Michael Dillon on building what outlives you
Director Michael Dillon features in the latest issue of Build & Renovate Today, in a conversation with writer Ben O’Connell about leadership, longevity and the people at the centre of every project.
Michael leads JTB’s Christchurch and Wanaka studios. The interview traces how his role has shifted from project architect to establishing a new office from scratch and, as a director, shaping a culture where a much wider team can do its best work.
The piece opens with the restoration of the P&D Duncan Building, a Category 2 heritage building in central Christchurch badly damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes, where the brief was to keep its soul intact.
“We left the brick, the stone, the great roof trusses visible wherever we could. That kind of work reminds you that architecture is one of the few professions where what you make outlives you. That’s a privilege, and it keeps you honest.”
It’s a good summary of how we approach heritage architecture in NZ, reading what is already there before adding to it.
The conversation also covers Tewa Banks in Arrowtown, 68 affordable homes delivered with the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust on a site gifted by QLDC beside the Arrow River, with five tenure types, ground source heating and community gardens tying the development back to the river. A project that began with a handful of house designs, grew into a full master plan.
Also featured are the Panorama Road houses in Sumner, where a CLT structure steps down a steep site to frame views of Pegasus Bay and the Kaikōura Ranges. Michael’s view on style is characteristically direct: get the approach right, and the style takes care of itself.
His advice to homeowners follows the same logic — work with what’s already there, and let the bigger outcome come from getting the small things right. A well-considered door, a simple pergola, a view framed from a living area to the garden. “Sometimes a single well-placed window does more for a room than a complete renovation.”
