Beehive Building (Parliament, Wellington)
The Beehive, officially known as the Executive Wing of Parliament, is a prominent building located in Wellington, New Zealand. Recognizable for its unique, hive-like shape, the Beehive features ten storeys with numerous small windows and is constructed from a variety of materials including macrocarpa timber and Takaka marble. Completed in 1981, it serves as the primary site for New Zealand's executive government, housing the Prime Minister's office, ministerial offices, and the Cabinet room. The building is also equipped with facilities for national emergency management and cultural events, reflecting its dual role as a governmental and community space.
Designed by renowned architect Sir Basil Spence, the Beehive was built to address the needs of aging government structures while incorporating advanced seismic safety features. It has been a focal point for significant political activity and decision-making since its opening, including discussions on key legislation and international policies. The building holds cultural significance, particularly for New Zealand's Māori population, having hosted important treaty settlement ceremonies. Open to the public for tours, the Beehive attracts over 90,000 visitors annually, highlighting its importance as both a political and tourist destination. It is recognized as a Category 1 Historic Place by Heritage New Zealand, underscoring its architectural and historical value.
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Beehive Building (Parliament, Wellington)
Site Information
Official name: Executive Wing of Parliament
Location: Wellington, New Zealand
Type: Building
The Beehive is the commonly used name for the building that houses New Zealand's Executive Wing of Parliament, located in Wellington. The popular name for the building is derived from its hive-shaped architecture, which features many small windows arranged on ten successively narrower storeys from bottom to top. The Beehive, first constructed in 1969 and completed in 1981, is a Heritage New Zealand Historic Place Category 1.
The Beehive stands at seventy-two metres and is composed of materials including macrocarpa timber, Takaka marble columns, onyx, glass, stainless steel and native tawa timber. The entryway to the building is the official Parliament Visitor Centre and features a large stained-glass window panel titled 'Kotahitanga—Unity 1990', a celebration of multicultural life in New Zealand.
As the official seat of the executive wing of New Zealand's national government, the Beehive is the site of the prime minister's offices, in addition to other ministerial offices, the Cabinet room, the National Crisis Management Centre and state reception rooms. The office of the prime minister is located at the top of the building, while other ministerial offices are housed in the five iconic storeys featuring many small windows. An underground walkway connects the Beehive's National Crisis Management Centre, located in the building's basement, and nearby Bowen House, at which are located additional Parliament and Ministry offices. The National Crisis Management Centre is the command centre used during national emergencies and domestic security threats and is designed to house people for extended periods of time if required.
The building's other facilities include Bellamy's, the catering service for Parliamentary events, and the Banquet Hall, a spacious function room capable of hosting three hundred people, which features a famous three-dimensional mural by John Boys Drawbridge. Members of Parliament and Ministers also have use of a small theatre, a swimming pool and a television studio. Visitors and staff use an underground carpark below the Beehive.
History
In the 1960s, New Zealand's Parliament required a solution to a longstanding issue of ageing government buildings particularly susceptible to earthquake and fire damage. The Ministry of Works commissioned renowned Scottish architect Sir Basil Spence in 1964 to design the Executive Wing building that would become known as the Beehive. He was given the option of retrofitting a new executive building onto the Parliament House, knocking down the Parliament House and starting a wholly new Parliament House construction, or building a new structure for the Executive Wing adjacent to the existing Parliament House.
According to a common myth, Spence sketched the original design concept on a napkin at a state dinner meeting with the Ministry of Works and was summarily awarded the project. The famed dinner at which Spence met with the Ministry and Prime Minister Keith Holyoake did occur, but was in fact an event to celebrate Spence as the awardee of the project six months prior. Spence had demonstrated the idea for the building's design at a press release using several boxes of Beehive brand matches, which may have contributed in part to the popular name for the building. Government architect Fergus Sheppard and his team developed Spence's concept.
The Beehive's construction began in 1969. The building's lower floors were completed in 1972, with the next stage seeing the completion of three more storeys between 1975 and 1976. The building was officially dedicated in 1977 with a commemorative plaque unveiled by Queen Elizabeth II. Robert Muldoon was the first prime minister to occupy the Beehive. Government officials moved into the Beehive in 1979 and the final stages of construction of the building's Annex were completed in 1981. A major refurbishing project was conducted between 1998 and 2006 to modernise the interior of the building and improve the building's security measures. Additional repairs were completed in 2014.
Significance
The iconic Beehive is one of the most recognisable structures in Wellington. The building's design has remained somewhat controversial since its opening in 1977, with some members of Parliament calling for it to be reworked. In 2009, the Beehive was listed third among the "world's ugliest buildings" by VirtualTourist.
The construction of the Beehive was a vast and widely publicised project that spanned more than a decade, amounting to one of the major land construction initiatives for post-war New Zealand. The project entailed innovative seismic considerations that included testing to ensure the building's integrity in the event of an earthquake.
Much of New Zealand's key executive policy and government action has been decided within the Beehive since Parliamentary offices were first established there in 1979. Key laws and bills are discussed and debated amongst the executive government officials working within the Beehive. International policy meetings are held in the building, which also hosts state receptions. The Beehive holds significance to New Zealand's Māori population as the site of the Ministers of Māori Affairs. The building has hosted Māori treaty settlement ceremonies and protests.
A popular tourist destination, the Beehive is located next to the Parliament House and is open to public tours daily. The building saw more than 90,000 annual visitors in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
Lockwood Smith, former speaker of the house, nominated the Beehive as a registered heritage site. In 2015, the Beehive was declared an Historic Place Category 1 by Heritage New Zealand, which noted the building as a seat of government and structure of significant architectural design with both aesthetic and technical importance.
Bibliography
"Beehive One of World's Ugliest Buildings." Otago Daily Times, 20 Nov. 2009, www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/travel/beehive-one-worlds-ugliest-buildings. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"Executive Wing (the Beehive)." Heritage New Zealand, 2023, www.heritage.org.nz/the-list/details/9629. Accessed 18 June 2024.
Harris, Catherine. "Beehive Declared Historic Place." The Press, 11 July 2015, p. A10. Newspaper Source Plus, . Accessed 18 June 2024.
Martin, John E. "History of Buildings and Grounds." New Zealand Parliament, New Zealand Government, www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/history-and-buildings/buildings-and-grounds/history-of-buildings-grounds. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"Parliament’s Main Entrance and Visitor Centre Now Open." New Zealand Parliament, 3 Oct. 2017, www.parliament.nz/en/get-involved/features/parliament-s-main-entrance-and-visitor-centre-now-open/. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"The Beehive - Executive Wing." New Zealand Parliament, New Zealand Government, 27 Feb. 2017, www.parliament.nz/en/visit-and-learn/history-and-buildings/buildings-and-grounds/the-beehive-executive-wing. Accessed 18 June 2024.
"The Beehive, Parliament Building and the Parliamentary Library." Tiki Touring, Richard Moore, 2009, www.tikitouring.com/beehive.htm. Accessed 18 June 2024.