Winners of each of the 2018 Interior Awards’ nine categories were announced on June 21 at a sold out gala event at St Matthew-in-the-City in Auckland. Judges, sponsors, architects and interior designers alike gathered for a celebration of New Zealand’s top commercial interiors.
This year’s programme received an unprecedented number of entries, making the jury’s job particularly difficult. Two categories, Workplace up to 1,000m2 and Civic, saw such remarkable entries that the judges were forced to name four finalists for the first time, instead of the standard three.
Jury convenor and editor of Interior magazine Federico Monsalve said, “There were some big recurring themes this year – wabi-sabi, remembrance and quietude – but perhaps most noticeable among them was Māoridom. Many large and small projects throughout the country seemed to be infusing their designs with deep and rich traditional narratives as well as spatial solutions that take into account Māori ways of utilising space. Long may this last!”
Nearly every space in the Naumi Auckland Airport hotel by Material Creative with Muir Design Solutions packs a punch. These moves won them this year’s Hospitality Award. Colour, texture and pattern are used artfully from room to reception to restaurant.
“This project benefits tremendously from several bespoke pieces, inspired or designed by local artists,” the jury said. “This is a playful, unexpected, sensory experience that merits an accolade as much for the end product as for the daring spirit that conceived it.”
