Henry Rushton, like his father before him, specialised in ecclesiastical buildings - the churches and cathedrals of England. In one corner of his studio was an immense bookcase of carbon-copy letters, handwritten between architect, builder and client. “In those days there was lots of time to stop, contemplate and then respond,” says Ben. “I would sit in his office and watch him sketch – the drawings were beautiful. He was my first influence.”
His parents, Deborah and Brendan Hayes, who were artists, encouraged him to sketch from an early age and so at 16, it seemed natural that Ben would join his grandfather for some work experience. “That gave me the bug to get involved. I loved the drawing and the whole process,” he recalls. Study at the prestigious Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London, only reinforced his desire to follow these generational footsteps. “The Barlett really tested your approach to design,” he says. Travel too cemented his choice. First to America where Frank Gehry’s early work (buildings such as the Crowsnest House in Venice Beach) left a lasting impression and to Russia when, as part of the European Association of Student Architects, he inadvertently became caught up in the 1991 coup attempt against Gorbachev. “The Moscow streets were blocked by T80 battle tanks; the train station and airport were shut. We couldn’t get out.”
That same year Ben, fresh out of architecture school, secured a job as a graduate with Jane Duncan Architects (who went on to become Royal Institute of British Architects president). He was excited. One week into his new role, he was “let go”. “The recession hit them early; I got a job as a runner with Limehouse TV instead.”
So, it wasn’t always an easy path into the vocation – but it was the right one. Those heady days are a distant memory for Ben, who is now managing director at RTA Studio and, this year, celebrates 20 years with the practice. This Essex boy first met RTA founder Richard Naish at ORMS in London where they worked on major refurbishment projects such as that of the former Bryant & May Match Factory.
When Rich left to return to New Zealand, Ben stayed put at ORMS, landing a senior role at the Clerkenwell practice. Aotearoa was in his sights though. With his Kiwi-born wife, they spent many holidays visiting family and out on the ocean waves. After one particularly memorable sailing trip in the Coromandel, the couple made the decision. At a presentation of his five-year plan to the ORMS directors, Ben simply projected a photograph onto the screen: a sailing cat just off the Mercury Islands. “They weren’t very surprised that I had decided to take off,” he says.
With two children in tow, the family settled in Tāmaki Makaurau where Ben was offered a role at RTA Studio. His first job, as project architect of Ironbank, the stacked-and-folded Corten-clad mixed-used landmark on K Road, some might call a baptism by fire into the regulatory structures of building in New Zealand. “It was pretty critical I get my head around the Resource Management Act; it was quite a process,” he remembers.
Ben is understated about that achievement. The project, which has its own Wikipedia page, was commended at the World Architecture Festival in 2009 and was Aotearoa’s first certified 5-Star As-Built Greenstar commercial building. “It also introduced me to the Friedlander family, who own Samson Corporation. Working alongside them for the best part of my career has been a pleasure. They are great investors in architecture.”
Another highlight has been watching the business grow from eight staff members when he joined to more than 40 today and expanding with offices in Havelock North and Wānaka. He has been instrumental, along with the other directors, of driving the culture forward towards malleable, socially conscious work practices. And he’s had the privilege of witnessing around 20 in-house graduates receive their full-fledged registration. “That day is a huge deal - a huge achievement. I enjoy being involved with mentoring.”
His enthusiasm stems from such satisfying working relationships and the opportunity to bring his skills to a wide range of challenging projects. “In those 20 years, we’ve had phenomenal accolades on the local and global stage and that continues to motivate me,” he says.
Safe to say, Ben has well and truly made the transition from Essex lad to Kiwi local and, to mark two decades at the practice, he is taking a well-earned three-month sabbatical. He’ll be returning to the UK to visit family, sailing around the Croatian coast on a catamaran and taking a tour of Portugal, with a focus on architecture (of course). “I’m going to go completely off grid for a week to reset and reboot my passion for drawing.”
In between trips, he’ll be popping back to Auckland to oversee the building of a new house for the locally based members of the Hayes family. “Architecture is a vocation; it never stops and it’s impossible to get away from,” Ben says. Not that he wants to. “Every day and every job at RTA Studio is different. It never stales. That’s why I love it.”