After 25 years in their profession, a new site - a renovated heritage building with character details - in a prime location provided our client the opportunity to reinvent themselves for the future. Located on the corner of a busy intersection, there was scope to create a strong graphic presence with maximum visual impact. The challenge was to retain the sense of openness while accommodating the public and private spaces required for the business to function effectively. With the lack of ceilings sound proofing was a key requirement. Large format acoustic panelling has been used aesthetically to line the majority of the walls both within the open plan office and the public facing meeting rooms, ensuring sound absorption and reduced sound travel. The primary branding colours - slate grey, yellow and white were chosen to give the brand and built environment a modern feel and a strong, confident identity. The interior is enhanced by graphic elements that add visual interest to the space. The angular forms from the brand are used to great effect throughout the renovated building. In reception a clever visual connection is created between the various materials using the restricted colour palette (yellow and grey). Technically challenging yet achieving a stunning result.

Positioned in the popular Alpine village of Castle Hill, these apartments are carefully placed to soak up the amazing views of its surroundings. The use of vernacular materials and high pitched roofs creates a blend between the mountainous backdrop and street scape. The apartments offer the full experience that an outdoor enthusiast craves with sensitively crafted interiors capturing all the moments on offer. The Castle Hill apartments were designed with pure simplicity in mind capable of performing in harmony with its extreme environment.

Tucked into the slope of the popular Cashmere Estate are two north-facing townhouses that step their way down the hillside. Each townhouse features an oversized double garage, open plan living areas, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a powder room spread over three levels. Expansive timber pergolas wrap around the main living areas providing sheltered outdoor living and dappled light into the home, as well as ensuring privacy between the units. The floor to ceiling glazing, large terraced area and private balcony to the master bedroom provide ample opportunities to soak in the expansive views across the wetlands and mountains beyond, while a fireplace in the lounge ensures a snug place to tuck up in winter.

Our latest successful project was to take this dated building which facilitated a church and convert to a state of the art showroom. The rejuvenation required a completely new cladding system, creating a larger parapet and replacing the shopfront. We raised the glass, polished the floors and included designer lighting. This high impact, masculine result is only complimented by the smell of 98 octane, leather accents and polished chrome.

Hierarchy Group were the Lead Designers for the 2,000m² expansion of Christchurch Airport’s retail and hospitality offering in International Departures, incorporating a new Aelia Duty Free Store. Design cues for the Aelia Store were taken from well-known features of Christchurch and the South Island in order to create a strong ‘sense of place’ within the store. An angular timber mountain-scape ceiling represents the Southern Alps and helps link different zones together. A graffiti wall of South Island flora and fauna provides the backdrop to NZ Gifts. A bespoke floral wallpaper highlights the fragrance area and references Christchurch’s ‘Garden City’ fame, while other tourist attractions such as the Christchurch Tram, New Regent Street and the Antigua Boat Sheds are also represented. Creating a background to the more themed elements is a neutral palette of timeless and elegant materials designed to ensure passengers flow naturally through the space. The project was delivered over a 7 month build period split into 3 stages with the additional challenge of ensuring the existing Duty Free store was able to operate throughout the build and that there was minimal noise disruption to all passengers and airport staff. The success of the project has relied heavily on thorough planning undertaken right from the early design stages as well as clear and open communication throughout the project with all parties involved.

Adjacent to Aelia Duty Free, new stores for Whittaker’s, Naturally NZ by Discover, Tiki Tour and Relay sit alongside each other forming part of the 2,000m² retail expansion in International Departures. The Whittaker’s store design takes advantage of strong branding and an existing material palette, with the golden glow of the chocolate shop window creating a sense of luxury and providing a focal point along the airside store frontages. The new store concept created for Naturally NZ by Discover, which showcases New Zealand Merino products, is a contemporary take on a woolshed with a patchwork plywood shopfront, minimal palette of materials and New Zealand landscape imagery throughout. This leads on to the Tiki Tour store which was designed to reflect the New Zealand outdoors, or more specifically a South Island bush walk with the forest canopy projected onto the ceiling above, creating a natural and inviting space. The Relay store aesthetic was developed to create a more contemporary and uncluttered design, with angled linear lighting to create interest while still retaining a strong brand presence. All stores have been designed to have their own identity but to complement each other as well.

