Lara Simmons Email & Phone Number

Wellington, Nz

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

Wellington, Wellington Region, New Zealand

Trestle Creative uses strategic planning, project management, and creative design to build connections between people and the places and stories around them. We specialise in • interpretation planning, concepts, and design.• Heritage advice and conservation planning• Research and content development• Strategic planning for the culture and heritage sector.We are advocates for meaningful experience and lifelong learning. We believe powerful experiences come by utilising all our senses to interact with the places and stories around us. We believe in that in order to create a better future we must remain connected to our past.

Associate Teaching Fellow for the Museum and Heritage Studies Programme includingMHST 516 Making Meanings (August - November 2019)MHST 502 Introductions to Museum and Heritage (September 2020-November 2020)MHST 528 Heritage Interpretation Theory and Practice (March 2021-June 2021)

Heritage EQUIP provides funds for seismic strengthening work on Category 1 & 2 heritage buildings throughout New Zealand. As a Heritage EQUIP panel member, I collaborate with other experts to discuss applications for funding and determine a unified panel recommendation to the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.

Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand

During my time at Wellington City Council I drafted an Interpretation Strategy for the council which sets forth a set of values and principles to guide storytelling in the city. The strategy champions Te Ao Māori perspective and encourages storytelling through design. I take this values based approach and a strong desire to further the awareness of Te Ao Māori with my into my current practice. As a Senior Heritage Advisor I also provided specialist and independent heritage advice for the Wellington City Council. This included providing heritage advice on Resource Consent Applications for Heritage Listed Items, contributing towards the process of revising the heritage listings in the proposed district plan and assisting in achieving integrated outcomes within the Place Planning Team.

Auckland, New Zealand

The completion of my Masters in Museum and Heritage Studies required a four month long intensive internship within the Museum and Heritage Sector. As the only museum in New Zealand with dedicated content and interpretation development staff, I pursued an internship with their exhibitions team. The focus during my time at the museum was to assist in the interpretive role for the completion and installation of the exhibition "Are We There Yet? Women and Equality in Aotearoa." My experience at the Auckland Museum helped me to hone my understanding of the role interpreters play in exhibit design and how exhibits themselves fit into the wider museum picture. Additionally, I was keen to expand my knowledge of visitor experience. I learned to think more critically about target audiences and audience behaviour. I also gained exposure to the experience of the visitor Through observation of visitors in the galleries and exhibitions on a regular basis as well as discussions with their visitor marketing research team.

Island Bay, Wellington, New Zealand

The Sisters of Compassion wanted a modern and interactive visitor's centre to tell the stories of their lives. This exhibit has been unique in that it is displaying a religious culture and their mission, vision and values are the focus of the display. I worked with 3D Creative as an interpreter and content developer for this exhibit. To begin, I interviewed Sisters of Compassion, staff, and volunteers about their current work and used that information to develop a set of interpretive themes and guidelines to be carried throughout the exhibit. I learned it was important to focus on how the sisters went about their ministry rather than the particulars of what they did.I went on to source the content for the exhibit, including the development of several visitor digital and physical interactives. I looked for ways to focus on a particular value in each section of the display. Striking images and personal stories of individual sisters were also key to personalise the Sisters and their devotion to their mission, without making them feel like a cliche.

Wellington & Wairarapa, New Zealand

Senior Project Engineering working on existing and new buildings in the Wellington Region. During my tenure at Holmes Consulting Wellington, I managed the design of the Martinborough Town Hall and Community Centre. The project involved seismic strengthening of the existing town hall, and construction of a new community centre designed by Warren and Mahoney architects. The project had a politically fast-tracked schedule taking the project from Preliminary design to Construction documents in just over 3 months.

Seattle, Wa

A key project I consulted on while running my own consulting business was the flagship Starbucks Roastery in Seattle, Washington. I worked on this project in collaboration with MAWright Structural Engineers. This pilot project was described by CEO Howard Schultz as the “’Willie Wonka’ of Coffee”. The project was fast-tracked, highly confidential, and design driven. It involved extensive coordination and collaboration amongst all disciplines to achieve the designer's concept. The entire project (from concept to opening) was completed in less than one year. Another key project was the seismic strengthening and renovation of the Harvard Exit Theatre. I worked on this project in collaboration with Frank Co Engineers. Initially built in 1925 as the Women's Century Club, the space had been converted to a theatre in the 1960s. This restoration project restored the original windows and auditorium spaces and created a modern open plan office and restaurant space.Both the Starbucks Roastery and the Harvard Exit Theatre won the "Best Adaptive Reuse Award" given out by Historic Seattle (2015 and 2018, respectively).

Seattle, Washington

As an Education Intern for MOHAI, I assisted with school group visits to the museum including introducing them to the museum, facilitating education programmes, and running activities. I also engaged youth and families in activities during weekend and evening public programming events.During my time as an education intern, I gained exposure to the inner workings of a museum and, in particular, how school groups interact with museums. This has helped inform my knowledge of how interpretation can be used to engage a wide range of audiences.

Christchurch, New Zealand

Senior Project Engineer managing the design and construction of the Clock Tower and College Hall Retrofit and Repair at the Arts Centre Complex, in Christchurch New Zealand. Holmes Consulting were the prime consultants on the repair and restoration of the Arts Centre following the 2011 Canterbury Earthquakes. My role as Project Engineer included a high degree of project management including liasing with City Council, Heritage Professionals, Quantity Surveyors, General Contractors, and Arts Centre Staff. My experience living in Christchurch during this time exposed me first hand to the trials that communities face in the aftermath of a natural disaster.The project won the Supreme Award at the Canterbury Heritage Awards (2018) and a gold award from ACENZ (2017).

Seattle, Wa

Structural Engineer managing design and construction of transportation structures in the Seattle AreaDuring my tenure at KPFF one of the projects I worked on was the Mercer West Corridor Project. The Mercer West Corridor project included widening Mercer Street and construction a new bridge for State Route 99 to improve transportation flow from downtown Seattle to Interstate 5. The project was complicated by the number of stakeholders involved in the project, particularly it's proximity to the north portal of the new Seattle tunnel and the development of the complex for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Although SDOT was our client, the programming of the project required a high level of interagency collaboration and cooperation between SDOT, WSDOT, and the Gates Foundation.

Structural Engineer, Project Manager and Associate for the design and construction of residential, commercial and seismic retrofit projects throughout Seattle and Washington state. During my long tenure at Swenson Say Faget I worked on a wide range of projects ranging from residential design to large scale heritage restoration projects such as the Washington State Legislative Building and the Pike Place Market buildings. Many of my projects were highly architecturally driven, and I took pride in offering my clients unique engineering solutions to help them achieve their design goals. I was able to manage my projects independently and establish my own client base, responsible for all aspects of the designs I was delivering. During my time at Swenson Say Faget, I developed a specialty in seismic retrofit designs. One of the aspects of seismic retrofit work that I have always enjoyed is that it requires the engineer to thoroughly study the building and then take that information to creatively determine a simple and cost effective solution to remediate its seismic deficiencies.

Structural Engineer for the design and construction of industrial and renovation projects.

Master Of Museum And Heritage Practices

Bsce