New principal turns the spotlight on groundbreaking workplace design

Neil Christopher has been appointed Principal of multi-disciplinary architecture firm Warren and Mahoney, based in the Wellington studio. He will relocate from Australia to take up his position in early April where he will focus on workplace strategy and interior design and be instrumental in leading and developing team capability and growth. 

Born in Wales, Christopher holds a Bachelor of Interior Architecture with First Class Honours from the University of New South Wales. His first degree was in theatre, with a subsequent career in acting and arts management. His transition from arts to architecture combines his interest in business and management with a passion for design, while maintaining links to a creative industry.

Christopher has 14 years’ experience working on commercial, governmental and tertiary education design projects for significant clients across Australia, Europe and New Zealand.  He specialises in implementing national design standards, co-ordinating concurrent projects for multi-site clients and creating activity based working (ABW) environments.

“Although we have an acronym for that now, it’s really just a back-to-the-future strategy that I liken to moving from class to class with your schoolbag at secondary school,” Christopher explains. “In a nutshell, it’s about crafting a flexible environment that allows people the opportunity to work in different places for specific tasks.”

His significant achievements include the 14,000-square-metre national fit-out for Hewlett Packard across three locations in Australia, the development of a new workplace strategy for Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific and the workplace design for the soon-to-be-completed Camden City Council’s Administration offices and Chambers in Sydney. “The planning and design of that workplace not only influenced the base architecture but is innovative in that it will invite members of the public to actually watch the council at work,” says Christopher. 

Locally he has previously collaborated with Warren and Mahoney on workplace schemes for Deloitte in Auckland, Wellington’s Asteron/Guardian Trust and the Spark buildings in both cities. “My role is to listen to my clients’ requirements and to assist strategic and design-led solutions that interpret this outcome. I thrive on creating places that people will enjoy being in for eight or nine hours of their day. I believe that workplace strategy and design is a very strong component of personal and professional growth.”

At the Spark buildings in Auckland and Wellington, Warren and Mahoney, in partnership with Geyer, designed atriums that allow the public to permeate the building, which provided the communications service provider a closer connection to the wider populace. “It’s no longer about designing ivory-tower monuments to prosperity, but an architecture and workplace interior that is for the people. It’s exciting to be able to create places that can change the perception of a business or organisation,” says Christopher who will divide his time between Warren and Mahoney studios in Sydney and Wellington. 

Ralph Roberts, Principal in the Wellington office, said that this appointment would build on the company’s reputation for delivering innovative, intelligent workplace strategy and design. “We are delighted to announce Neil as principal. With such relevant and important Trans-Tasman experience, he will quickly become a leader in nurturing the talent in our rapidly expanding workplace team.”