The Laneway Apartments provide a refreshing perspective on the rebirth of residential inner city living within the heart of Christchurch’s CBD. This apartment building is sleeved with commercial tenancy and hospitality space on Ground floor, with five floors of residential above, consisting of 44 apartments. Targeted at the first home buyer, Hierarchy Group’s approach has been to develop a building that would encourage a strong sense of Whakapapa (Identity and Connection to place). Activated laneways lead residents, guests and public past retail and hospitality offerings. Various landscape offerings and artwork are integrated throughout the facades and foyers to tie in to the cultural narratives of the Te Are Pu Ha: The South Frame. The design is currently in the final stages of construction documentation and with more than half of the apartments already pre-sold, Hierarchy Group is excited to see prominent central city development take shape on site with construction commencing on site in September 2019.

Hierarchy Group was tasked with completing architectural documentation for Stage 3 of the BOXed Quarter development on St Asaph Street, Christchurch. Hierarchy Group carefully planned and designed the residential units within the compact modular construction system while complying with Building Code & City Rules for living spaces. The residential units were also planned & designed to encourage social living and integration. Unique bridges and balconies link the units for access and a grassed, shared outdoor communal space is provided at the ground level.

Cashmere Estate approached Hierarchy Group to develop marketing collateral to support with their section pre-sales strategy. Presented with an empty green field site and an overall landscape masterplan, our challenge was to present a high-quality series of still imagery, as well as a video fly through. The package showpieces the beautiful landscaped surrounding in its future state, as well as the impressive residential lots that are available to the market. With a staged roll out strategy, our involvement is ongoing, providing marketing collateral for the developers as required.

The latest addition to the Coffee Culture family, Rotherham St features a sun drenched covered courtyard with large bi-fold doors to seamlessly transition from inside to out. The materials palette is light and fresh - neutral plaster rendered walls add texture and offset the highly detailed oak timber joinery. The space is softened with leather upholstery and cushions and lush greenery, creating a richly layered, welcoming space to relax and enjoy with friends over coffee.

The brief was to create a natural, honest, inviting space where the theatre of roasting was part of the café customer experience. The design drew it’s inspiration from utilising the materials in their raw form and introducing recycled materials to reinforce the industrial theme, creating a bold, dramatic space. Much of the café detailing is bespoke design - recycled sprinkler pipe has been converted into retail shelving utilising scaffold planks for shelves and walls were lined with recycled coffee bean sacks. Where possible recycled materials were used to enhance the overall brand effect, keeping the material palette honest and authentic.

Zone Bowling and Timezone Christchurch has undergone an extensive makeover. Hierarchy Group carried out the Build documentation and assisted with Project Management to get them back up and running in time for the School Holidays.

New Zealand’s second official All Blacks store opened in Christchurch Airport to coincide with the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Inspired by the tradition of a locker room, the store features two eye-catching LED archway entrances inviting shoppers into the store - an experiential area featuring the Haka 360 experience, digital highlights reel showing iconic match moments, and a roof adorned with a super-sized silver fern. Designed by Tailor Inc Limited, the 120m² fit out is located in the centre of the main landside terminal, making it available to both domestic and international departing passengers.

K Road presents Hierarchy Group with an exciting opportunity to push the conventional SPACES design brief as a contemporary business hub which is woven into the centuries-old building fabric. Working in conjunction with SPACES European design office who co-ordinate thousands of similar sites worldwide, we have recently been accredited as a SPACES design studio. This design-build role spreads across two levels and totals approx. 2700m². Off the back of K Road, Hierarchy Group has been engaged to design and build SPACES Commercial Bay, which occupies 3 levels, approx. 4000m² of high profile office space located on Auckland’s waterfront.

When International Workplace Group (formerly Regus), the world’s largest provider of flexible work spaces started expanding their offering in New Zealand, Hierarchy Group quickly joined forces with them to deliver the two new locations, Bizdojo Takapuna and Bizdojo Ponsonby Road. The shared work spaces are driven by mobile workforces, technological advancements and globalisation, and are designed to be bold and contemporary in design, cost effective, and positioned in prime locations. Each location offers business centres, meeting rooms, serviced offices, day offices, hot desks, virtual offices with telephone answering service and mail forwarding, and on-site coffee bars.

