Table of contents for Interior Jun/Aug 2018 in Interior

Many of you will be receiving this magazine, hot off the press at our annual Interior Awards ceremony. You’ll be, most likely, balancing a drink or, if lucky, a trophy in one hand and this issue in the other. There might be some anticipation as you thumb through the pages to find the project you designed, worked on, own, supplied product for or, simply, have an interest in. We hope you find our coverage of the Awards (on p. 55) enjoyable and, if your project didn’t go through to the final stages of the competition, please rest assured that the jury pursued a very thorough process in which some amazing interiors missed out by the smallest of margins. For this issue, we also had the chance to explore the very…

A brand-new Aēsop store has opened in Wellington’s historic Change House on Featherston Street. Designed by Rufus Knight, the store references the character and history of both the city and the art-deco building in which it is housed. Freestanding oiled-timber washstands with rounded edges, aged brass tops and lusciously curved Vola taps invite touch. One of these counters is graced with a pair of luminescent textured glass vases by German designer Fabio Vogel. Cabinetry with brass detailing snakes through the store, displaying the array of Aēsop products with their understated, medicinal style packaging. New timber parquet flooring has been given an aged look to fit with the history of the building, while the original windows were restored and fill the space with a soft abundance of natural light. Knight was…

Artist and designer Gidon Bing’s minimalist aesthetic has been put to work in the interior refit of Good Form, a design and gallery space owned by Dan and Emma Eagle. The space is housed within the same building as is the Eagles’ mid-century furniture specialist store, Mr. Bigglesworthy, and has the same focus on craftsmanship and quality as well as an aim to expose fresh talents. A large, industrial interior is made intimate by the highly functional, Japanese-style, modular design, which was created through collaboration between Bing and the owners. The design creates moments for engagement with customers and clients, spaces for the display of objects and furniture, and areas that can be made into focal points for events and exhibitions. Allowing for a sense of intimacy was tricky with…

LOCATION NATIONAL LIBRARY, WELLINGTON WINNER SUPREME AWARD DESIGN PRACTICE STUDIO PACIFIC ARCHITECTURE “… He Tohu [is] a very well-considered space that neutrally but emotively overlays two people’s histories as they meet in one place.” JURY COMMENT Our Supreme category winner came to the fore in the competition very early on both by receiving individual scores that were higher than those of any other finalist this year and by garnering, unanimously, both the Civic and the Craftsmanship categories. He Tohu is a precious object with layers of detailing and narrative about the founding of a nation, its people and the emotional and historical significance of the documents it houses. Highlights include the room’s façade onto which ripples have been carved in representation of two waves that encounter one another. The wave…

LOCATION NATIONAL LIBRARY, WELLINGTON WINNER CIVIC DESIGN PRACTICE STUDIO PACIFIC ARCHITECTURE “This is a room that, through materiality, craft and poetic intent, is emotionally charged without offering any interpretation.” JURY COMMENT Built within the National Library of New Zealand in Wellington, He Tohu is a semi-permanent exhibition room built to house the three most significant founding documents in the country: the 1835 Declaration of Independence of the United Tribes of New Zealand, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi and the 1893 Women’s Suffrage Petition. This is a building within a building which, from material intent and detailing, takes into consideration the significance and history of the documents it is tasked with housing. It was conceived as a carved-timber treasure box (a waka huia) that needed to tell multiple stories, preserve the…

You might know that New Zealand’s workforce of engineers and architects is male dominated. But do you know the true extent of this imbalance? Women make up only 14 per cent of Engineering New Zealand’s membership. Only 20 per cent of all registered architects are female. If engineers and architects want to understand our clients – and deliver what they really want and need – then this just isn’t enough. The business benefits of greater diversity are clear. McKinsey research from 2017 shows that having more women leaders than average is strongly correlated with profitability. When McKinsey ranked companies by the number of women in their executive teams, the top quartile were 21 per cent more likely to outperform the bottom quartile. A Westpac report last year indicated a 50–50…

Gosling has always had a keen eye for interiors and architecture, the latter most likely a result of watching over the plans and designs of his builder father when he was a child. Having focused on collecting furniture for a number of years, Gosling turned his talents towards its design for the fit-outs of his Black Box Boutique store and The Department Store. His style – perhaps best described as modern vintage with an industrial edge – is largely influenced by the works of Brazilian Oscar Niemeyer and Briton John Morton. In creating the furniture for Public Library, Gosling worked alongside Ryan Buxeda. The partnership works so well that the two are planning to go into business together. R&D Design has four finished samples in a proposed launch collection of…

LOCATION EAST TAĀMAKI, AUCKLAND WINNER WORKPLACE (OVER 1,000m2) DESIGN PRACTICE RCG “This is a stunning, non-traditional corporate workplace, which is deeply rooted in the cultural needs of the staff it houses.” JURY COMMENT The designers began thinking about this workplace by using the steps of the pōwhiri and extrapolating that across their spatial analysis. The result is a work environment that seems to understand that cultural standpoint and the ways in which it can set it apart from traditional workplaces. Māori Television used concepts such as the ātea for the building’s entrance, and it interprets the wharenui and wharekai to come up with a social hinge at the heart of the second floor. It takes traditional Māori patterns, deconstructs them and uses them in functional, acoustic panelling and detailing throughout…

