Whanganui-founded firm DLA Architects celebrates 50 years of remarkable builds

Architect Bruce Dickson speaks to members of the DLA Architects firm at their 50-year celebration.

A Whanganui-established architecture firm responsible for saving heritage buildings such as the Rutland Arms Inn and Whanganui Collegiate Chapel is celebrating 50 years in business. Reporter Eva de Jong spoke to founding partner Bruce Dickson and current DLA Architects partner and director Martin Swann about how far the firm has come.

Architect Bruce Dickson has turned saving Whanganui’s iconic buildings into a life’s project.

In 1974, Dickson joined forces with the late Barry Lonergan to establish Dickson Lonergan Architects - now named DLA Architects - in Whanganui.

In the early days, the pair worked mainly on residential builds but as their ambitions grew they took on larger projects such as schools and hospitals.

Martin Swann was born in Whanganui and began working as an intern at the company in 1979.

“They were a very friendly, gregarious, fun practice,” Swann said.

“Barry was more the entrepreneur and did more development work, and Bruce was more into detailed, mainstream architecture.

“It was a nice mix and they got on very well.”

In 1981, when the firm heard of plans to demolish the Whanganui Sacred Heart Convent, they attempted to save the Victorian brick building by launching a planning tribunal case against the Whanganui District Council.

They lost the case but managed to stop the convent’s chapel from being destroyed.

“It was a turning point really.”

Further successful campaigns led by the pair saved significant buildings such as the Whanganui Collegiate Chapel, Purnell House, the old Fire Station, Sacred Heart Chapel, the Embassy Theatre and Rutland Arms Inn.

When Dickson purchased the Rutland Arms Inn, it was just two weeks away from being sold to a developer.

“It’s been a major interest for me because I’m concerned about what we’re losing, and a lot of the buildings which are going in their place are really not very good.

“We’re losing this wonderful, old architecture and I think it’s tragic.”

DLA Architects has expanded into five offices across New Zealand with about 20 staff members.

Dickson said the firm entered the food processing industry when the financial crisis hit in 1987 and its architectural work dried up.

“Running an architectural practice is not easy, it can be frustrating and there are many times when it’s very depressing.

“Barry cottoned on to the idea of working for the food processing industry, and we started working for a big dairy company in Hamilton that is now Fonterra.”

Swann said the dairy industry had remained one of DLA Architects’ largest, industrial clients.

A view of the inside of the Whanganui Collegiate Chapel. Photo / NZME

Dickson’s personal favourite of the Whanganui buildings he had worked on was the Whanganui Collegiate Chapel.

“That chapel was a single-aisle chapel and it was earthquake-prone.

“It had a very heavy slate roof on it, and if the brick walls had collapsed the whole thing would have come down.

“We increased the width of the chapel and strengthened the whole building – it was a wonderful job.”

Swann said times were currently “tight and tough” for the industry as a whole.

“It’s tough and I think things have contracted a little bit but there’s still a level of inquiry there that leaves you feeling cautiously optimistic.

“I think we’re going to go through another tough period for the next three to six months but I think we can see evidence of positivity in the marketplace – it’s not as though the tap has been turned off.”

Dickson, who left DLA Architects in 2011, said he was “really proud” of how the firm had grown over 50 years.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.