20 August 2015

History and art laced together for light festival

Urban designers at Wellington City Council have conjured up a Lux lighting exhibit titled Laces for Hannahs former shoe factory in Wellington’s Eva and Leeds streets.

Laces was designed by Jamie Roberts and Peter Fraser who have woven LED Neon Flex around the (now disused) fire escape attached to the building.

“We love the way it symmetrically weaves its way down through the levels similar to the way boot-laces drape over each other,” they say.

The iconic Hannahs Factory, now converted to apartments and business spaces that house some of Wellington’s most creative people and industries, has a rich history as a place of industrial enterprise.

For more than half a century the Hannahs Factory produced boots and shoes and employed hundreds of Wellingtonians – the photography attached shows the staff in front of the building in the 1930s. Today, Hannahs lives on as one of New Zealand’s most famous footwear brands.

The Hannahs Factory is a great example of an industrial building from the period between the World Wars. The fire escape stairway on the north-side of the building demonstrates this period’s functionalist design style.

Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown says the Laces work emphasises the architecture of the building to tell a story about its past as a shoe factory.

“Lux highlights our quirky Wellington buildings and illuminates the city’s hidden corners,” she says.

Laces is the first of a number of improvements being made to revitalise the lane and make it a place where Wellingtonians want to spend more time. Other features of the laneway project include modern heritage interpretation, green walls, better lighting, and a few other exciting additions that aim to surprise and delight.

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