New Zealand Post
Welcome to New Zealand Post Depot, Auckland.
A commercial fit-out for New Zealand Post's head office in central Auckland, set within a heritage building brought back into working life. The fit-out called for bench seating throughout the atrium - pieces sitting alongside the existing architecture, the stained-glass skylight domes below, and the new white steel balustrades introduced by the design team.
Finewood was brought in for the squabs: the slim upholstered seat cushions that top the benches. At around 30 mm thick, they sit neatly on the timber base and keep the clean, low profile the design called for. We worked to the bench drawings and site templates so each squab followed the curve of its base exactly.
The atrium runs across multiple sit-down points - long sweeping benches against the heritage brick, semi-circular pieces fitted to the balustrade rings, and full circular benches wrapping the stained-glass dome openings in the floor. Every squab had to follow those curves precisely, take heavy daily use from staff and visitors, and read as one considered family across the whole space.
What we made
The squabs for the bench seating were made-to-order in the Avondale workshop. Slim cushions, around 30 mm thick, sectional and templated so the seam lines follow the curve of the timber base.
Squabs for the long curved wall benches running against the heritage brick.
Curved squabs for the semi-circular benches fitted to the inner radii of the balustrades.
Segmented squabs for the full-circle benches wrapping the stained-glass dome skylights.
Short return cushions at the junctions and corners.
