We make cultural
infrastructure sing
At Stitchbird Studio, we are cultural planners, strategists, and designers who transform civic spaces, heritage sites, and cultural facilities into vibrant platforms for connection.
Whether we are shaping the vision for a brand-new facility or unlocking the hidden potential of the infrastructure we already have, our goal is to serve more people in more relevant ways. We do more with our cultural investments, ensuring every space we touch truly sings.
Comprehensive cultural planning studio
We solve the disconnect between planning and delivery. By bringing a highly unique suite of services under one roof—including strategy, planning, fundraising, experience design, and delivery support—we help our clients wherever they are on their journey.
Meeting the needs of our time
The way people interact with museums, heritage sites, and civic spaces is evolving. We bridge the gap between built infrastructure (both old and new) and modern societal needs, ensuring every space has a clear, contemporary purpose.
Unlocking potential
We help councils and communities do more with less by identifying the latent value in existing ecosystems and environments, while also collaborating with designers to ensure new builds reach their highest possible impact.
Built to run
We understand that capital and operational design must be integrated from the outset. It takes far more than a physical building to make a facility work; we put the commercial, cultural, and audience foundations in place to keep it running smoothly.
Lily Frederikse
Director and Strategic Lead
(MMHS) Master Museum and Heritage Studies,
(BDES) Bachelor Spatial Design
Lily Frederikse brings over two decades of experience navigating Aotearoa’s cultural sector. Possessing a rare expertise that spans civic cultural planning and hands on visitor experience design, Lily has been entrusted to direct high-stakes, award winning capital projects and multi million dollar funding pathways. By quickly illuminating the strategic path forward, she bridges the critical gap between bold creative vision, sustainable operational reality, and the shifting needs of communities, ensuring every complex project is safely nested within a resilient model that helps cultural places thrive.
We plan, advise on and deliver
New and redeveloped museums
Tourism attractions and products
Exhibitions and visitor experiences
Visitor information, cultural and environment centres
Galleries, libraries and community facilities
Cultural heritage sites
Civic and cultural precincts
Our clients include
Museums, arts and cultural organisations
Local government
Tourism organisations
Masterplanning consortia
Environmental, cultural, and heritage organisations
Architects, landscape designers and urban planners
Economic development agencies
