Designed by Woods Bagot, the hotel is an initiative of The Queenstown Hotel Limited Partnership in response to a demand for luxury accommodation within the renowned international tourism destination.

The site, located on 12-26 Man Street, will build over an existing four-story basement carparking building at the junction of Queenstown’s central business area. The architectural design comprises five interconnected pavilions, each oriented to capture framed views of the landscape, including panoramic views over Lake Whakatipu and The Remarkables mountain range.

Broken into smaller, human-scaled elements, the purpose-built pavilions are carefully placed to follow the natural lay of the land, maximising the planning envelope while remaining sympathetic to its surrounds. Assuming an undulating built form, each pavilion is articulated as a unique faceted form to reference the silhouette of Queenstown’s skyline.

The design references the traditional materials typical to the Queenstown vernacular. Diverse material choices in façade treatments have been incorporated to improve visual interest and articulation, while added vertical articulation breaks up the building mass to create a refined and visually engaging elevation.

The pavilions are connected and anchored by a series of courtyards, planted with indigenous New Zealand species to create a seamless transition between indoor and outdoor spaces. Proposed over six levels, the project includes generous setbacks to protect urban view corridors and enhance public realm.

Woods Bagot Director Domenic Alvaro says the architecture will integrate landscape, culture and materiality for a design response that is “quintessentially Queenstown”, incorporating the unique scale and rhythm of the lakefront’s urban fabric.

“This will be a global-destination hotel, sensitively crafted to assimilate into Queenstown’s breathtaking natural landscape,” says Alvaro.

“Designed to harmonise with the historic scale of Queenstown’s urban fabric, the project is conceived as a ‘township of rooms,’ with each room oriented to capture framed views of the surrounding landscape.

The Queenstown Hotel has been approved for consent under the Covid-19 Recovery (Fast Track Consenting) Act 2020. The project will generate employment by creating around 180 full-time jobs over a two-year construction period, and a further 100 jobs once operational.

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Isla Sutherland
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