Beehive (New Zealand)
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The Beehive is the common name for the Executive Wing of New Zealand Parliament Buildings, located at the corner of Molesworth Street and Lambton Quay, Wellington. It is so-called because its shape is reminiscent of that of a traditional woven form of beehive known as a skep. It is registered as a Category I heritage building by Heritage New Zealand.
Bowen House (left), the Beehive (centre) and Parliament (right). A very similar view of the latter two buildings features on New Zealand's $20 banknote.
Queen Elizabeth II opening the Beehive, 28 February 1977
A view of the Beehive from above, showing the much larger structure at its base
The upper floors of the Beehive house the Cabinet and the Prime Minister's office
New Zealand Parliament Buildings
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New Zealand Parliament Buildings house the New Zealand Parliament and are on a 45,000 square metre site at the northern end of Lambton Quay, Wellington. From north to south, they are the Parliamentary Library building (1899); the Edwardian neoclassical-style Parliament House (1922); the executive wing, called "The Beehive" (1977); and Bowen House. Whilst most of the individual buildings are outstanding for different reasons, the overall setting that has been achieved "has little aesthetic or architectural coherence".
Left to right: Bowen House, the Beehive (Executive Wing), Parliament House and the Parliamentary Library
Parliament House, completed 1922
The previous building (the left wing) in 1906
Parliament House in 1929, shortly after completion. The building to the left is Government House.