This isn’t what you usually picture when someone says ‘hospital’, but Starship is no ordinary hospital.
As New Zealand’s foremost paediatric healthcare centre, Starship holds itself to the highest standards. Treatment is designed holistically, addressing not just physical health but also emotional and social wellbeing. This is a medical institution, but it’s so much more than that; it’s a system which deliberately instils hope into the people that need it most.
Featurecraft is more than just a specialist joinery company. We are a collection of fathers, mothers, siblings – we are people who love other people. When we heard that Starship Hospital was seeking to expand their Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, we naturally wanted to join this project.
Chow Hill Architects, the group behind the expansion, spoke to Featurecraft in October of 2024 to understand our team’s capabilities. The architects’ initial plan was to procure custom printed polyester screens from Autex and employ a joiner to overlay battens on the screens. However, after a conversation with our team, they asked us to spearhead a collaborative project with Autex Acoustics to develop a complete package solution.
Fast-forward to June 2025. The walls of the PICU now feature Autex panels custom printed with a forest landscape, a design element that envelops patients and visitors in a warm, comforting visual environment. Not only do the panels look lovely, but they are designed to enhance acoustics within the environment, helping to subdue any noises that might agitate the patients.
The Autex landscape is broken up with solid timber battens from Featurecraft. These wooden elements resemble trees rising out of the green background, a natural touch that evokes New Zealand’s forest-and-bush landscape and completely banishes the cold, clinical atmosphere typical of hospital environments. Many of us can recall uncomfortable childhood hospital trips where we were forced to stay in dull, colourless wards, unsure of what the future might bring. Featurecraft may not be able to remedy illnesses, but we can certainly help to keep children comfortable and calm as they heal.
The heart of Starship has always been the people. Not just the children who come here to be healed, nor just the staff who do the healing, but also the donors who keep the hospital ticking. To honour these relationships, we designed special battens that could easily be detached from the walls. This will allow our team to engrave these solid timber battens with the names of monetary donors, a custom touch that reflects the love and devotion on which this hospital runs.
