NZ Interior Awards 2026 – Finalists Announced

 

After an extraordinary inaugural intake – more than 165 entries from over 105 studios across Aotearoa – our jury has confirmed the finalists for the NZ Interior Awards 2026. To everyone who entered: thank you. The response far exceeded what we hoped for in our first year.

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The calibre and breadth of work made for a genuinely difficult task, and we’re grateful to our jury – Sarosh Mulla, Annabel Smart, Koos De Keijzer and Jade Kake, convened by Amanda Harkness – for the care they brought to it. A note on the numbers: you’ll see three to five finalists in some categories. The scoring was extraordinarily close, and in several categories the jury simply couldn’t cut the field to three or four without losing work that clearly belonged here.
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Congratulations to our 2026 finalists:
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Civic

  • BNZ Theatre Hamilton – Jasmax, Charcoalblue + RDT Pacific
  • St Luke’s Hospitality Center – Andrew Barrie Lab
  • Te Matapihi – Athfield Architects

 

Healthcare & Wellness

  • Aligne Studio – Natalia Glucina Interiors + Kate Pilot Design
  • Antoun-Nichols Orthodontics – SemiCreative
  • GP & Me Medical Centre – Wonder
  • Youth Hub Christchurch – Stage 1 – Field Studio of Architecture & Urbanism

 

Hospitality

  • Majangdong 1946 – February Design Studio
  • Mother – CTRL Space
  • Olle – February Design Studio
  • Piccolo – Cheshire Architects

 

Retail

  • Aotea Kiosk – Wonder
  • Baya Melbourne Showroom – Sebastian Negri
  • Studio One – JKW Interior Architecture & Design

 

Workplace under 1000sqm

  • Blunt HQ – Wonder
  • Casabella – Wonder
  • Nott Office Space – Nott Architects
  • QB Studio Members Lounge – Johnstone Callaghan Architects

 

Workplace over 1000sqm

  • Beca House – Te Paeroa o Te Kawau – Warren & Mahoney
  • Precinct Flex Pipiri Lane – Warren & Mahoney
  • Samsung, Auckland – Unispace

 

Residential

  • Arrowtown Houses – Cheshire Architects
  • Double Courtyard House – Roberts Gray Architects
  • Jack’s House – W3
  • Outpost – Elmore Booth
  • Paddington – Natalie Bradburn Studio

 

Residential Kitchen

  • Sherwood Residence – Material Creative
  • Snells Beach Kitchen – Fee Clarke Studio + Spacebar Design
  • Sunny Duplex Kitchen – Atelier Jones Design

 

Emerging Designer

  • James Irvine – SemiCreative
  • Lucy Coote – Studio Myla
  • Natalie Bradburn – Natalie Bradburn Studio
  • Nicholas Dunning – OTO Group Architecture
  • Stephanie Viterbo – Wonder

 

Live judging details will be shared soon, and winners will be revealed at the awards ceremony on Thursday 23 July at St Matthew-in-the-City, Auckland. We’d love you there to celebrate the best of interior and spatial design in Aotearoa.

 

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