What defines Featurecraft? Custom.
There are several timber specialists in New Zealand that make decorative features for architectural projects, but we can confidently say that few of them can match Featurecraft for hands-on woodworking skill. Our craft is somewhere between a science and an art: our processes are shaped by decades of experience and technical knowledge, but our designs are ultimately guided by our creative instincts.
That’s why we’re the ones you come to when you want a bespoke decorative feature, something so precisely suited to your environment that off-the-rack just won’t do.
Take Mānawa Bay. This South Auckland outlet shopping centre features a custom Featurecraft ceiling grid. Made of specially constructed tiles with a hollow-core design for reduced weight, this complex pattern challenged our craftspeople to use every iota of their woodworking and engineering knowledge.
Or how about the 2degrees Head Office at Fanshawe Street? For this project, we crafted a custom ceiling grid from Western Hemlock timber. This intricate structure beautifies the social space in the office, inviting coworkers and guests to mingle and stay present in the shared moment.
And let’s not forget the Risland Apartment Complex in Albany, Auckland. For this upmarket residential project, Featurecraft developed solid timber battens which taper gently from one end to the other, creating a suggestion of movement. By introducing curvature into the traditionally straight batten form, our craftspeople made this feature wall come alive.
This is what it means to be custom joinery specialists. We don’t just make products that look unique. We make products that function in extraordinary ways. That’s not to say that we neglect aesthetics – we all know that visuals are vital to architecture. There’s a reason that the seventh petal of the Living Building Challenge stands for beauty, ‘celebrating design that uplifts the human spirit.’ This is what Featurecraft aims for with our custom visuals. Not only to please the eye, but to soothe and inspire the soul.
This concept is illustrated by the Halcyon Headquarters & Distribution Centre. This building’s exquisite jet-black interior is fitted out with Featurecraft’s MDF battens in a Black Smoked Oak veneer. Approximately eight metres tall, these magnificent battens form a balustrade and screen around the internal scissor staircase, a masterclass in artistic space-making that is sure to inspire commercial designers for years to come.
Another prime example: the Queenstown Country Club’s clubhouse. Architects Warren and Mahoney used Featurecraft’s fire-rated MDF battens with timber veneers to create screen dividers, sectioning the interior into smaller rooms. These screens were custom stained to mimic the dark ‘refined alpine’ aesthetic chosen for this project. The result: a series of moody, sophisticated showpiece screens that beautifully demarcate different areas within the clubhouse.
Finally, turn your eyes towards the University of Otago’s Science Divisional Offices. For this project, our team supplied fire-rated MDF battens with a Rimu veneer, inviting native Aotearoa into the educational space. The matauranga Māori narrative was also complemented with the use of subtle accent colours on battens to evoke the effect of Kāi Tahu raraka mātauraka, or traditional weaving knowledge.
Our architectural products are so much more than just decorative.
They’re designed to fit like a second skin, matching the values, personality, and history of each new space.
Manawa Bay’s custom Featurecraftgrid ceiling, above the food court.
Custom ceiling grids that contribute to the overall form and function of the new 2degrees head office fit-out.
Custom, perforated fire rated plywood panels at the Risland Apartment Complex, Albany.
Scissor staircase joining the two levels boasts a unique screen and balustrade design by Featurecraft, at the Halcyon Headquarters.
Timber Veneer Battens were custom made for the Queenstown Country Club.
Custom fire rated battens, wrapped in a Rimu veneer at the Otago's Science Divisional Offices.
