Table of contents for Interior Sep/Nov 2018 in Interior

The chasm between narrative and form – be it architectural, interior, furniture or product – seems to be growing. The desire to express a project’s theoretical merits through a lens of branding/marketing, or by seeking commercial or award gains sometimes forces connections between projects and story lines about their ethos or origins. This disconnect seems to be more common in recent times when what crosses my desk are perfectly functional and human interior spaces; projects with just the right amount of spatial tension; or industrial designs all being described through lofty ideas of history and context, or packaged in narratives that are tenuously (if at all) related to the end result. Is this a case of the emperor’s new clothes? Are we wrapping some of our built projects in descriptions…

Currently the headquarters for HLC, the organisation which has spent the last decade creating a new community at Hobsonville Point, this building was formerly hangars for Catalina seaplanes belonging to the Air Force based at Hobsonville. “We kept the original concrete and steel structure of the roof and hangar doors,” says architect Simon McLean from Cheshire Architects, who designed the refit. “We then glazed what used to be the open hangar doors and inserted a new mezzanine floor into the big, generous vertical volume.” The original steel-and-tin sliding doors were reused as curtain-walling. This lattice-work patterning across the glass is a key visual element, which carries through the space. An industrial-style stairway connects the two hangar areas. The stairway weaves close to the rough concrete walls: a move which allows…

Jerome Partington has a wealth of experience in sustainable and restorative design and eco-building practices, including being the chair of Living Future NZ. At Jasmax, his role involves ensuring the practice follows its environmental management system internally, and working with architects, designers and engineers to use the Integrated Design Process for projects. He was heavily involved in the Tuhoe’s Te Kura Whare, which is currently the only certified living building outside the United States. What is the integrated design process? The integrated design process came out of the USA. When they started doing green buildings, it was costing them more, taking longer and not always achieving the right outcomes. That was a result of a linear design process and of people being risk-averse. Integrative design uses the three Es –…

Australian colour forecaster and stylist Bree Leech spoke to Interior at the Auckland launch of Dulux Colour Forecast 2019. ‘Filter’, the overarching theme behind this year’s colour forecast, is a strong reaction to the barrage of options, decisions and screen time that the digital landscape has forced upon individuals. Leech spoke of this year’s colours as sort of antidotes, able to instil a sense of calm, counteract the glow of screens and more. “There was a lot of discussion about moving away from screens and how some firms are instituting an hour a day when you don’t take calls, you move away from screens and focus on another task. It is very important.” The new range of colours are titled Legacy, Identity, Repair and Wholeself. dulux.co.nz…

BARCELONA, SPAIN Somewhere in Barcelona: a warren of narrow, nondescript corridors and seemingly identical grey doors. Surely this can’t be the home of El Equipo Creativo (EEC), whose haptic, vibrant interiors have reinvigorated the city’s hospitality scene – and are beginning to appear outside the bounds of its home town. As if revealing a closely guarded secret, the door opens to a surprisingly large, airy space. Walls are plastered with prints: EEC’s works-in-progress. “It’s important to be surrounded by inspiration and materials,” says Natali Canas del Pozo of EEC, the studio she runs together with Oliver Franz Schmidt and Lucas Echeveste Lacy. “It helps to trigger new ideas – and it’s good for the team to know what everyone else is working on. Our mess helps us to be more…

Right now, New Zealand is discussing legislation which, if passed, would allow the production and dispensing of medicinal cannabis. If the USA is anything to go by, that could be the gateway legislation towards decriminalisation and the brick-and-mortar retailing of marijuana. Consensus over contentious issues is usually hard fought – until recently the issue of cannabis has been no exception – however, divisions that enforced the status quo are breaking down. Evidence-based health policy is becoming widespread on both sides of the political aisle; meanwhile, examples from overseas of legalisation and decriminalisation continue to filter back home. As this formerly illegal industry looks to move in from the cold, it will, potentially, have an impact on health services, tax revenue, criminal justice and employment; aside from this, what role will…

This year’s Interior Awards gala event at Auckland’s St Matthew-in-the-City was a celebration of the country’s top commercial interiors and design professionals. Almost 400 guests attended the boisterous party, where the winners and overall Supreme Winner were announced across the Awards’ 10 categories. MCs for the evening, Jackie van Beek and partner Jesse Griffin, brought their trademark humour to the proceedings while beverage partners Mt Difficulty Wines, McCleod’s Brewery and Victor Gin ensured glasses were well-charged and at the ready for the many toasts. Congratulations, once again, to all of our winners for your incredibly inspirational, well-crafted work. interiorawards.co.nz…

In total, 10 designs were created by Cox Architecture, Elenberg Fraser, Warren and Mahoney, Woods Bagot and Zaha Hadid Architects (pictured right) for developer ICD Property’s Federal Street site in the city’s centre. The architects each submitted two designs for the new hotel-residential building: the first following current city planning rules and the second showcasing what could be built with more-liberal planning parameters. Designs ranged from a tower with a sky garden representing the Auckland landscape through to a building façade inspired by a Ma - ori korowai (cloak). The winner will be announced in October. The presentations can be viewed on the ArchitectureNow website. architecturenow.co.nz…

Rachel Louie and her father Mark Jones (both pictured above) are the main clients behind the new Kitchen Things Luxury Collection Showroom. Here, Louie explains some of the research and aspirations, and the designer brief for this project. Interior: What was the catalyst for this type of retail space and what led you to believe that the New Zealand market is ready for it? Rachel Louie: The last five years have seen an increase in international wealth in New Zealand as well as Kiwis becoming more and more brand conscious. Making international trends accessible in our country was becoming a high demand. As we see more and more homes being built in the multi-million dollar bracket, Mark could see that the market was ready for additional brands in the luxury…

Charlene Cong has spent the past two years flying back and forth between Sydney and Auckland, to develop, design, detail and then direct the fit-out of the common areas, lobby, café and dining precinct at 125 Queen Street. Working out a logical flow for the public spaces within a trapezoidal footprint was one challenge for Alexander &CO.; conveying the detail of the design across the Tasman was another but being given complete freedom to create something unique was, Cong says, the most daunting aspect of all. Interior: What was the overall vision for the Queen’s Rise dining precinct? Charlene Cong: The design was based around the experience you would have in a European laneway. Auckland already has many boutique eateries sprinkled around the city and in Ponsonby, which is close…

This planet we live on has ways of regulating its climate. A major one is through weathering, which removes carbon from the ground surface and washes it to the ocean, where it is locked away in natural deposits of limestone. Another way is through vegetation, which absorbs carbon from the atmosphere; this works to a shorter-term extent as, once the vegetation dies and rots, it will again release most of its carbon. However nature does the job, the extent to which humans populate the surface of the Earth and transform it according to their wills and needs affects how well these systems work. The planet’s systems move slowly and cannot cope with the amount of carbon we create and release into the atmosphere, and so the climate will continue to…

How do you go about selecting artists to fit a client brief? It’s critical to get the brief right. This comes back to really understanding the client, who might be an individual or a team. Requirements for an artwork are often contradictory! It’s a matter of working those through. The next step is to define the role of the artwork precisely. What does it need to do? How should the artwork make you feel? Should it be calm and restful or high energy? Should it command you to Stop! Look! Listen! or should it imperceptibly infuse the space with its gentle presence? Another critical factor is to determine the physical requirements of the artwork. Does it need to be sufficiently robust to withstand the odd bump or knock? These are…