Amanda Harkness is the interior editor at Architecture NZ and a former editor of Houses magazine. This year marks her second year as convenor of the Interior Awards jury. We caught up with her to hear what inspires her and what she’s expecting from this year’s programme.

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

For me, an interior needs to be filled with light and life. It needs to have quiet spaces and communal places. And quirks of interest. One interior that I will never forget is the Athfield Architects studio in Wellington. It is fluid, organic, warm (I was there in summer – I’m not so sure the same would be true on a windy winter’s day) and welcoming. I loved its additive nature and its connection to the outdoors. There is no pretence – just ease and comfort. It is heavy on natural and what appear to be ‘found’ materials, has a strong sense of handcraft throughout, and an open, generous, timeless quality.

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

I would love to work on a multi-housing project. It could be one that houses the generations of a family around a central courtyard or one that has been designed and built for a group of people in a cohousing environment. There would be defined spaces for work and play. The communal spaces would feature a mix of comfortable sofas and armchairs, floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, reading lamps and a wide, long table for all sorts of activities. There would be art everywhere and it would be filled with light and sun and natural ventilation.

What are you looking forward to while judging the Interior Awards 2022?

I can’t wait to join four architects and designers whose work I really respect and, together, discover the inspiration behind the stand-out projects and people we have shortlisted. Where did the ideas come from, what experimental design took place, what materials have they celebrated, and what makes the spaces so enjoyable?