Johannes (Hans) Barteld Seye Huizing (1924-2017)

Hans was a skilled engineer who approached his work with open minded curiosity. During his time with the Ministry of Works Hans oversaw key projects, including the Wellington Motorway development. His approach was always collaborative and people centred. He built relationships with staff at all levels across the organisation and was a mentor to many.

Early training

Hans Huizing was born at Stadskanaal, The Netherlands on 3 June 1924. He began his engineering education at Delft University in 1942 but his study was interrupted when he was deported by the occupying forces to Germany and later to Poland. In Germany he was put to work at an aircraft design factory where jet engines were being developed. He lived in a work camp with others of many different nationalities.

In January 1945 he was sent to prison for describing his work at the aircraft design office in a letter to his girlfriend. He was due to appear before a military court, charged with giving away state secrets, but fortunately, developments in the war intervened and in March 1945 he was sent to Poland to dig anti-tank trenches. He then spent time between the German and Allied lines before managing to make it home on his 21st birthday. He resumed his studies at Delft University, graduating with a degree in civil engineering.

Introduction to New Zealand

In 1951 Hans married Anke Spek and the couple emigrated to New Zealand later that same year. In the post-war period, New Zealand actively recruited skilled migrant workers. Before leaving The Netherlands, Hans applied and was accepted for a role with the Ministry of Works. After an overnight stay in Wellington, he was sent to Takaka and on to the site of the Cobb Power Station construction in the remote backcountry. Hans worked on and supervised the construction of the second penstock.

It was here that he learned what he termed the ‘New Zealand way of life’. At Cobb, Hans encountered New Zealand sandflies, learned the names of New Zealand birds and trees, and learned about pig hunting. The workmen, many of them miners from the West Coast, taught him to swear and he discovered how New Zealand workers could party and drink.

This rough and ready introduction to New Zealand taught Hans how to relate to people with backgrounds and skills quite different from his own. It was experience that would prove valuable throughout his career.

Building skills and experience

Hans left the Cobb Valley in 1954 for a Ministry of Works role in Trentham where he was in charge of services to other departments and housing development. After a year he moved to the Ministry of Works Head Office in Wellington. Hans worked on bridge design and became an advocate for the use of pre-stressed concrete.

In 1961, Hans moved to Napier to take up the role of Inspecting Engineer, and later Design and Materials Engineer. During his time in Napier Hans worked on a variety of projects, including the Mohaka Bridge and the Hawke’s Bay airport extension, where he acted as Project Engineer.

The work was a steep learning curve for Hans both on the technical and technical resourcing side. He sought expert advice from colleagues at all levels and was not shy to question why things were being done a certain way and whether the right materials and methods were being applied.

Wellington motorway development

Hans returned to Wellington in 1964 to lead the design team working on the Wellington Motorway. There was strong public opposition to the motorway and Hans found himself in the midst of community politics. He worked hard to build relationships and to produce aesthetically pleasing designs, incorporating view shafts, walkways and fences.

Hans had strong views about concrete and its appearance. He favoured textured finishes and experimented with rough formwork and broken off corners to achieve the look he was after. He was quietly proud of the visual and functional outcomes achieved on the Wellington motorway and these were recognised when the project won the first environmental award made by the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) in 1972.

Vision and talent

In 1969 Hans was promoted to Assistant Chief Designing Engineer (Civil) and in 1971 to Chief Designing Engineer (Civil), with overall responsibility for all design work done in the Civil Division of the Ministry of Works.

Those who worked with Hans remember him as a man of great vision, talent and commitment. He had an enquiring mind and never stopped asking why things were done a certain way and how they could be done better. Curiosity and doubt, he said were important qualities for an engineer.

Hans applied this questioning approach and his search for new methods to a number of technical areas including prestressed concrete, falsework, grouting, site investigations, piling, corrosion, geotechnical engineering, seismic design, bridge loadings, retaining walls, bridge pier scour and highway bridge design standards.

He also championed the research and development of many new Ministry of Works and Development design guides and codes. These later became national documents and remained in use for many years after he retired.

Hans’ approach to developing new methods and finding design solutions was people centred and inclusive. He valued the input of young engineers and worked hard to build relationships with staff across the regional offices. He also worked in close collaboration with local authorities, government departments, universities, and private consultants to share ideas, brainstorm solutions and undertake and fund research.

One research project where Hans took a driving role was the 1966 investigation of crack development in the newly opened Newmarket Viaduct in Auckland. Hans found a staff member who was keen to investigate the issue and secured funding to gather data and undertake research. The research team successfully identified the reasons for the cracking phenomenon of differential temperature stresses in a deep box girder bridge structure, and as a result a set of new design rules was produced. Hans presented this work to an international conference in Europe where it was received with much acclaim.

Mentor

As a manager and colleague, Hans took a close interest in the career development of young engineers across the Ministry. He was a valued mentor to many, who credit his encouragement and guidance in leading them to specialist roles and development opportunities.

Preparing the Ministry for change

Hans could see the political and commercial pressures that the Ministry of Works and Development was moving towards in the early 1980s and played a significant part in the preparation for the coming management reforms. He introduced time keeping for projects and made staff aware of project costs, including productive and indirect time, and put in place many new management approaches.

These measures were a good introduction to the business structure changes that were to come and contributed to the organisation’s success after the Ministry was corporatised in 1988.

Professional membership and awards

Hans was a member of Engineering New Zealand for 60 years. He became a registered engineer in 1957 and a Fellow in 1975.

He was also a member of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering and served on the Professional Engineers Training Committee. He published articles in IPENZ publications and presented a number of conference papers.

In 1972 Hans and his collaborators received the Freyssinet Award for the best paper presented within a three-year period on concrete design or construction.

Hans also twice received the Fulton-Downer Gold Medal, presented annually for the best conference paper on a technical subject. He received the award in 1962 for his joint paper with Alexander Stirrat, “Trends in Highway Bridging”, discussing his work on the Thorndon overbridge, Wellington; and in 1977 for his paper, “Falsework” with Roger Blakeley and G Ramsay.

Personal interests

Throughout his career Hans enjoyed a variety of outside interests including architecture, photography, gardening and classical and jazz music. Already a competent skier from his early days in Europe, he took up skiing again in his mid-60s and he and Anke spent their retirement in Raetihi close to Ruapehu and the beautiful mountain scenery that he loved.

Entry by Bill Darnell

Page last updated: 21 August 2020