There is a rich cultural and historical narrative in this project. How was it developed?

Vee Kessner (VK): The hotel stands at the gateway to Aotearoa New Zealand, located on the shores where the Tainui waka first made landfall around 1350. The design concept, Sea to Sky, is inspired by the first people of Tainui’s journey of adventure and discovery following their arrival at Manukau Harbour. The narrative references kīngitanga, celestial voyages, stories of great taniwha, and ancient and precious korowai.

Tell us about the spaces you and your team created, and the devices you used to weave them together.

VK: Space Studio worked with the hotel’s architects, Warren and Mahoney, who were responsible for the ground floor and corridor interiors. We designed the guest rooms and level nine hospitality areas, including Te Kaahu restaurant and bar, the executive club and meeting rooms. We wove the guiding design narrative and overriding palette through these spaces, to ensure a strong sense of cohesion throughout. Moving from the terrazzo floor of the lobby, inspired by ripples left in the sand by receding tidal fingerprints, and its golden internal soffit, representing the inner lining of a korowai, we created a soft, seamless earth-to-sky transition to the guest rooms and upper-level hospitality spaces.

How did the hotel’s design theme, Sea to Sky, translate within the guest rooms?

VK: There are subtle changes in texture, colour and softness as guests move from the ground level, where darker tones represent the whenua, to the upper levels, where lighter tones represent the sky. The guest rooms’ custom carpet depicts the wash of the ocean as it makes landfall, and textured fabrics, metal detailing and natural stone combine for a sophisticated, yet lighter, palette. We worked closely with Tainui master carver Renata Te Wiata to weave the tāniko pattern gifted to the project into elements within the room to provide a subtle, integrated and tactile response. The pattern is carved into the stone at the minibar and imprinted into the panelling at the desk area. It is also pressed into the metal trim of the furnishing elements within the suites.

Tell us about your choice of fabrics for the guest rooms.

VK: We included a selection of Warwick Fabrics throughout the hotel’s 311 rooms, chosen for both their aesthetic appeal and their durability. Pattern and texture is introduced through woven vinyl and metallic fabrics, which subtly complement the balance of pattern found in the custom carpet, the tāniko feature walls and the lighting.

See more in the Material Focus series, including inspiring interiors: The Helier by Peddlethorp, Waka Kotahi NZTA by Designgroup Stapleton Elliott, Picnicka by CTRL Space, Arvida by Stack Interiors, Gulf Rise by Urban Lounge, and more, here.

ArchitectureNow and Architecture NZ work with a range of partners in the A&D supply sector to create appropriate content for the site. This article has been supported by Warwick Fabrics.

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