92 | Karen Phelps Passion for design underpins ethos The Clifftops project in Takapuna won the 2022 NZ Institute of Architects Auckland Residential Architecture Award, City Home of the Year and Interior Home of the Year. Bossley Architects Ltd: Bannan Construction ARCHITECTURE A passion for design and delivering exceptional outcomes is palpable when speaking to Finn Scott and Pete Bossley, two of the directors of architectural and interior design practice Bossley Architects. The practice is based on the belief that innovative yet practical design is essential for the production of good buildings, and that the best buildings spring from an open and enthusiastic collaboration between architect, client and consultants. This has seen Bossley Architects work on a plethora of innovative projects across a range of property classes including residential, commercial, community, interiors and multiunit housing. Many have won significant awards, including most recently the Clifftops project in Takapuna, which won 2022 NZ Institute of Architects Auckland Residential Architecture Award, City Home of the Year and Interior Home of the Year. Bossley Architects undertook both the architectural and interior design on the project down to the last detail. This saw a huge amount of items, including door handles and cabinetry, designed and crafted and both Pete and Finn says it was hugely satisfying to deliver such a bespoke project. “It’s resulted in the house having a real sense of cohesion and completeness about it because everything has been thought through in such detail,” says Pete. “It was also fantastic to work with a client interested in taking part in that process.” Bossley Architects worked with interior designer Sonya Cotter to integrate interior finishes and furnishings with the architecture. “It was fantastic to be able to design to that level of detail and great working with the team of artisans,” says Finn. Another recent project the Bossley team worked on, with ar+d from Singapore, was the Park Hyatt Auckland. Located in the Wynyard Quarter fronting on to the Viaduct Harbour, it was a high profile project that offers a range of public facilities and function spaces, including bars, cafes, restaurants, and reception halls. Taking up a 100m by 50m site, it is essentially a hollow rectangle, the 195 rooms facing out from the perimeters, with a dramatic central atrium, seven stories high and partially glazed. The external façade is cloaked in sliding or pivoting bronzed stainless steel mesh screens, which provide a shimmering skin of reflections to animate the building with natural light. “We’re always interested in using natural light to animate spaces,” says Pete. “The relationship between the spaces and the experiences people have as they move around and occupy different parts of the building are important.” “And that’s what architecture is all about – experiences,” adds Finn. In another project for Plant + Food Research in Mt Albert, Auckland, this focus on how people experience a building was targeted around collaboration. Bossley Architects, in a joint venture with Labworks Architects, radically updated both the seven-storey Hamilton Building (1967), and the adjacent deco-inspired Cunningham Building. This involved a new roof and facade, and interior accommodation of four floors of laboratories and three floors of general office space. “The aim was to encourage greater collaboration between staff groups,” explains Pete. “A range of alternate ways of working additional to deskbound workspaces was introduced, along with architectural interventions such as a series of double-height spaces which link the floors vertically.” Community projects are another area of passion for the practice and Bossley Architects was proud to be engaged to work on a variety of infill housing schemes for Kainga Ora. This has seen different housing types developed onto sites, which were previously underutilised with single-family houses. These include two-story terraces, clusters of terraces and duplexes designed to fit within low budget social housing parameters. “We are enthusiastic about these developments and the opportunity to assist with the provision of housing for New Zealanders who may have no other way of achieving safe and comfortable accommodation,” says Finn. “It’s just another part of our passion for design and delivering exceptional outcomes.” Bossley Architects has been engaged to work on a variety of infill housing schemes for Kainga Ora.
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