A principal in Grimshaw’s Auckland studio, Gosha joined Grimshaw in 2000 and has since led and contributed to projects in Europe, North America, the Middle East and across Australasia in a broad range of sectors, including commercial, education, research, retail, infrastructure and aviation. Gosha is a regular contributor to the design community through sessional teaching, critiques, mentoring and her involvement with the Champions of Change Coalition Architecture Group and Parlour, a research-based advocacy organisation working to improve gender equity in architecture and the built environment professions.

What’s one of your favourite interior spaces, either here in Aotearoa or overseas, that’s inspired you or your design thinking?

I have found what inspires me and my design thinking has expanded over time, as I develop an appreciation for what various spaces may offer, depending on time, place and mindset.

What ties these spaces together is their strong sense of purpose and function. For example, one of my favourite interior spaces when I was starting my career in London was the dry lab and write-up space of the University College London Cancer Institute’s Paul O’Gorman Building – a very serious, highly functional space that features beautiful and considered crafted details.

Recently, however, I was delighted to discover the interior spaces within the home of, and by, New Zealand Gold Medallist Julie Stout, which also demonstrates a strong sense of purpose and function. In this instance, it’s through colour, warmth, light and the carving out and connection of space, and fun. For me, this strong sense of purpose and function conveyed through design is exciting and inspiring.

If you could design an interior project for anyone, who would it be and why?

I’m not sure who I would want to design an interior project for, to be honest. To refer again to purpose and functionality, I’d like the opportunity to demonstrate the value of good design. Our industry is sometimes thought of as being for an elite or select group of clients, however, good design benefits everyone and good design does not necessarily mean extra cost upfront. A good designer will always work to a brief and a budget, and a great designer will be able to create a space that exceeds the client’s expectations of both constraints.

What are you looking forward to while judging the Interior Awards 2023? 

It’s such a privilege to be involved with the Interior Design Awards. I’ve been working in Auckland since 2014 but have only recently called the city my home, so it is a great opportunity for me to be more immersed in the local design community, to meet people who understand and value the power of good design and, of course, to get to see such incredible talent and designs that are unique to Aotearoa as they respond to local culture, environments and communities.