New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 30/12 | Page 106

Project
EightyOne

Location:
Wellington

Interior designer:
Inside Design

YOUNG AND HONEST
Raw materials, exposed services, and a touch of shabby chic living room panache ensure
staff and clients at this design and production company feel relaxed and at home

The location is ideal and the space perfect,
but sometimes the fit-out leaves a lot to be desired.
Turning a bland decor into a positive expression of
company culture can be as much about time and
forethought as it is about money.
When design and production company
EightyOne secured its heart-of-the-city premises,
the creative team loved the setting but not the
decor. Interiors team Inside Design was asked
to strip out the white ceilings, neutral carpet and
compartmentalised interiors and create something
open, honest, and approachable in their place.
Lead designer on the project Seb Bernhardt says
inspiration for the new look grew in part from
EightyOne’s own concept of introducing a central,
freestanding feature wall in recycled timber.
“Together, the newly exposed ceiling plant and
levelled and honed concrete floor set the scene

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for a semi-industrial aesthetic, and a rustic timber
wall in the centre of the office was a good fit with
this approach,” says Bernhardt. “The idea was for
the wall to capture peoples’ attention instantly,
upon arrival. Sourced by EightyOne, the distressed
Canadian Oregon timber was recycled from
Christchurch, post-earthquake.”
Complete with small side wings, one of which
houses reference libraries, the wall conceals office
utilities from the entry and reception area. It also
offers a degree of privacy for the in-house photo
studio in the open-plan space.
The use of raw timber here inspired a similar
material emphasis in other areas. A meeting space
to the left of the entry is clad in macrocarpa. With
three sides of this room finished in the same wood,
it takes on a playful box-like quality, almost like a
packing case, when viewed from outside.

Below left:A glass entry door,
untreated wood surfaces and
exposed services are all part of
the bold, honest fit-out for the
design team at EightyOne.
Right:The meeting room,
beside the entry, is finished in
macrocarpa for a light, industrial
feel. Touches of whimsy, such
as a lamb and a bus stop sign,
appear throughout the premises.
Below right:The informal visitor
reception area is presided over
by a wooden moose head. The
kitchen, finished in the same
wood as the meeting room, is
beyond.