What is the Question – October

What is your name?

Mick Moloney (…but you, Roland, get a one-off exemption and may call me Michael since you find “Mick” so displeasing to the ear!).

 

What is your occupation?

Husband, father, architect.

 

What brought you to Ballarat?

My wife, Jules, grew-up here, whereas I grew-up around Woodend and Trentham. After living in Melbourne in the early days of our careers, we decided to move back to the country. We felt that Ballarat had a good vibe, and was a good size for us to establish an architectural practice.

 

What is your favourite spot in the city?

The Robert Clarke Conservatory in the Botanical Gardens. Often, I go there with Jules and the kids to get a boost of warmth and sunlight in the depths of a Ballarat winter. It’s an elegant and refined building that uses the geometry of origami folds to create a modern version of a European conservatory, or glass house. It was well-received by architectural critics in the 1990s, and I think the design stands-up very well today.

 

What do you like to cook?

My signature dish: chilly mussels in white wine – but I’m the only person in the house who likes it.

 

What is the most expensive thing you’ve purchased – property aside?

I drive an Audi TT which is, essentially, an expensive go-kart. It is a lot of fun though, and it make a very satisfying engine-fart noise as I drive around town.

 

What building would you choose to be?

Great question for an architect. Either Carlo Scarpa’s extensive renovation of the Museo di Castelvecchio in Verona; or Tadao Ando’s transformation of the Punta della Dogana in Venice. Please don’t make me choose.

 

What is your most treasured possession?

A solid steel model of the Berlin Jewish Museum. It reminds me of my first overseas trip and had a huge influence on my work.

 

What is the greatest love of your life – apart from friends and family?

Good design – particularly architecture that deals with the restoration and transformation of older structures.

 

What or who inspires you?

I know it sounds corny, but my wife really is my greatest source of inspiration. She is an incredibly clear thinker and an inexhaustible well of kindness.

 

What is your favourite holiday destination?

Venice. I like to get over there every two years for the architecture biennale. Last year I managed to sneak over for the Art Biennale which runs in the alternate years. Jules and I have managed to get there a few times together – but we’re hoping that will increase as the kids get older.

 

What music and television do you like?

Favourite at the moment is Have You Been Paying Attention?

Musically, I’m currently revisiting the incredible angry energy of Kendrick Lamar’s album DAMN (the first non-jazz or classical album to win a Pulitzer Prize for Music). It’s very good, but not one to play around the office.

 

What is your favourite quote?

Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.

 

What person – living or dead would invite to dinner party?

Steve Martin. I pretty sure he’s not dead, but if he were I’m sure he could make a decent joke of it.

 

What technological/scientific development boggles your mind?

Space travel still boggles my tiny mind. I had a science teacher in year 7 who was saving-up to go to space one day on a private shuttle. I thought he was pretty much insane, but here we are now with SpaceX confirming they are sending three tourists on a 10-day trip to the International Space Station late 2021.

 

What was your first job?

A waiter at the Melbourne Zoo. On my first day I was told to serve champagne to the wedding guests. With the bold confidence of someone who’d once seen a waiter on TV, I took off with a full tray of glasses atop one hand. It took me exactly 20 seconds to work-out that when someone takes a glass from one side, the rest of the tray ends up on the matron-of-honour.

 

What did you want to be when you were growing up?

I honestly didn’t know. As the youngest of six kids – who went on to have careers in medicine, law, and finance – I really just wanted to do something different.

I thought a scientist for a while, but after enrolling in a science degree I worked-out it wasn’t for me. Luckily I was allowed to take classes from other faculties, and one-day stumbled into an architecture lecture. It was love at first sight.