98 | DESIGN Apex Interiors T T Virginia Wright Accuracy key in high-quality fit-outs When the directors of Apex Interiors, Chris Bamforth and Shannon Irvine, bought the small, thriving business Apex Ceilings 16 years ago they knew exactly what they intended to do. As a result, what was an Auckland-based company specialising in suspended ceilings has now rebranded as Apex Interiors and is one of the country’s largest commercial, interior fit- out companies, with branches in Northland, Auckland, Hamilton and Christchurch. They put through tens of millions of dollars work a year working with the trusted clients and suppliers they have established relationships with over the years. Contracts manager Kevin Richards has been with them for seven years, having started as a project manager with 12 years in the industry, including 10 as a ceiling fixer. He’s based in Auckland’s Penrose office where they employ 35 staff, along with a further 100 or more contractors across the range of trades needed to manage a commercial fit-out from start to finish: ceiling fixers, aluminium partition installers, Gib-fixers and stoppers, acoustic wall lining installers – the list goes on, Getting a commercial fit-out is an expensive business involving multiple tradies having to work according to a tight schedule with little room for error. Projects can range from a week’s work installing a suspended ceiling in a small shop in a mall, for example, to a big, two-year project doing full commercial fit-outs for every floor in a new high-rise. “I’ve had one guy on a job, or I’ve had up to 150 guys on a job doing 38 floors in Auckland’s Commercial Bay, so it totally depends on how many jobs we have on under the Apex umbrella at any one time,” says Kevin. In September 2024, Apex Interiors won the Association of Walls and Ceiling Industry (AWCI) Award for $500,000 to $1million Commercial Fit-outs. They won it for the innovative and contemporary commercial fit-out they did for law firm Anthony Harper’s offices designed by Wingate Architects and built by Savory Construction in the ANZ Tower adjoining Commercial Bay. As many as 20 different trades overlapped through a typical 20-week process and Apex accounted for nearly half of them. “It’s for excellence within the industry, but a lot of it also comes down to the aesthetics of it, and this was designed to be eye-catching. With a high-quality fit-out like this everything has to be totally accurate. That’s the same in every job, though. There’s such a high level of product used in fit-outs, and such a fast turnaround for the follow-on trades that have to work in with each other, that everything has to line up.” Combining high acoustic properties with its aesthetic designed to reflect the moving surface of the Waitemata Harbour visible through the windows of the 34th and 35th floor of the ANZ Tower, the “wavy-flow” effect on the ceiling carries through the corridors into reception. “It combined a cube ceiling lining with vertaface fins, which aren’t normally put together, so there was some interesting problem solving, and we worked closely with Autex as to how to take it from the design on paper to the actual installation on site,” says Kevin. Clearly, having multiple jobs of all shapes and sizes doesn’t make any difference to the high standard of work Apex Interiors both delivers to clients and expects from everyone who works for them. When Quality Counts McKain Fibrous Plasters are proud to support Apex Interiors FOR ALL YOUR FIBROUS PLASTER & PLASTERBOARD LINING REQUIREMENTS www.mckain.co.nz 09 634 8803
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