09/04/2026
We're excited to share MV Sinbad located in Piopiotahi, Milford Sound, New Zealand
It is a rare opportunity to design a vessel of this significance, one that carries not just people, but story, culture, and place. Our studio had the privilege of designing the interiors you see on board Sinbad for RealNZ.
When RealNZ set out to create MV Sinbad, their first business-class vessel, the ambition extended well beyond an elevated tourism offering. The brief called for an interior that honours the surrounding landscape, Māori narratives, conservation values, shared knowledge, and the human hands that continue to shape its story.
At Undercurrent, we approached Sinbad as an exploration of spatial storytelling, where craft, culture, and environment flow as one. We believe interiors hold an energy, an unseen pull that shapes how people feel. Guided by the connection between interior and exterior landscapes, we set out to create a living, breathing space that dissolves boundaries and connects people deeply to Aotearoa, its culture, and its environment.
Every surface, textile, carving, and detail aboard Sinbad carries its own lineage. The result is a vessel where contemporary design and deep-rooted tradition meet in quiet harmony, offering an experience of understated luxury that is deeply grounded in place.
A huge thank you to the team at RealNZ for trusting us with this vision, and to the builders, suppliers, and craftspeople who brought it to life with such care and precision. There are countless thoughtful details woven throughout the vessel.
A few of the collaborators who helped shape the experience:
• Jasmine Clark Artist, foraged, sculptural, and woven works bringing an organic richness
• solomon, whose artistry and insight helped anchor the narrative of the vessel
• Harrows, South Island furniture makers whose craftsmanship grounds the spaces
• Maxwell Rodgers X Scott family, pieces inspired by the kete, referencing the legacy of John Scott, Māori and Pacific vernacular architecture
• Woodwrights, Nelson-based furniture designers and makers
• Nightworks Studio, created beautiful custom lighting referencing pounamu
• Simon James, contributing refined, locally made furniture
• Signature Flooring, 80% wool carpet which was custom designed to reflect the layered fiords
• Noa Blanket Co., NZ lambswool blankets - Te Whārua nurtures new growth, providing sanctuary and nourishment, fortifying community and collective action for common goals and where the consideration of a lofty aspiration, ascending maunga, is even a possibility.
Special thanks to The Beards for capturing the work so beautifully.
And finally, to the Undercurrent team, James, Regan, and Jeff, proud is an understatement.
