Novotel Hotel Auckland International Airport

The brief for ACCOR Hospitality’s new Novotel hotel at Auckland International Airport called for a significant new landmark with an unmistakably ‘New Zealand’ identity. The integrated design approach for this 4 star, 263-key hotel uses natural materials, dramatic and sculptured forms to convey an insight into the essential qualities of New Zealand and New Zealanders.

‘Open spirit, contact with the environment, dynamic simplicity, and the land and its people’ became the narrative woven into the fabric and layering of the interior. Consistent with the external building fabric, the interior is infused with design elements which offer subtle reference to New Zealand’s culture and natural environment, capturing the essence through surfaces, pattern and form.

ARRIVAL

Upon arrival, visitors are greeted from personalised ‘pods’ which aim to reflect the renowned open hospitality of New Zealand’s people. The open spaces of reception, bar, dining and lounge areas blend, allowing engagement at various scales without formality. Volumes vary in both plan and section throughout the ground floor to create moments of intimacy in an otherwise public forum.

CULTURE AND HERITAGE

Motifs symbolising the abundance of New Zealand’s natural habitats from indigenous plant, marine and bird life including the waves of the Manukau Harbour through to currents and waters of the Waikato River are infused within ceilings, steel and glass screens, and fabrics. Abstracted six metre high Maori decorative tukutuku panels form a rotating privacy screen to the private dining area. These feature a Maori ‘Patiki’ motif which references the bountiful seafood discovered by the Tainui iwi (tribe) when they first entered the Manukau Harbour.

HOSPITALITY

Opportunities for encounter between travellers to share experiences and memories of New Zealand inform the open and varied hospitality zones within the arrival level. The private and communal dining, the open lounge, intimate booth and touch down seating, all contribute to the complete hospitality experience.

SUSTAINABILITY

New Zealand is renowned for its natural beauty and natural untouched environment and as such, sustainable design is a core value that is both tangible and infused in the design. From sustainably managed New Zealand indigenous timbers to low energy fittings, stewardship and integrity is evident throughout.

NEW ZEALAND DESIGNED AND MADE

Collaboration between renowned and emerging New Zealand furniture designers and products capture the unique character of this country in the interior design. Each collaborator was selected for their open and direct understanding of the diverse culture, environment and materials of this country.

In essence, the design of the hotel is layered in a subtle way according to the needs of the guest. Not everything is given over all at once; each function is subtly veiled one from the other without creating unnecessary complexity. The result is a sequence of spaces that serve a wide variety of needs.