LOCATION AUCKLAND AIRPORT WINNER HOSPITALITY DESIGN PRACTICE MATERIAL CREATIVE WITH MUIR DESIGN SOLUTIONS “Starting from a high-impact and impressively crafted reception, Naumi continues to unfold through an orchestrated series of colour and pattern explosions that range from the subtle to the bombastic.” JURY COMMENT An old hotel is given a new lease of life via craftsmanship and design chutzpah. Starting from a high-impact and impressively crafted reception, Naumi continues to unfold through an orchestrated series of colour and pattern explosions that range from the subtle to the bombastic. This project benefits tremendously from several bespoke pieces, inspired or designed by local artists. Rugs, wallpapers, surfaces and art pieces, commissioned and developed by local artisans, lend this hotel a true, yet unexpected sense of locality that complements the nature of the…

It’s the opening of Tom Dixon’s new headquarters and the British designer is showing a gaggle of journalists around. He’s very good at this kind of thing – laid back to the point of being lugubrious yet a hint of the showman is never far from the surface. He evidently enjoys a crowd and possesses a quick, arid-dry wit that the assembled throng laps up. It’s helpful, too, that his new 1625m2 development, containing offices, retail and a (soon to be opened) restaurant, is rather stunning. The Coal Office is part of a 25-year development programme in London’s King’s Cross, which has transformed the post-industrial area around the railway station from one of the capital’s seedier spots into a new (and actually quite inviting) place. The station itself has had…

HOW DOES CARBON SEQUESTRATION WORK? Put basically, carbon sequestration is the process of capturing carbon and putting it into long-term storage. Some methods of sequestration mimic and assist natural processes, such as returning biomass to soil through organic farming methods so that the soil can then absorb carbon, and nourishing the ocean with nitrogen or iron to encourage phytoplankton growth, which absorbs CO2. For carbon to be sequestered artificially, it must first be captured and stored in a carbon sink, such as a disused oilfield (more on this later), or used in a way that delays or prevents its re-release into the atmosphere. Carbon-zero building techniques use timber, which, if it burned or rotted, would release carbon into the atmosphere. Instead, the carbon within the timber is retained for many…

The theme of each annual CoreNet symposium is always topical and on point. In 2018, it was about ‘Creating experiences to get ahead’, looking at the ways in which successful companies create experiences for their customers and questioning how buildings can become experiences in themselves, which attract people and add value to a company. With a range of different speakers from New Zealand and around the globe, this year’s event was as poignant as ever, with the take-home message being around creative thinking, and being aware of and keeping ahead of corporate real estate trends. Stella Green of Be Confident Change Consulting has been on the other side of the microphone many times over the years, presenting at previous CoreNet events. This year, she was able to relax and take…

LOCATION NEWMARKET, AUCKLAND WINNER WORKPLACE (UP TO 1,000m2) DESIGN PRACTICE OPL “This office uses a delicate balance of hard and warm materials, muted and strong colours, and simplicity and movement to represent an equally vibrant millennial and Gen Z workforce.” JURY COMMENT This is a small and considered office for a young and unique company that is currently undergoing a period of extraordinary growth. Given these parameters, the designers responded with simple, yet on-point moves: a timber-clad, ribbon-like piece that wraps itself around the perimeter and the insertion of two freestanding meeting pods. The ribbon lends the space an energetic, flowing, sculptural touch while also providing functionality in the way of bleacher-style seating, leaners and storage. The bespoke meeting pods act as clever and visually arresting spatial solutions that subdivide…

LOCATION GREY LYNN, AUCKLAND WINNER RETAIL DESIGN PRACTICE WARREN AND MAHONEY “… regardless of its many stakeholders, engineering requirements and size limitations, [it] delivers beauty and functionality while offering truly new and context-driven solutions.” JURY COMMENT The design of this retail space responds with flair to difficult and rather unique challenges. First, is the cohabitation of three strong brands with potentially competing products within a single space. Second, is the desire to challenge the car dealership typology and its corresponding workplace culture to suit the product better. And third, is the need to convince global brands to display their opulent vehicles in a way that is suited to New Zealand audiences. In the process, designers upturned some traditions. Devising a highly curated mechanics’ workshop inside a sort of glass-clad operating…

As machines increasingly take over humanity’s more traditional and mundane tasks, creative thinking could be our last bastion against unemployment, poverty, and general malaise and boredom. That is why educational institutes, right down to primary schools, are now promoting creative learning strategies over rote learning and self-management over mindless obedience, and encouraging a ‘growth mindset’, which allows the student to experience life as a series of interrelated challenges and opportunities from which to grow and learn. And, indeed, creativity pays off. A report in August last year by PWC calculated the contribution of design to New Zealand’s economy as $10.1 billion, or 4.2 per cent of the country’s GDP. As reiterated by a number of media outlets at the time of the report, this means design is bigger than is…