walls out of plywood, and so
(05:00):
he used our extensive workshop facilities and he with the
CNC machines made up a wall structure. Now Jed managed
to finish his PhD with three US patents and a company.
And so before he'd even completed his PhD, he had
sold his product, which he's named X Frame, to every
(05:22):
an Z branch in Australia. They did it for all
their office fit outs. So now Jed has got this
amazing business where he is saving carbon saving materials going
into the landfill, saving companies a lot of money. And
it's been used from everything from high end retail. Ridian
(05:45):
used it in their new headquarters.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
But Jeed based in Waldon.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Jed based in Wellington. He's an amazing success.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I'm going to try and chase him up and have
a chat to him. That would be an interesting Who
is the most famous? I mean, you must have a
lot of famous architects. At are household names that came
out of your alumni.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
We have got so many of them. We've got six
dound An alumni that have come out of the faculty.
And we've got this weekend coming up, we have the
celebration of our fiftieth and we've got an exhibition which
is open to the public. People are welcome to come
in and have a look. We've got some about fifty
(06:26):
of our alumni have got banners up which you can
come and have a look at and see what they've done.
But we've had everything from filmmakers who have been filming
sort of some of the big big names in both
sport and music, right through to people doing credible artwork
around the world.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
If there's one building that you would you like showing off.
You like telling people your students. First year students come
in and you're talking and to them you say, remember
this building or that building? Is there one that's sort
of a building that sticks.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Out to you.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I one of my favorite buildings is one of the
Union Versus New buildings, which is Namakapuna, which is it
was our Living par It's now known as Narmo Kapuna.
It's up on the top end of Calvin Parade. And
this is a building that's designed to the Living Building
Challenge by Ewan Brown, one of our alumni. You it's
(07:26):
an incredible job on it. It's built to the highest
lever sustainability in the world. But it also looks really gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
To see the same guy that's been doing some stuff
with educational places around the country. Is that the same
architect I read about it? That amazing.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
He's amazing, He's fantastic. He's fantastic, and he is a
really humble person. He just says, I want to leave
this place, this city, this planet something that I can
be proud to tell my kids about.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You don't want to give me any names. You don't
want to signal on anyone out. I mean, you know,
if I gave you a couple of names of architects
that I respect, would you be able to tell me
of their alumni? Alistair Cox? Would he be one?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Oh, I need to check my record on that.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Gosh, I'm thinking. Now you've got me really thinking, what
are you looking forward to in the next fifty years?
Why are you going to be so relevant in fifty
years time?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
We're already doing some major changes. So we're setting up
a new program in construction, which we're launching next year.
And so this is recognizing that we good buildings, and
building good buildings starts with the design. So having a
construction program that's sitting in a design school is an
(08:42):
architecture school is really unique. So we can build in
health and safety so we don't kill people on the
work site. We can build in the secure economy like
what jib was doing right, we can build in robotics
and AI and really smart systems. So it's thinking about
(09:03):
design right from you know, the tea spoon to the
city scale. And then we have also in the faculty
the School of Design, where we're doing everything from fashion
through to animation for movies and industrial design. So by
(09:25):
having this amazing combination and cross pollination between all these
disciplines creates a really vibrant space.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Fantastic talking to you, Robin. I wish you for the weekend.
Is it just over the weekend.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yes, most of the partying will happen this weekend, but
the exhibitions open through to the fourth of November.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Wow. Well, congratulations on fifty years.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks, There'd be Wellington from nine to am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Wellington Mornings podcast with Nick Mills
from News talks'b.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
We promised to talk to someone at Victoria University because
architecture at Victoria University is celebrating fifty years. We're going
to talk to hopefully she's online. Robin Phillips, who is
the dean of the Facility of Architecture and Design and Innovation. Robin,
good morning.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
We'll good morning.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
How are you great things?
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Why was it such a bold experiment you deciding or
I think people before you deciding to start the architecture.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
School, Well, there was a nineteen fifty eight conference that
was done at Oxford University which said that architectures should
become much more about technology and science than it had
previously been. And it was this mental was picked up.
It was picked up by the Architecture Center who lobbied
(01:07):
with the university, Victoria University, and they took a brave
step and they said, hey, let's do something that's really
quite different to how other architecture schools around the world
had been set up at that point in time, so
quite a different look at the curriculum. And the Professor
gurd Block, who was the inaugural professor set up a
(01:28):
really different program and it started off with a degree
initially in building science and then went on to a
degree in architecture, which was the pattern that lasted for
quite some time. This still is the foundations, the roots
of what we do, but we also do a huge
amount with creativity and design on top of that.
Speaker 2 (01:47):
Now, back fifty years ago, I bet you my last dollar,
there was some sort of resistance to bringing in the
new things into a stable architecture degree.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Well, it they were setting up a degree from the start,
so it was ground up. So when it started up,
it was up in some old houses up in Cold
and Parade above the university, and they had some workshops
up there. But it was the first school. The first
intake was only twenty five students, so very very small initially.
(02:19):
We compare that to now where we take over three
hundred students into our first year.
Speaker 2 (02:24):
Can I just ask you this question before we go
on to more specifics, And I've asked myself this all
the time. I've worked with numerous first year architects students,
and there is no question of all the students that
I've worked with, architects students are more stress more, especially
in the first year. Why is it so hard to
(02:45):
get past the first year?
