Table of contents for March / May 2020 in Interior

The CoreNet Symposium is once again coming up: 28 May in Auckland’s Shed 10. An annual highlight of the property calendar, this major event draws people from all corners of the corporate real estate industry – building owners, major occupiers, suppliers and knowledge leaders – to hear speakers from all over the world examine issues at the forefront of the industry’s collective mind. This year, the topic is Resilience: The Next Wave, explains CoreNet Global New Zealand chapter chair Rod Aitken (pictured above left). “We have picked an important topic that follows a direct line from 2016, when wellness and well-being were at the front of people’s concerns. This year, we are delving into the world of resilience and, specifically, the ways in which we can build personal and real…

Uplights have firm footholds in the outdoors. Angled and flattering, they have found their place in the designer’s seasonless recipe for mood-making – one well adopted by architecture firm GOA and light specialists Prolighting for the Muh Shoou Xixi Hotel, to the liking of surrounding persimmon trees. Their full silhouettes tower over the resort’s linear framework in the dark. Moonlight, an element that the designers sought to integrate into the project, becomes their backboard. By day, the site’s five buildings, built around dottings of lakes over a 36,000m2 area in China’s Xixi National Wetland Park, Hangzhou, continue to complement the saturated land. Recycled wood and reflective surfaces, from expanses of glass to marble and an infinity pool, mirror the forest and the sky.…

International hotel brands, lifestyle hotels and boutique resorts want to be sustainable, authentic and connected with place to provide guests with rich, localised experiences To deliver on this, the challenge for designers is to design with a deep understanding of local culture and materials when working remotely and then being able to execute the design sustainably. In this aspect, when design and procurement work closely together, a more authentic and sustainable outcome is achievable. When methods of procurement are front of mind in the design process, the details and material selection are able to be robust through the many project management stages before construction proceeds. With construction increasingly drawing upon the global supply chain and hotels all prioritising connection with their localities, it becomes a delicate balancing act of delivering…

The combined jury panel for both World Architecture Festival and Inside: World Festival of Interiors was composed of nearly 150 architects, designers and academics from the world over. Some of the best-known practitioners included: Francine Houben, Lesley Lokko, James Timberlake, Christina Seilern, Peter Cook, Tom de Paor, Alison Brooks, Sanjay Puri, Aaron Betsky, Nigel Coates and many more. WAF and Inside took place within the same venue and the 15 crit rooms were dotted around Amsterdam’s RAI. The process is simple: each finalist has 10 minutes to present their project with the help of images, plans and multimedia to get their point across. Those presentations are then followed by 10 minutes of questions from a jury panel comprising two to four members. Each of the crit rooms is reserved for…

SHARON STEPHENSON Writer Sharon Stephenson writes for a range of magazines and newspapers from her Wellington home. She spent five years in London where she worked for the BBC but, for now, she’s happy to be home. For this issue, she wrote about Antipodes’ new headquarters and retail space (page 26). Tell us about your favourite aspects of the Antipodes headquarters and retail space. The sense of light and space is a welcome contrast to the company’s previous dark and segmented workspace. But, mainly, I admire the clever re-imagining of an iconic Wellington building that will serve customers and staff for years to come. What do you think are some of the most exciting things happening with sustainable design in New Zealand? I’m excited about the move to preserve and…

“The new bistro space has been designed to convey its own identity,” says David Morgan, co-director of CPRW architecture/design, who oversaw the project. “We needed to create a distinctly separate space – or at least the perception of one – both physically and aesthetically [from] the adjacent lounge and bar.” There’s a subtlety to the ways in which the bistro works to belong to the wider ‘Generator family’; oak panels with brass inlays mirror the site’s leather panels and a deliberately limited palette blends into the midst. cprw.co.nz…

How did you become involved in concert lighting design? I started about 10 years ago in Wellington. I used to play drums in bands and wasn’t making any money or getting anywhere with that, so I decided to try and do lighting for some local bands; it went really well. I started in an all-ages circuit [before] working with first-tier New Zealand musicians like The Mint Chicks and Liam Finn. Then I moved on to working for classic New Zealand bands like The Black Seeds and The Phoenix Foundation. Since then, I’ve left New Zealand and moved to Los Angeles. You have worked with Six60 for many years now. In what ways is their increasing popularity influencing what you are doing now as opposed to back then? Five, six years…

