Interior Awards 2025: Meet the jury

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This year’s Interior Awards jury brings experience at all levels and across all disciplines to the table, with expertise in the commercial, education, civic, residential and hospitality sectors.

CÉILI MURPHY

As the interior sector lead at Architectus Aotearoa, Céili Murphy combines creativity, strategic thinking and a commitment to sustainability to design spaces that uplift and inspire. While collaborating across diverse typologies, she is particularly passionate about workplace design, believing healthy, well-designed environments are vital to productivity and well-being. Originally from Nelson, Céili completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Bachelor of Arts at the University of Auckland’s Elam School of Fine Arts and the University of Melbourne respectively before transitioning to interior architecture 15 years ago. Céili is also active in mentoring and guest lecturing, fostering a supportive and diverse design community.

MURALI BHASKAR

Murali Bhaskar is a director at Boon in Ngāmotu New Plymouth. With more than 30 years’ experience in master-planning civic, community, cultural, urban design and residential typologies, he has also worked on both tourism and education projects. Originally hailing from Kerala in South India, Murali has actively developed his understanding of ngā tikanga o Taranaki and engaged with local iwi and hapū in his work. He has been a judge on numerous design panels in Aotearoa and looks to blur the boundaries between media, interpretation, art, design and architecture in his own work.

NATASHA MARKHAM

A registered architect and qualified urban designer, Natasha Markham founded MAUD in 2015 as a boutique studio specialising in well-crafted residential and commercial architecture, and offering urban design services to projects at all scales. While her architectural background includes a variety of projects, she has a particular interest in both bespoke residential and medium-density housing. Natasha is a chair for the Auckland Urban Design Panel, and the Tauranga Urban Design Panel, and a co-host of 76 Small Rooms, a podcast about architecture in Aotearoa.

SAM GRIFFIN

Sam Griffin is the creative director of Ctrl Space, a trans-Tasman design studio which has crafted some of this country’s most celebrated hospitality venues. Having worked at a number of practices specialising in interior design, architecture and product design, he has developed a depth of expertise in commercial hospitality interiors. Since stepping into the Ctrl Space creative director role in 2018, Sam has focused on pushing the boundaries of design and exploring new creative frontiers. He is committed to delivering projects that compete on the global stage, fostering innovation and positioning Aotearoa as a design-led destination.

AMANDA HARKNESS

Convening the jury for her fifth year, Amanda Harkness is the deputy editor and interior editor at Architecture NZ magazine, a former editor of Houses, and past contributor to both Urbis and Interior magazines. In her role at Architecture NZ, Amanda is across the latest in both interior and architecture projects, and the designers and clients who bring them to life.