Regus engaged Hierarchy Group for design and build services for their 700m² office fitout located within the heart of Auckland’s CBD. Working with Regus’s design brief, the project required high level coordination between the design team, contractors and client in order to achieve the high quality space that resulted. With a brief inspired by European design standards and suppliers, during the design phase, Hierarchy Group focussed on responding to the highly prescriptive brief requirements and translating them to meet New Zealand manufacturing and supply chains.

This high profile shared office space project is our biggest challenge yet. Occupying 3 levels, approx. 4000sqm and located on Auckland’s waterfront, it provides Hierarchy Group the opportunity to firmly embed ourselves in the Auckland design market. Drawing inspiration from SPACES fitouts around the world the design is simple, clean and elegant. It focuses on a neutral, fresh materials palette. Using mostly natural timber veneer and a range of textured fabrics and fresh finishes, the design is stylish but pared back, allowing people to populate the spaces and bring them to life through the way they utilise them.

When Regus, the world’s largest provider of flexible work spaces, expanded their offering in New Zealand, the Hierarchy Group/Inovo team quickly joined forces with them to deliver a new location, Mall 218, a renovation of the Harvest Court Mall in George Street, Dunedin. The 1100m² contemporary business centre offers seating for 180 people, with options ranging from open plan space to booths, 42 private enclosed offices or boardrooms, a reception and café. The design focused on Regus’ brief of ‘rustic-industrial’, exposing the building’s original structural timbers and raw brickwork, installing modern fixtures and fittings, and creating a green wall and bridge over the first floor void.

Situated on one of Cashmere Estate’s prime pieces of real estate, Mitchell House embraces the sun and the uninterrupted views across the wetlands and beyond. Designed for a family of bicycle enthusiasts and entertainers, two elegant pavilions are connected by a centralised entry lobby welcoming guests upon arrival up the driveway boulevard of mature trees. Simple and refined, the pavilions are clad with vertical shiplap cedar cladding, with accents of pre-finished aluminium panels. Open plan living and entertaining spaces are located within the northern pavilion to maximise views and feature a timber lined raked ceiling. All bedrooms positioned to feature views across, along or up the surrounding valleys. Mitchell House is anticipated to commence construction in January 2021.

Nestled at the base of Christchurch’s Cashmere Hills, Hierarchy Group were originally approached to design a “like for like earthquake rebuild”. The site and client brief presented an opportunity to challenge the rebuild process. After an extensive re-design the architectural response exceeds our clients expectations in regards to amenity, functionality, aesthetic and site responsiveness; a particularly rewarding process for all involved. We are excited to see this sleek and sophisticated family home begin construction in early 2021.

Our intention with this project was to create a point of difference from the surrounding houses. The premium subdivision has strict covenants so to achieve this we designed a building of blocks, variable heights and a protruding roof with adjacent directions. The soffits and cathedral ceilings are lined in directional cedar. This draws your eye through the facade and engages the interior of the house. Avoiding hallways we positioned the rooms around the central staircase. This brings a volume of light into the core of the house. It also draws hot air through the building and extracts through a SE top light window. The materials palette works with the environment maintaining a neutral position, combining natural cedar, stone and plaster.

This large, north facing property on Glandovey Road in central Christchurch demanded an architecturally high-end house to be built in place of the existing damaged bungalow. Hierarchy Group were engaged with Farrell Construction as part of a Design & Build contract to deliver the new 380m², two storey home. The home has five bedrooms, two living areas, a triple garage and extensive decking and paving making full use of the north facing back yard. The cladding combination together with the large glazing creates a contemporary design. Dramatic moments are made throughout, most notably the double storey glazed wall to the core of the home which includes the open riser steel and timber staircase. Vast amounts of sunlight fill the core moving through the staircase creating a warm exciting entry to the home.

This social housing project consists of four two storey buildings and three single level two bedroom houses. With a tight build programme and a challenging budget, it appeared prefabrication would be the smart choice. Hierarchy Group joined the team with the challenge of specifying a building method that would match the contracted value of the Chinese system. Prefabrication was still the best option, but manufactured locally. A method of specified cold rolled steel, built as cassettes, was specified. With pre-line inspections taking place in the factory, this ensured a fast on-site assembly. Hierarchy Group was also able to refine the design layouts and hone the spatial efficiencies. Aesthetics were kept neutral but architectural features were accentuated with contrasting colour and materials. This resulted in a proportioned facade with a balanced street appeal. The project was successfully completed to time and budget.