Ten winners were announced at the Interior Awards event, attended by over 400 people, on 27 June 2019 – including the first ever Residential Award and Lifetime Achievement Award. The event was held at the MOTAT Aviation Display Hall in Auckland where specifiers, suppliers and industry professionals gathered for a celebration of New Zealand’s most innovative interiors.

The 2019 Interior Awards programme saw the inauguration of the Residential category. Federico Monsalve, convenor of the jury and editor of Interior magazine, noted, “[Including a residential category] became necessary not just due to the importance of the housing sector in so many aspects of contemporary New Zealand life, but as a realisation that interior professionals are regularly being asked to use spatial strategies, techniques, materials and more from the residential world in commercial spaces.”

Monsalve was joined on the judging panel by Auckland architects Richard Harris and Dave Strachan, designer Melanie McDaid and head of the Auckland School of Architecture and Planning Deidre Brown.

Along with the high calibre of entries this year, Monsalve said there were a few surprises, not least of which was the inclusion of fitness industry interiors into the Hospitality category. “In a category usually dominated by restaurants and cafés, this was an interesting shift that raises a few questions both about how we are using our free time in public spaces, but also about how the awards might evolve, in the future, to best reflect and properly celebrate those changes,” he commented.

See the full list of winners with jury citations below:

SUPREME AWARD AND WORKPLACE (OVER 1,000M²) AWARD

B:Hive, Smales Farm by BVN in association with Jasmax was the top winner at the Awards, taking home the Supreme Award along with the category win for Workplace (over 1,000m²). Billed as the largest co-working space in the Southern Hemisphere, this project in Takapuna, Auckland is “a strong example of what can be accomplished when interior design is treated as a commercial building’s top priority,” the jury said.

“The B:Hive’s brightly coloured staircase offers a highly recognisable sculptural gesture and, combined with internal landscaping, natural light and ventilation, proves that this space is not afraid to be bold in both its programme and its palette,” they continued.

WORKPLACE (UP TO 1,000M²) AWARD

Warren and Mahoney took home the Workplace (up to 1,000m²) Award for their design of Harmos Horton Lusk in Auckland’s CBD. The jury commented that the interiors of this commercial law firm “accomplish a dramatic, at points confrontational and disruptive, client-facing persona while, behind the scenes, it gives staff a homely, open plan that maximises harbour views, while still retaining offices for senior staff.”

According to the jury, the strength of this project was its ability to fulfil the brief of the client, which was to create an office space that was “traditional with a twist”.

CIVIC AWARD

Winning in the Civic category was RTA Studio’s Freemans Bay School. This project has been a standout at many awards programmes this year, but the interiors impressed the judges with a “minimal budget and high expectations of how the design can influence the learning process”.

“The large spatial gestures were underpinned by a thorough understanding of ‘new ways of learning’ and even the smaller, often under-developed, nooks and crannies were imbued with a soulful purpose or sense of play,” the jury said.

HOSPITALITY AWARD

The Les Mills – boxing, functional and immersive fitness areas, designed by Monk Mackenzie, Knight Associates and Alt Group, took home the Hospitality Award for their creation of space that took the gym into “uncharted and undeniably stylish territories”. 

The jury noted, “By using an Olympic base palette of silver, bronze, gold and black, the designers have created a high-end, boutique experience that is equal parts theatrical, nocturnal and elegant.” 

RETAIL AWARD

Design firm Material Creative captured the mood of a “clean, refreshing residential space mixed with touches of resort or restaurant interior” in Lumino The Dentists Auckland Central, earning them a win in the Retail category.

“Lumino Auckland is the result of quite a thorough, spatial experience plan, a patient-focused strategy and the ability to turn a complex brief into a very welcoming and soothing space,” said the jury. 

RESIDENTIAL AWARD

Bureaux Ltd’s project on Waiheke Island, Arran Bay House, received the first ever Residential Award at this year’s Interior Awards. The jury was impressed with the way “material and colour palettes work together to bridge a few thematic polarities and accomplish a delightful set of tensions” inside the holiday house. 

They said, “There is a robustness at play here (including a coffee table custom made for dancing on top) but, at the same time, a delicate simplicity that adds elegance and timelessness. It is an exemplary, context-driven design with a touch of nostalgia and a firm foothold on contemporary detailing.”

CRAFTSMANSHIP AWARD

“Every detail on this table was conceived to express not only the Scandinavian ancestry of its maker but to support and highlight the tactility and strength of the timber,” the jury said of Flyde Table by Laustsen Cabinetmakers Ltd, winner of the Craftsmanship category. 

“Beyond the meticulous act of making, there is a lot of design thinking that has gone into crafting an object that is unique and inviting: from the way the top floats above the legs – its negative space delineating a break – through to the way the joints have been treated to expose texture and enterprise,” they continued.

EMERGING DESIGN PROFESSIONAL AWARD

Kristen Basra of Spatial Studio was named this year’s Emerging Design Professional. Basra stood out in this particularly competitive category with her “combination of tenacity, passion for the industry and an innate understanding of the commercial imperatives of her work”. 

“Throughout her nascent career, Kristen has displayed a quietly driven attitude that has seen her: launch her own interior design business; develop a wide-ranging portfolio; employ full-time, in-house staff; and maintain all this momentum while becoming a mother for the first time,” the jury noted.

STUDENT AWARD

University of Auckland student Edward Ge’s project The Reconcile captivated the judges and won the Student Award; they called it “poetic and highly emotive”.

“The Reconcile was born from a dilemma about where Edward’s family was to keep his late grandmother’s ashes: either in her homeland (China) or in her adopted home (New Zealand). From this, Edward devised a conceptual project aimed at bringing closure to migrant families who find themselves in similar situations.” 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

In another first for the Interior Awards, design powerhouse Nanette Cameron was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award this year. The jury said, “Since she began her career in the 1950s, Cameron has inspired and helped define New Zealand’s interior design both via [The Nanette Cameron School of Interior Design] as well as her renowned body of work.”

Extended coverage and full jury citations for all of the winners can be found in the June 2019 issue of Interior magazine.

A special thank you to our Interior Awards 2019 sponsors: