Interlude
British architecture practice Nebbia has unveiled their first New Zealand commission, a sculptural stone seat on the shores of Lake Whakatipu, as part of a national programme to create 1,000 public objects, seats or benches across Aotearoa, New Zealand, that will endure for the next 1,000 years.
Accessible to the public, Interlude is set on a cliff-edge site within Jardine Park, Queenstown, with sweeping views across Lake Whakatipu towards the iconic The Remarkables mountain range.
The name of the initiative, Paererewā, speaks to its purpose: pae (threshold, place of exchange), rere (to flow), wā (time, place). Each pae commissioned marks a threshold between the everyday and something deeper, acting as an invitation to pause, be present and think in longer terms.
Interlude is the fourth artwork within Paererewā. The project is managed by a community of businesses working for the long-term benefit of New Zealand. STILL was founded by Hideaki Fukutake, a Japanese entrepreneur based in New Zealand working in the arts and education internationally. Fukutake also holds a position as Chairman of the Fukutake Foundation, operator of the Benesse Art Site in Naoshima, Japan.
Designed by London-based architecture studio Nebbia, Interlude is a five-piece assembly of quarried South Island blue stone, a dense basalt rock chosen for its longevity. Two mirrored rocks, each with a carved seat and ascending steps, face one another across a circular portal. The design draws on the classical tête-à-tête, a form of chair built for conversation, and reinterpreted in stone as a place for two people to sit face-to-face, share stories and look out across the landscape together. Rather than a monument to simply look at, this is a place of intentional activity, to converse, rest, encounter and reflect. Like its namesake, Interlude bridges past and future, asking users to consider the constantness of the now, forever the in between of what’s been and what is yet to come.
The portal is both practical and symbolic, connecting sitters visually and framing the view beyond. Ascending to the elevated seats is itself a deliberate act, lending the experience a quiet sense of ceremony. The work is designed to feel as though it has always been part of the landscape, unhurried and of uncertain origin.
The fabrication process of Interlude merges old and new. Photogrammetry was used to create precise 3D models of selected stones, informing each cut and placement, while a local stonemason carried out much of the shaping by hand, marking the rock with chalk, reading the stone and guiding the mill with a craftspersons’ intuition. The result is a structure that bears both the logic of digital precision and the warmth of something made by hand.
The stone narrates its own story. Raw meets refined, unworked natural rock face contrasts with the honed finish of milled sections, bearing its fabrication on its surface. Between these two extremes, split and intermediate cuts offer a third texture, tracing the line between intervention and origin. Over time, the stone will change, sharp edges and polished surfaces will dull, the steps will hollow lightly underfoot, and the stone will absorb a millennium of weather and touch. With that, its origins might perhaps one day be obscured.
Interlude is just one of 1,000 works that will be created as part of Paererewā. Approximately half are reserved through STILL's equity strategy for tangata whenua - a Māori term meaning "people of the land", local authorities and sites of national importance. An advisory panel brings cultural, historical and practical expertise to the collection, and the input of tangata whenua is sought for each proposed site. In addition, an philanthropic investment fund set up by STILL is dedicated to paying for the maintenance of the installations in perpetuity.
Interlude’s site was shaped through local engagement with community groups, reserve users, neighbouring organisations and iwi (Māori society). Nebbia’s final design incorporates inclusive seating and considered planting, welcoming people of all ages and abilities.
Jardine Park sits on rising land at one end of the Kelvin Peninsula and offers some of the best views in this famously scenic district. The site looks over the shallow inlet of the Frankton Arm of Lake Wakatipu to the east and down to the serene, deep-blue of the lake's southern arm to the west.
Lake Wakatipu carries deep significance in Māori tradition, believed to have been shaped by the great exploring ancestor Rākaihautū of the Waitaha people. The lake has sustained villages and seasonal settlements that enabled continuous Māori occupation of the land, and was assessed for its heritage values by Heritage New Zealand. The lake served as a lifeline, a source of food and travel corridor, and is a resource of immense spiritual and cultural value throughout the South Island.
The Kelvin Peninsula itself is remembered as the home of Hakitekura, one of the most celebrated women in the early human story of Te Waipounamu, renowned as the first person to swim the lake's icy waters. Archaeological evidence further reinforces this living history, with records of moa hunter ovens, midden, and a 'Potato' Village at the peninsula's head, now occupied by Queenstown Golf Course.
Nebbia was introduced to the project by the British Council New Zealand and Pacific, via the British Council’s UK-based Architecture, Design and Fashion team. The British Council New Zealand and the Pacific also co-supported the commission, reflecting a longstanding creative relationship between New Zealand and the UK. Part public amenity part artwork, Interlude is also part memorial to revered local philanthropist, Sir Eion Edgar, and was co–commissioned by his son Hamish Edgar, Co-Chair of The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi. In addition to the work's title, Interlude, Sir Edgar's favourite greeting, “Another day in paradise”, has been engraved onto a bronze plaque that will be displayed alongside the piece.
Nebbia’s Interlude is a place designed for today's conversations as well as those in generations to come. Sitting not far from the cliff edge, perhaps the site may one day return to the lake entirely; a work set in motion whose destination is unknown, only ever caught for one, quiet moment in time.
