Hotel Indigo, 51 Albert St
Bringing Auckland’s Neighbourhood Story to Life, and New Zealand sky homes with hotel lifestyle
As IHG’s first Hotel Indigo in New Zealand, our challenge was to interpret IHG’s neighbourhood story for this property in Auckland. This involved telling Auckland’s unforgettable stories and revealing its hidden gems, while creating a unique boutique hotel that attracts the Upbeat Curious Traveller and captures the local soul of the place. 225 Key Hotel Indigo Auckland is part of a 43-storey, mixed-use development, with 24 luxury apartments on the top 11 levels that benefit from the services and amenities offered by the below hotel.
This project celebrates downtown Auckland’s transformation from a forgotten warehouse and light industrial area, into a vibrant cultural hub for entertainment, business and living, which recalls the Golden Era of entertainment. Until now, Auckland’s character has been shaped by the old and new, and there has been little celebration of its heritage, as well as a lack of any story-telling with high end property brands.
The building’s industrial features are set against bold and creative interior design solutions, such as elements from vintage car detailing, layered with subtle local references to enrich the story of the hotel. In the lobby, F&B offers and public areas of the hotel, the character is inspired by the heritage building in which these spaces sit. Exposed brick and reclaimed timber from the site will be featured, set off by architectural details, such as metal framed reeded glass partitions, that take their reference from the industrial nature of the building, and lighting inspired by the hotel’s neighbour, St Patrick’s Cathedral. Vintage car detailing is evidenced in the rich leathers and button and tufted seating, while a reclaimed basketball court floor pays homage to the building owner and our client.
Moving up into the guest rooms in the modern, 43-storey tower, heritage elements become more streamlined. Bathroom furniture and room joinery showcase vintage and industrial detailing, which is set against warm timber flooring, white rendered walls and gold metal trim to create a fresh canvas. The neighbourhood story is featured through the quilted upholstered bedhead and lounge seating. A scaffolding-inspired open wardrobe and peg-board display make reference to the building’s auto-mechanic history and provide space to tell the neighbourhood story in imagery such as the tui feathers on the throw cushions, and objects such as jet plane lollies for guests to enjoy.
Challenge
The brief was to create an iconic residential addition to the Auckland city skyline over the top 11 floors of a 43-storey tower. Not only did the design need to be earthquake proof, it also needed to bring the heritage of the original building back to life through a slender tower, moving in increasing levels of solidity up the building. Sitting atop Hotel Indigo Auckland, the design of the 24 luxury apartments needed to carefully respond to the vibrant and contemporary hotel concept, as well as the existing heritage building at ground level, while creating a serene haven away from it all. These luxurious apartments in the sky needed to benefit from the services and amenities offered by the below hotel, also designed by Scott Carver, allowing for a true first class branded lifestyle experience.
Insight
The team was heavily influenced by the motor car heritage of the existing building on-site and used the inspiration of luxury car detailing throughout the residential spaces, creating a restrained and luxurious offer. The colour palette for these apartments is calm and light, allowing individual owners to bring their own personality into their spaces. Luxurious neutral elements of chevron timber flooring, porcelain tiles, marble and brushed nickel tapware are used to create an elegant palette.
Solution
The team of architects and interior designers created a truly luxurious interior design offer and thoughtfully developed the architecture for 51 Albert. The residential apartments appear to float at the top of the tower in a simple glass box, making the most of the surrounding views of Auckland. All interior layouts have been designed in such a way that every room has a stunning view and the maximum amount of daylight possible, with floor to ceiling glazing. Open living areas and luxurious kitchens form the foundation for every apartment, while creating flexible spaces for living, entertaining and relaxing. The kitchens have been elegantly designed with high quality materials and a high level of attention to detail and functionality. The design solution provides two entrance options, either through the grand hotel lobby or through the discreet resident’s only private entrance, which is adjacent to the dynamic food and beverage offer. This allows for residents to feel part of the hotel community, as well as feed off the quality amenities.
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30Luxury Apartments
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225Key Hotel Underneath Residential
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43storey tower
Collaborators
IHG
Neoscape (Project Management)
Brand Bureau (Avroko)
Malaya Blonde
Traffic
Pointillism (Renders)
NZSIR (Sales)

Design Inspiration
Design Inspiration
Following on from the Neighbourhood Story of Hotel Indigo, the luxury residential apartments were inspired by the heritage of the site – being the first importer of luxury cars in Auckland. The design reflects modern luxury car detailing, through the use of sleek materials including stone, timber and leather.

Project Details
Project Details
43-storey, mixed use 225-room hotel in addition to 24 luxury private residences on an underutilised strategic mixed-used site in Albert Street, comprising of a dual fronted historic facade and adjacent to St. Patrick's Cathedral.



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Bringing Auckland’s neighbourhood story to life at Hotel Indigo
With interior design by Scott Carver, Auckland will welcome IHG’s first Hotel Indigo in New Zealand in 2021, with Ninety Four Feet as the property developer. Housed within a mixed-use development, our challenge was to interpret IHG’s neighbourhood story for this 225-key hotel in Auckland.
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