Our brief for this project was to provide unparalleled luxurious interior design for a 14-key, 14-storey apartment development unlike any other in Papua New Guinea. These luxury penthouses are for senior executives who periodically live and work in Port Moresby.
We were engaged for full involvement throughout the design process, from planning and intensive services coordination through to full documentation of both hard and soft fitout.
With the client and building site in Port Moresby, the architects and design consultants in Brisbane, we worked across international boundaries and time zones to deliver. The project commenced in 2015 and it was completed in 2019.
RESPONSE TO BRIEF:
We identified two key requirements in the early planning stages:
- The apartments are vast so they needed an ability to reduce large living spaces when not in use.
- Discreet and appropriate access for kitchen, cleaning and security staff.
Importantly, we acknowledged the discerning guest on business would likely be a returning guest. We wanted to provide them a varied experience to differentiate this offering from a hotel, this led us to create seven different apartment plans and three distinct schemes, borrowing their names and personalities from three celebrated cocktails: Sangria, Cosmopolitan and Martini.
MATERIAL & DETAILING INTENT:
Top of mind for this project was the availability of skilled labour in PNG. Knowing joinery would be sourced offshore, we focussed our efforts into joinery packed full of the design detail expected of a luxury fitout. This approach meant we could keep applied wall and floor finishes simple and a high-quality fitout would be achievable without having to import special skilled labour.
Where possible, we kept the base joinery design consistent and changed the applied finish to suit the scheme. Bold and unapologetic use of colour, pattern or metallic texture clearly define the three personalities. Therefore, we were able to achieve quality and uniqueness without extra detail or cost.
INNOVATION:
This project created unique challenges posed by the unusually shaped floor plate. The site sits atop a ridge and has uninterrupted views of the harbour, even at the podium level.
Glazing is abundant, creating beautiful spaces but it also challenged planning, particularly for television, vanity and partition wall placements. We resolved these issues with clever joinery detailing: televisions mounted on poles and vanities that back onto an exposed vertical duct in front of frosted glazing. This allowed the services to run vertically with the mirror giving design purpose to the duct. Wardrobes double as headboards and space dividers with doors built in, seamlessly leading to an ensuite bathroom.
