Calm elegance awaits on the third floor of New York’s Architects & Designers Building. Coming from the chaos of the streets (or even the confusion of finding the right elevator in the well-trafficked building), the Fisher & Paykel Experience Center acts as a quiet balm. Schiller Projects, working in collaboration with Fisher & Paykel Design Team, converted the once ordinary showroom into an Experience Center, the brand’s immersive take on standard showrooms. As such, the latest New York outpost doesn’t just display appliances, but it also integrates them into environments that exemplify how each can be used. Even more, it does so with warmth and style, merging the brand’s roots in New Zealand with its home in New York.
The design scheme takes after the ethos of the brand’s own appliances. “Fisher & Paykel’s appliances aren’t trying to call attention to themselves; they’re designed to integrate seamlessly into the home and enhance the way people live,” Aaron Schiller, founder of Schiller Projects, told AN Interior. “That aligns with how we approach architecture—as a duet between artisanal craft, strategic thinking, and a commitment to creating spaces that serve and reflect the communities they serve.”
The Experience Center doesn’t just display products; it conceals or accents the kitchen appliances within different modern environments. The center organizes four distinct kitchen styles—Minimal Kitchen, Compact Kitchen, Contemporary Kitchen, and Professional Kitchen—that reflect both the different types of appliances from Fisher & Paykel and the different ways they amount to contemporary styles. The floorplan includes these kitchens alongside a central core to house all the back-of-house items, a small lounge, wine and beverage center, and a zone for their outdoor appliances.
“Circulation moves clockwise, allowing visitors to experience each kitchen independently and in sequence. That clarity is strategic—it choreographs the experience without over-prescribing it. And the spatial detailing is all about craft: subtle transitions, clean integration, and restraint in how the architecture shapes the encounter,” continued Schiller.
Materiality further makes apparent the transition between kitchens. The entry, where visitors are offered cups of New Zealand tea, is clad in bluestone floors, a reference to the sidewalks of Brooklyn brownstones. Then, limestone walls continue the New York allusions as a nod to surfaces of the New York Public Library. Beyond the bluestone, American White oak covers the floors, milled locally. These materials set the base of the Experience Center and root the interior to its site. Meanwhile, different materials are used to designate each kitchen.
The design team worked with different kitchen manufacturers (Arclina to Henrybuilt and Space Theory) to design and distinguish each quadrant. The Minimal Kitchen is designed by the architects and crafted by Edgewood Made. As its name suggests, simplicity and precision inform the kitchen, where a monochromatic material and color palette, namely New Cardosa Granite from ABC Stone, creates a calm base. These integrate a Combination Steam Oven in black, Contemporary Warming Drawer, and the Series 11 Integrated Tall Single DishDrawer Dishwasher, all of which fit imperceptibly into the counter, slotting in perfectly flush against the island.
“The goal was really to craft an environment that celebrates cutting-edge appliance technology with high-performance functionality, and the use of tactile, elemental materials. It reflects a deep understanding of the rituals that define contemporary living,” said Xanthe Whiteley, senior brand and retail experience designer at Fisher & Paykel. In contrast to the advanced technology that suffuses the space—like the Fabric Care Cabinet Graphite, a modern wardrobe that refreshes and sanitizes clothes—the space remains warm.
Part of this is due to the intentional fixtures and furnishings that clad the space. The ceiling offers a rational grid with acoustic control from New Zealand–based Autex Acoustics, which also cleverly conceals light sources, air distribution, sprinklers, and AV behind the much more visually appealing grid system. Plush seating from B&B Italia makes up the lounge area. Wooden light fixtures from locally sourced wood courtesy of Stickbulb lights a dining area. Details soften the interior while thoughtfully telling the story of the brand’s origins and anchor in the city.