Customisation and bespoke design

The Greater Wellington Region is made up of the Kapiti Coast, Masterton, Carterton, and South Wairarapa districts, Upper Hutt, Lower Hutt, Porirua, and Wellington Cities—home to roughly 500,000 people from a variety of different backgrounds, and governed by the Greater Wellington Regional Council. The Council’s mission is to promote ‘quality of life’ by protecting the environment and meeting the economic, cultural and social needs of the community. The new Cuba St. address consolidates a variety of workspaces, providing a modern, adaptable work environment that offers comfort, promotes culture, and facilitates productive work for 400 staff.

Understanding that acoustics are vital to productive workspaces, Athfield Architects took this as an opportunity to commission acoustic artwork that contributes to the wider narrative. A large mural was designed to wrap the walls of the reception, dubbed the ‘narrative wall’. This mixed medium piece illustrates the flight of the Kākā, a native parrot, across the Wellington region. As the Kākā soars over the landscape, it highlights facts and iconic landmarks important to the Council’s mana whenua partners and the wider community and nods to the ‘mountains to sea’ theme applied throughout the building. The brand colours are also incorporated in the artwork, used in both the ocean and landscape graphics. Offering CMYK and Pantone colour matching, Print was the perfect solution for the ocean—printed with a close match to the brand colour blue, accented with white dots and isobars. As the walls of the office curve, the Print needed to curve too. Printed on 6 mm Cube^™, the UV-cured vegetable ink has 170% flexibility, so it wouldn’t crack or distort when wrapped around the wall.