What does the process look like when you select colours for your artwork and how does this differ when you work on interiors? Colour brings feeling in the same way that texture brings time. Shiny equals new. Rough equals old. And, so, I guess colour is a statement of how you feel or, probably, more how I want you to feel when you see the thing I’ve made. Interiors are similar to art. Well, I actually think interiors are art, so it becomes a little difficult to pinpoint how the process changes between the two. The only difference I find is that, when I work with a client on a space, we’re both looking at the same vision and so move together on the journey – we’re partners in crime.…

When Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell opened the doors of the Morgans Hotel NYC to the public in 1984, not only did they create a new category of hotel – ‘the boutique’ – but they launched the next generation of experiential design in the hospitality industry. For Schrager and Rubell – who also created Studio 54 – opening an experience-driven hotel was not a ground-breaking feat but, when they opened without a functioning kitchen and accommodated room service orders through takeout deliveries replated onto beautiful china, they proved that focusing on the guest experience was critical to the success of any property. Though this opening made a small wave in the mid-’80s, the hotel industry continued to tick away with the steady growth of both boutique independents and global full-service…

When it comes to fashionable, unique looks and quirky interiors, some home-owners can be wary of taking chances on the interiors of their own homes. However, when it comes to hotel design, a signature look and brand is imperative. Hotels won’t just be neutral palettes that provide settings for travel experiences – they are now pushing the limits of design and exploring future unique trend narratives. Brave and innovative materiality, colour and concepts will encourage guests to embrace new design perspectives and, maybe, even bring them back into their residential lives. To add to this wow factor, hotel interiors will increasingly see commissioned and significant pieces of art in both suites and communal areas. These stunning and provocative hospitality interiors are there to be fully enjoyed. Along with superb service,…

This recently unveiled pedestrian walkway in Melbourne called The Link connects the Chadstone Shopping Centre to the Hotel Chadstone Melbourne. Its main structure expands over 110 metres and is composed of ‘an Italian larch glulam diagrid structure’ with the awe-inspiring height of a century-old cathedral. Its canopy is made of a stretched industrial plastic that gives it its white, ribbed, husk-like top. On the ground, Make architects kept travelators, stairs and other features below eye level to maximise the full force of this 15-metre-high spectacle. Climbing plants – including Boston ivy and jasmine – punctuate one side, while a series of openings allows air to circulate naturally through the other, removing any need for air conditioning. The architects at Make have compared The Link to a harmonica: a seamlessly connected…

Since 2015, the Brick Bay Folly competition has encouraged architects and architectural students to stretch their imaginations and design a folly – “a whimsical or extravagant structure”. This year, a new competition puts the focus on utility along with creativity. The Nohonga Design Challenge is a joint initiative between Brick Bay Sculpture Trust and the Auckland Branch of the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora. “The Brick Bay Folly is a much-anticipated event and this expands on that idea,” says Richard Didsbury, owner and director. “We want Auckland to be a great, liveable city that embraces creativity. The Nohonga Design Challenge is intended to stimulate conversation and ideas, and invite people to rethink what’s possible within the public realm.” This event was inspired by the City Benches…

What attracted you to the hotel industry in New Zealand? We have interest from international brands who are looking at opening hotels in our cities and provincial locations thanks to growing demand for accommodation. New Zealand is experiencing increased numbers of visitor arrivals and hotel nights, driven by significant increases in international air capacity, a growing domestic market and the country’s global reputation as a beautiful, clean and friendly destination. This reputation attracts both the long-haul and the short-haul markets internationally. For example, we identified the lack of a branded, five-star hotel in Rotorua and decided to tie up with one of the leading international brands (Accor) to open a Pullman there. The most important and relevant factor is that New Zealand is a safe and stable investment destination, which…

In early February, Countdown introduced Unwrapped, its new plastic-reduction trial. For 10 weeks, produce aisles in Ōrewa, Ponsonby and Manukau stores are seeing a steady stream of paper bags and a halt to their plastic counterparts. It’s a fledgling test that, on the back of customer feedback, will help steer the supermarket giant towards a more sustainable shopping experience. We spoke to Kiri Hannifin, Countdown’s General Manager of Corporate Affairs, Quality, Safety and Sustainability, to discuss the trial. What were some of the biggest challenges you had to overcome to make this trial happen? Some of the key challenges were ensuring we had workable packaging alternatives for such a diverse range of produce and, also, finding alternatives to plastic produce bags for customers. However, this is a test so we…