2024 Interior Awards, Workplace up to 1000sqm Award winner

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The staging areas and steel-framed postcard windows and concealed roller door create a buffer from the street for the studio space. Image: Common Space

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Upstairs, the hair and makeup area and talent lounge feature utilitarian concrete walls juxtaposed with rounded timber joinery and light-edged round mirrors. To contrast the industrial elements, soft curtains provide privacy and distinct colours to define zones. Image: Common Space

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Lush, dynamic spaces utilise light effectively, creating surprising and delightful visual effects. Image: Common Space

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The upstairs meeting room is framed by fluted glass. A blush-pink ceiling highlight or conceals the building's existing features selectively and a sandblasted finish has been applied to the existing concrete block walls. — The upstairs meeting room is framed by fluted glass. A blush-pink ceiling highlight or conceals the building’s existing features selectively and a sandblasted finish has been applied to the existing concrete block walls. Image: Common Space

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A white-steel KXN modular kitchen with a large steel-framed island anchors the space. The kitchen doubles as a working area for functions and food photography, with a restrained aesthetic expression painted in blue-grey. Image: Common Space

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Congratulations to this year’s Workplace up to 1000sqm Award winner — Common Space Studio by Pac Studio.

The jury’s comment:

“Somehow subtle yet striking at once, this fun project walks a delicate line to deliver a creative, energetic space that evolves as required to enhance the functionality of the workplace. The programme juxtaposes a seamlessly detailed white infinity space with the lively tones and surfaces of the office and support spaces. Where appropriate, the new interior interventions expose and celebrate the original fabric of the building, while small and considered moves, such as colour and lighting, create engaging individual spaces. The clarity, simplicity and restraint of this project, coupled with great rigour and efficiency in space planning, make for a fantastic outcome.”

PROJECT DETAILS:

Location: Auckland

Client: Common

Building area (m²): 300m²

Project brief: The project brief for Common Space Studio tasked with transforming an inner-city mechanic’s warehouse into a photographic studio, preserving the original structure where possible. It required fitting all functions within the existing two-storey footprint. The design included a hermetically sealed studio with a large cyc wall, preparation zones, and multifunctional areas. The ground floor has a kitchen for events, food photography, and accessible facilities. Upstairs houses management offices, a meeting room, a makeup station, and a talent lounge, all while showcasing the building’s existing framework with refined detail.

Credits:

Project principal – Liz Tjahjana
Architect – Aaron Paterson
Architect – Sarosh Mulla

“Existing industrial elements are highlighted on the top floor with accent colour contrasting the studio’s monochrome aesthetic. The studio’s white extends to the kitchen for food photoshoots, with a white-steel KXN kitchen and a large island. Upstairs, concrete walls meet timber joinery, mirrors and a reeded, glass-framed meeting and workroom. Terrazzo tiles feature coral and blue accents. The cyc wall, under a black ceiling, is focal. Low-maintenance materials like concrete and timber were chosen. Soft curtains offer privacy amidst industrial elements, while colour zoning defines spaces. Double-glazed steel joinery ensures acoustic privacy.” - Aaron Paterson

pacstudio.nz

Watch the finalist presentation here: