Lauren Hickling of Warren and Mahoney Architects took home the Emerging Design Professional award at this year’s Interior Awards. She received a bespoke trophy along with a $1,500 cash prize at the Awards’ event held at St Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland on 21 June.

Lauren is a graduate of Victoria University in Wellington where she studied both a Bachelor and Master of interior architecture. She has been working for Warren and Mahoney for three years and her projects include the law offices of Russel McVeagh and the PWC tower, both in Auckland. She was also recently the lead designer for the Kiwi Property fitout.

“Recurring themes in my work explore atmosphere and rituals of space, curating experience to appease curiosity or layering space to reveal itself slowly. My atmospheric approach is anchored by an affinity to material and detail and the inherent qualities they can contribute in the right quantities,” Lauren says of her design ethos.

Full jury citation:

As a finalist in the Student category of these awards back in 2015, Lauren Hickling expressed very defined philosophies of design that included the need for curiosity and an understanding of ritual within interiors. This year, as an Emerging Design Professional entrant, Hickling proved that her early ethos has not just endured but matured and peppered some of the work she has been doing for Warren and Mahoney.

From her exceptional selection of tactile materials for the Russell McVeagh office through to her recent performance as lead designer for Kiwi Property, Hickling mixes continuity with flexibility and a clarity of design communication that foretells a promising future in the industry.

• See all the winners of the 2018 Interior Awards here.
• Extended coverage of the Interior Awards will be featured in the June 2018 issue of Interior magazine

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