Auckland-based bar and bakery Mother has been shortlisted in the Australia & Pacific – Surface Interiors category of the 2026 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards.
Since opening in Grey Lynn in 2025, Mother has quickly become one of Auckland’s most popular neighbourhood hospitality destinations, bringing together a working bakery during the day and a bar in the evening that operates seamlessly from morning through to night.
Its inclusion on the awards shortlist followed a strong run of recent recognition and reflected the close collaboration between hospitality owner-operator Hugo Baird and architectural interior design studio CTRL Space.
“We were very deliberate about wanting Mother to feel like a venue that could sit comfortably on an international stage, while still feeling completely at home in Grey Lynn,” said Baird.
“A big part of the concept was theatre; opening up the production process and allowing guests to see the work happening around them. We wanted the bakery, kitchen, service and atmosphere to all feel connected and for that process to become part of the experience.”
CTRL Space founder and principal Chris Stevens added that Mother was a great example of what could happen when the client and design team were genuinely invested in making something together.
Like Lilian and Hotel Ponsonby, which CTRL Space also collaborated on with Baird, Mother reflected his instinct to create venues that felt immediately established, as though they had always belonged in their neighbourhood.
“Hugo had a very clear sense of what he wanted Mother to be, and we worked alongside him and the team to translate that ambition into a space that was both distinctive and functional,” said Stevens.
“To see Mother recognised on an international shortlist like this is incredibly rewarding, particularly because the result belongs to that collaboration.”
The shortlist was also significant for CTRL Space, which previously won the 2024 Restaurant & Bar Design Awards Australia & Pacific – Hotel category for Metita, Michael Meredith’s restaurant at Auckland’s SkyCity.
Winners will be announced the week commencing the 5th of October 2026.
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