Jasmax
Project Location:
1 Fanshawe St, Auckland
Categories:
Commercial Architectural Excellence, Sustainability Award
WINNER: Interior Fit Out
Project Description:
The NZI Centre’s core building concept was inspired by the socially sustainable and environmentally conscious values of the building occupant.
The responsive forms that wrap and enclose act as an exo-skeleton, complimenting the fit-out philosophy of an ‘organisation as living entity’ with the major interior elements becoming delicate and considered insertions sitting within, resting above and softly reaching for the building fabric and framework, creating a sense of balance and harmony.
Timber is used to highlight important insertions within the architecture. It is used to add warmth to the white base building exoskeleton. As the base building is raw and quite cold, it was important that the insertions had a tactility that lent the warmth to the space. The timber is located in places that are able to be touched by the occupier appealing to the haptic as well as the visual senses.
Tasmanian Oak was chosen because of the natural texture of the colour tones. It is made up of the three species (Eucalyptus delegatensis, E. obliqua & E. regnans) which gives the timber a diversity which adds to the variation and richness. It was felt the combination of these colours resembled (despite its origin) a very “New Zealand” aesthetic, the pink and warm brown resembling some New Zealand native timbers and the silvery/grey the weathered timbers of baches. This helping to reinforce NZI as one of the oldest brands in New Zealand.