Interior INTERIOR_19_201603

Since our last issue we have begun a process of evolution building upon the successes of the magazine, rejigging some sections, bringing in some new ones and reaching out to industry specialists whose opinions we see as bringing poignant and exciting perspectives to the magazine. ¶ In this issue we introduce the first of several new contributors. Acoustics, facilities management, lighting, colour, textiles… the idea is to have people who are passionate about the minutiae of interior-making dissect the spaces that best exemplify their specific areas. We have, however, opted not just to use their knowledge for column writing but we will also be deploying them to review interior spaces, exploring them from a specialist and technical perspective. ¶ Interior will be trialling some new sections as well. In this…

YOU WERE A CONCERT VIOLINIST? Yes, that’s right; I started playing the violin when I was five and did a lot of performing in chamber groups, orchestras and choirs throughout high school. I went on to study Performance Violin at Victoria University but became disillusioned with music as a career. As soon as I completed my BMus, I re-enrolled at VUW architecture school and I’ve never regretted that decision. However, I do still perform because I love it. IS THAT WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE WORLD OF ACOUSTICS? I love the acoustics in the Wellington Town Hall. I’m very glad it didn’t get demolished! Day to day, I really appreciate a well-designed café where you can hear the person across the table from you without straining to hear. This is…

POP-UPS: GONE MOBILE Words by: Studio 106 The shell of the caravan, provided by Retro Events, was a great base for our in-house team to work with. We kept things pared back, implementing a ceiling treatment (constructed out of a week’s worth of disused paper) and some soft linen furnishings. It was more about stripping back the interior rather than adding to it. Next, splashes of selected colours were brought in through furniture and fittings, which added a summery feel. One of our big challenges was balancing between how much we would take with us and the weight of the caravan. We opted to partner with Refold Desks, who have developed a cardboard portable desk. They were fantastic! Part of the exercise was to reduce – and during our time…

What defines a pop-up? There are three types we deal with. Mobile pop-up covers our tuk-tuks and food trucks but also extends to events. The likes of Taste Auckland is almost a pop-up but on a festival scale. Then there are temporary ones, like the containers you see in the Re:Start mall in Christchurch. Then, the more commonly known pop-up, the short-term retail. Is there a time limit? If a shop is going to parade as a pop-up, it shouldn’t stick around for more than a year. People get impatient. Six months is good. Why would a property owner take on a short-term lease? If you’re buying a retail space, you tend to want to be a part of the community, but some people aren’t bothered. What it can do…

How did you come to interior design? I guess in university it came from being interested in film and in concept design and that also translates pretty easily into interiors. It was sort of intuitive. I was interested in things like fashion and art and music, which I know is pretty general for anyone who has just started university, but I saw more possibilities for exploring them through interiors than I did in industrial design or landscape architecture or anything like that. Any specific influences within those art forms? In terms of art it was really just the American canon of Judd, Serra, Heizer, MattaāClark – nothing ground-breaking, but I remember seeing that stuff for the first time and realising, although it was art, it had this interior dimension. In…

COLOURFUL K’ RD The transformation of Auckland’s Karangahape Road is heavily under way, with various developers tackling bite-sized portions of the lively bastion of alternative urban culture. Interior recently toured the nascent K’ Road Co-op building (at 375 K’ Road) with its developer Andy Davies. The 490m2, three-storeyed, mixeduse space is being rented to mostly creative and hospitality outfits such as a gin and vodka maker and Bernau Architects, with a yet-to-be leased 179m2 basement. We were particularly impressed by Diane Greenwood’s tile mural (pictured here) which stitches together the three levels of the central core of the building. It is a stunning backdrop to a steel, concrete and timber interior. “This is K’ Road,” says Davies about the colourful mural; “I felt we needed to camp it up a…