Embodying Aotearoa — Fisher & Paykel’s Global Experience Centre

Fisher & Paykel’s Global Experience Centre based in Auckland is a celebration of its origins in Aotearoa New Zealand and its socially and environmentally driven approach to product design. Created by Fisher & Paykel in partnership with Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, Alt Group and Knight Associates – and featuring kitchens by international kitchen experts Boffi, Arclinea and Henrybuilt – it invites designers, architects and the design-inclined to explore the company’s range in a space enriched by meaningful elements and material selections.

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei are the kaitiaki – or guardians – of the area, and they played a pivotal role in bringing depth and relevance to this space. Their powerful ancestral narratives inspired many of the sculptural elements and much of the overall materiality – from the rammed earth and plaster walls infused with black sand to the 700-year-old wind-felled tōtara flooring. “Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei perspectives and narratives are gifts,” says CEO Daniel Witten-Hannah. “All these materials represent Aotearoa New Zealand, and that’s important,” he adds. “The incorporation of those elements into the fabric of the building means there is real connection. You can touch and feel these things.” This is beautifully articulated at the threshold, where a monolithic bowl carved from basalt marks a sense of arrival. It is a fittingly poetic introduction to the space; termed a “breathing rock”, it holds fresh water that rises and falls in sync with the tides of the Waitematā.

Within the building, a series of sequential spaces are revealed. In-house chefs lead culinary experiences using sustainably sourced ingredients and award-winning New Zealand wines, and in other areas guests can sip kawakawa tea brewed on a “hot rock” – a basalt slab with Fisher & Paykel induction technology.

Further into the building, a series of sequential spaces are revealed. In-house chefs lead culinary experiences using sustainably sourced ingredients and award-winning New Zealand wines, and in other areas guests can sip kawakawa tea brewed on a “hot rock” – a basalt slab with Fisher & Paykel induction technology. These activities take place around several luxury kitchens designed in partnership with Boffi, Arclinea and Henrybuilt. The Minimal Boffi Kitchen blends Fisher & Paykel’s pared-back products with Boffi’s polished identity to create an aesthetically cohesive architectural concept. The Italian kitchen manufacturer’s iconic K14 kitchen system designed by Norbert Wangen is the idea vehicle to showcase the minimal style appliances and seamless integration abilities.

In contrast, the Contemporary Arclinea Kitchen brings Fisher & Paykel’s Contemporary Style products to the fore within a layered space. Set within the Convivium kitchen system designed by Antonio Citterio, this environment expresses an additive, material-heavy approach, yet the primary takeaway is clean lines and balanced proportions. Arclinea has also designed the Social Kitchen, where guests can take a seat at a large table crafted from a piece of 45,000-year-old kauri, designed to reflect the spirit of a Ngāti Whātua chief. This spirit similarly inspired the blown glass Flos light that hangs above, signifying star navigation across the sky.

Lastly, the Professional Henrybuilt Kitchen showcases Fisher & Paykel’s Professional Style products. The use of solid walnut and stone provide a warm counterpoint to the robust, high-grade stainless steel appliances. There is also an almost 10-metre-long island bench and integrated table. Highly functional and with an emphasis on craft, this kitchen is a pleasing fusion of utility and haptics. As Mark Elmore, Fisher & Paykel’s Vice President of Design and Brand says, “Boffi, Arclinea and Henrybuilt are renowned for heritage and continuity, design innovation, kitchen systems and the quality of their craft and construction.” He adds, “like us, they have a commitment to design and detail resolution at the highest level. Each kitchen shows how Fisher & Paykel products can be expressed, de- tailed and integrated in the most beautiful ways.”

Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei are the kaitiaki – or guardians – of the area, and they played a pivotal role in bringing depth and relevance to this space. Their powerful ancestral narratives inspired many of the sculptural elements and much of the overall materiality – from the rammed earth and plaster walls infused with black sand to the 700-year-old wind-felled tōtara flooring.

The Global Experience Centre holistically addresses the idea of home with laundry and wardrobe spaces, too. Also, an outdoor kitchen finished with rough-hammered Mount Somers limestone showcases Fisher & Paykel’s grill brand DCS, and the Plan & Choose Studio allows visitors to interact with a range of material, product and reference resources in conceptualising and designing their own spaces.

It is apt that Fisher & Paykel would open its largest and most ambitious Experience Centre on home soil. Imbued with the local knowledge of Aotearoa New Zealand, this exceptional environment will be the springboard of informed creative exploration driven by Fisher & Paykel’s enduring pursuit for design that enriches the life of the user, no matter the space.