Design Technology Centre

May I begin by greeting everyone in the languages of the realm of New Zealand, in English, Māori, Cook Island Māori, Niuean, Tokelauan and New Zealand Sign Language.  Greetings, Kia Ora, Kia Orana, Fakalofa Lahi Atu, Taloha Ni and as it is the morning (Sign)

May I specifically greet you: Peter Fergusson, Chair of the Board of Governors; Rt Rev John Paterson, Bishop of Auckland; Bradley Fenner, Headmaster of King's College; Hon Jim McLay, Campaign Chairman; Alastair Kay, architect; Distinguished Guests otherwise; Ladies and Gentlemen. 

Thank you for inviting my wife Susan and I to attend the opening of the King's College Design Technology Centre.  I have been asked to officially open this new Centre but before I do I would like to speak about the significance of this new facility.

This College has a proud history as an educational institution.  Founded in 1896 on what is now the site of King's School in Remuera,  its first Headmaster Graham Bruce set out a simple vision, namely of: "providing the best all-round education it is possible to obtain".   

In the 113 years since then, the alumni of this College, have contributed much to business, academia, sport, the creative arts, the law, science and medicine to name but a few.  That contribution has occurred both within New Zealand and elsewhere in the world.

The history of King's College since moving to Middlemore in 1922 has been one of continuing growth.  New buildings have been constructed to meet the demands of a growing roll and changing times and circumstances.  This has included boarding houses, classrooms, libraries, laboratories, assembly halls, gymnasia and the Memorial Chapel, built to commemorate those who died in the First World War.

And so it is that the College today gathers to open the latest addition to those facilities-its new Design Technology Centre.  I am advised that this $7.5 million complex-the result of considerable fundraising-brings together under one roof the technology, graphics and art departments with an array of design suites, open-plan learning environments, workshops and technology hubs.  All these spaces are supported by the latest in computer, design and manufacturing technology. 

This Centre is a credit to Graham Bruce's founding vision but also a reflection of the strong connection and support the College retains in the wider community. I would like to congratulate everyone involved in bringing this significant initiative to fruition. 

What is here reminds everyone of the growing and significant role of both technology and design in modern lives.  That the School has chosen to call this a "design technology centre" and not a "design and technology centre" emphasises that rather than being separate, the two disciplines are increasingly two sides of the same coin.

Technology now means more than metal and wood work and design is about more than just drawing.  Information and communication technology have transformed both and have brought them together. 

And just as it has transformed them, it has shown that economies and markets can also be changed by the powerful combination of design and technology.  For example, who would have guessed, not so many years ago, that people would want to listen to music as they walked or exercised.  Then leading Japanese electronics company Sony brought the Walkman to the market in the late 1970s.   Sony created a new market and unleashed a revolution that has created a multi-million dollar industry that employs thousands and in which it continues to be a world leader along with MP3 and iPod with which it shares the territory.

A second example has a New Zealand connection and is the success of Oregon-based sports company, Nike.  One of that company's founders, Bill Bowerman, visited New Zealand in the early 1960s and went running with the famous Kiwi coach, Arthur Lydiard.   After jogging up Maungakiekie One Tree Hill with Lydiard, he realised the potential popularity of jogging as a means of recreation but also the need for something better than sandshoes to run in.

Returning to the United States, he had the inspiration for modern running shoes when he spotted his wife's waffle iron.  He placed in it a piece of rubber and pressed it, and out came a pattern that not only gave greater traction, but was lightweight and able to cushion the foot.  

A third example, closer to home, is the Fisher and Paykel DishDrawer.  The company, which has to compete with some of the biggest whiteware manufacturers in the world, recognised that it needed a point of difference.

The inspiration for the DishDrawer came about not by looking at dishwashers but by thinking about how people used their kitchens. It was observed that with smaller families, people weren't using their dishwashers every day.  As well, people were often living in smaller homes and apartments and did not have the space that would otherwise be used for storage.

The DishDrawer is effectively a hybrid between these two functions.  But the innovative "spark" that led engineer Adrian Sargeant and designer Phil Brace to create the new dishwasher, came from looking at a two drawer filing cabinet.

The DishDrawer also had some spin-offs that not even the designers foresaw.  It has, for example, proven highly popular with people of Orthodox Jewish faith whose custom requires utensils for meat and dairy products to be washed separately. The DishDrawer allows separate meat and dairy dishwashers in a small kitchen that might otherwise only have room for one full-size dishwasher.

As New Zealanders, we have often historically considered ourselves good at design.  The bloke in his shed making do with whatever might be at hand to create a solution to a problem has become the stuff of legend.

But while the "number eight fencing wire" approach may provide the spark that leads to innovative products, that alone is not enough.  However useful a product may be, if it is cumbersome and looks like the back of a bus, few will want to buy it.  The examples I have given from Sony, Nike and our own Fisher and Paykel show that in today's competitive worldwide market, we need to do more than simply "make do."

Working in teams with others, it is designers that play a key role in creating products that customers worldwide want to buy.   As one of the leading thinkers about the role of design, Professor John Heskett, of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, recently said: "Engineers ensure things work, marketers position goods appropriately, but designers specialise in the detailed interaction between what a company produces and the lives of its users."  

The Professor's comment emphasises that design is about more than just what products do, but about who uses them and how and why they use them.  In a wider sense, the Professor's comments point to the importance of creativity in not only a successful education, but also in the future of our country and its economy.  In the difficult economic times our nation and the world currently face, it will be companies that are creative and that integrate design principles into their work that will only survive, but also prosper.

This facility offers both the staff and students of King's College so much.  It is a truly amazing statement.  But bricks, mortar, computers and technological equipment can only facilitate learning, they cannot make it happen.  It is up to you all to put this centre to good use and based on your School's proud history, I feel certain that you will. 

And with a sense of anticipation, I will close in New Zealand's first language Māori, by offering everyone greetings and wishing you all good health and fortitude in your endeavours.  No reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, kia ora, kia kaha, tēnā koutou katoa.