Alt Group and Fisher & Paykel Appliances have started the year strong, picking up coveted gongs at this year’s iF Design Award. 

Presented by the iF International Design Forum in Germany, the iF Design Award is recognised as one of the most influential awards in the global design industry – this year’s judging panel assessed more than 5,000 entries from 53 countries. 

Fisher & Paykel Appliances were recognised in the Product category for its Flush Gas on Steel Cooktop, while Alt Group received two awards in the Communications category: for the designs of Fisher & Paykel Appliance’s The Kitchen Tools website, and Shigeru Ban: Cardboard Cathedral, a book documenting the build of the Christchurch Cardboard Cathedral.

Alt Group’s managing director Ben Corban says the company is pleased to start the year with early success.

“The iF Design Award is recognised as an international label of global excellence. We believe it is important each year to benchmark our work against international design practices, and these two awards are a great endorsement for our team and for New Zealand design.”

The winning designs will be featured in a special show in the iF design exhibition in Hamburg, part of as permanent exhibition which is a go-to place for those with a special interest in architecture and design. 

The winning designs

Fisher & Paykel Appliance’s The Kitchen Tools website was designed for architects and designers, to provide for them solutions, support and ideas using the company’s product. The site features a blog of inspiring ideas, case studies of the appliances in situ of interiors built by leading architects, and easy spec and image downloads of the products. 

Shigeru Ban: Cardboard Cathedral is a beautiful behind-the-scenes look at the construction of Christchurch’s Cardboard Cathedral, including esssays, architectural plans and striking photographs of the construction and completed building. 

Its design echoes the sensibilities and materialities of the landmark construction, and is set in three sections: a written essay on the concept of the building, a photographic essay documenting the building’s unique construction, and colour plates revealing the cathedral’s final form.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances were recognised in the Product category for its fancy Flush Gas on Steel Cooktop. The recessed stovetop is an unobtrusive design for those who like the aesthetics of induction, but prefer cooking with gas.