Speaker 3 (02:48):
There's a lot of knowledge that is required in that
first year, and there are naturally a reasonably competitive bunch.
They work very hard. They are learning both very high
level all skills in terms of we teach them really
(03:08):
quickly a lot of the software systems that they will
be using when they're out in practice, so that they're
learning right across the board. Some students find it difficult,
some find it easy, and it all depends but on
your bent and what you go into the degree with, right, But.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
It seems to me, and this is not a one
year wonder, this is something that I've you know, I've
worked in hospitality all my life, so I've had a
lot of students that come through, and every single one
of them says that architecture is the toughest first year
in university.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, when I hear the same thing from law and
from health too, so.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
I never heard the same thing with Laura and else.
But anyway, let's move on. I mean, you've said the
fusion of architecture and technology and building science change New
zeal how New Zealand build because of your faculty can
you give us an example of a project where innovation
and science really showed some impact.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I'll give you an example of one. So recently we
had a student who came through the Better of Architecture
studies and then went to do his masters and then
went on to do a PhD. And this student is
his name with Jed Finch. His name is. He's still around.
And Jed wanted to look at how do you make
(04:38):
what we call a circular economy? So how do you
make components of a house that you can build in
one way and then you choose to reconfigure And so
rather than throwing all that whole wall into the landfill
and starting again, you can pull it apart and rebuild it.
And Jed started making walls out of plywood, and so
(05:00):
he used our extensive workshop facilities and he with the
CNC machines made up a wall structure. Now Jed managed
to finish his PhD with three US patents and a company.
And so before he'd even completed his PhD, he had
sold his product, which he's named X Frame, to every
(05:22):
an Z branch in Australia. They did it for all
their office fit outs. So now Jed has got this
amazing business where he is saving carbon saving materials going
into the landfill, saving companies a lot of money. And
it's been used from everything from high end retail. Ridian
(05:45):
used it in their new headquarters.
Speaker 2 (05:47):
But Jeed based in Waldon.
Speaker 3 (05:50):
Jed based in Wellington. He's an amazing success.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I'm going to try and chase him up and have
a chat to him. That would be an interesting Who
is the most famous? I mean, you must have a
lot of famous architects. At are household names that came
out of your alumni.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
We have got so many of them. We've got six
dound An alumni that have come out of the faculty.
And we've got this weekend coming up, we have the
celebration of our fiftieth and we've got an exhibition which
is open to the public. People are welcome to come
in and have a look. We've got some about fifty
(06:26):
of our alumni have got banners up which you can
come and have a look at and see what they've done.
But we've had everything from filmmakers who have been filming
sort of some of the big big names in both
sport and music, right through to people doing credible artwork
around the world.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
If there's one building that you would you like showing off.
You like telling people your students. First year students come
in and you're talking and to them you say, remember
this building or that building? Is there one that's sort
of a building that sticks.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
Out to you.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
I one of my favorite buildings is one of the
Union Versus New buildings, which is Namakapuna, which is it
was our Living par It's now known as Narmo Kapuna.
It's up on the top end of Calvin Parade. And
this is a building that's designed to the Living Building
Challenge by Ewan Brown, one of our alumni. You it's
(07:26):
an incredible job on it. It's built to the highest
lever sustainability in the world. But it also looks really gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
To see the same guy that's been doing some stuff
with educational places around the country. Is that the same
architect I read about it? That amazing.
Speaker 3 (07:40):
He's amazing, He's fantastic. He's fantastic, and he is a
really humble person. He just says, I want to leave
this place, this city, this planet something that I can
be proud to tell my kids about.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
You don't want to give me any names. You don't
want to signal on anyone out. I mean, you know,
if I gave you a couple of names of architects
that I respect, would you be able to tell me
of their alumni? Alistair Cox? Would he be one?
Speaker 3 (08:05):
Oh, I need to check my record on that.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
Gosh, I'm thinking. Now you've got me really thinking, what
are you looking forward to in the next fifty years?
Why are you going to be so relevant in fifty
years time?
Speaker 3 (08:20):
We're already doing some major changes. So we're setting up
a new program in construction, which we're launching next year.
And so this is recognizing that we good buildings, and
building good buildings starts with the design. So having a
construction program that's sitting in a design school is an
(08:42):
architecture school is really unique. So we can build in
health and safety so we don't kill people on the
work site. We can build in the secure economy like
what jib was doing right, we can build in robotics
and AI and really smart systems. So it's thinking about
(09:03):
design right from you know, the tea spoon to the
city scale. And then we have also in the faculty
the School of Design, where we're doing everything from fashion
through to animation for movies and industrial design. So by
(09:25):
having this amazing combination and cross pollination between all these
disciplines creates a really vibrant space.
Speaker 2 (09:33):
Fantastic talking to you, Robin. I wish you for the weekend.
Is it just over the weekend.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yes, most of the partying will happen this weekend, but
the exhibitions open through to the fourth of November.
Speaker 2 (09:44):
Wow. Well, congratulations on fifty years.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
For more from Wellington Mornings with Nick Mills, listen live
to news talks, There'd be Wellington from nine to am weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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