After a decade and a half with Prendos and Respond Architects, Erin Hallett has seen the company’s design team undergo huge growth. Now as a newly appointed Director, she’s keen to see that trajectory continue into the future.
Erin joined Prendos as an Architectural Designer in 2009, when she made up one third of the company’s small design team at the time. Fifteen years later, with a team of around 20 people now under the Respond Architects banner, Erin believes her ability to work well with others was one of the key reasons for her appointment.
“I’ve been with Prendos and Respond for 15 years now, so I know the teams inside out,” she says.
With her strong technical understanding, Erin has long been a ‘go-to’ person for the design team to ask questions and seek guidance on challenging projects. So she naturally cites good communication as being one of the most important aspects of her new leadership role.
“People management is new to me, but I’ve been told I’m handling it very well, so that’s always encouraging. I find the key to it is being clear and making sure people understand things correctly, because it’s so easy for miscommunication to happen.”
While she says she is still “finding her feet” as a Director, Erin says it’s important to have relationships within the team where people feel comfortable asking questions and raising concerns.
“If people feel heard and supported then they’re happier, and a happier team is a more productive team, which is better for the company.”
Growth and development have always been an important part of the Prendos and Respond ethos. Not just company growth, which Erin is keen to see continue, but career development of those within the team too.
“I’d love to see Prendos and Respond thrive and grow. But other than the business aspect of it, I think our main focus should definitely be supporting people’s careers. Passing on our knowledge and experience is key, especially in this industry, where we do have those leaky buildings and issues that unfortunately are even still happening to this day.”
Erin highlights the Merchant Quarter apartment block in Auckland’s in New Lynn, which was built in 2014 yet suffers weathertightness and fire issues that will require extensive remediation. She says issues like these with relatively recent developments are still happening systematically, so it’s critical that knowledge is passed on to industry newcomers from those who have been around longer.
“If we’re bringing the younger generation through with a better understanding of those design issues, it’s only going to lead to a healthier industry,” says Erin. “It doesn’t just have to be remediation projects either. It’s using that knowledge on new builds to get them right the first time round. It’s important not to lose all that experience and knowledge of the past, because those issues still exist.”
Weathertightness has always been a core socialism for Prendos and Respond Architects, which Erin says has been a significant source of work while the construction sector is in a downturn. But she’s looking forward to a time when there is more new commercial build work on the table again.
“That’s the fun stuff,” says Erin. “I enjoy the client relationships and being able to design something new that delivers what they need.”
And while Prendos and Respond have a solid reputation for their weathertightness expertise, having been leaders in the field for over 35 years, Erin says there is plenty of other specialist expertise within the Respond team too.
“We have a fantastic team with a lot of niche specialisms. Our people are very good at what they do, and it’s always helpful to diversify and not just have one thing that you specialise in. That’s what they say you should always do when you’re investing in the stock markets, so why would you not do that when you’re investing in your company?”
Sustainable and high performance building design is another area that Respond has developed a similarly influential reputation for, and it’s an area that Erin says is undoubtedly where the future lies.
“You’ve just got to look at what’s happened in New Zealand the last few years with all the flooding, so it’s really important that we design to suit our changing climate. Everybody’s becoming more aware of our impact on our environment,” says Erin.
“Clients are a lot more aware of sustainable design, and it’s a lot easier to achieve now with the products and specialist design available these days. At the beginning of my career, trying to get somebody to upgrade to double glazing was like – ‘Why would I do that? Why would I spend that money?’ But now it’s the norm, and it’s getting better too, with a lot more focus being given to high performance buildings.”
Erin is looking forward to taking a role in the future of the company, and even though construction is not at the heights seen in recent years, she’s confident Respond and Prendos will continue to be a strong presence in the industry.
“We’ve been in the industry for a long time” says Erin, “and we have a lot of good client relationships out there and a lot of repeat business. I don’t know how long it will take for things like residential development to come back, but we’re in a good position to ride it out until the growth returns.”
Respond Architects is Prendos’ architectural division. Our design work covers a wide range of project types, from high-end residential and multi-unit builds to educational and public buildings, remediation projects and commercial developments. Find out more and get in touch at Respond Architects.