Wellington Civic Square

There was a strong vision that underpinned the design for the Square, and at the time it was highly innovative for any NZ city to embed the story of the city into the very fabric of the place so comprehensively. The mythological story of the fishing up of Wellington, the eye of the fish, and the role of Maui in the formation of the lands of Aoteroa were all translated in spatial planning. The design understood equally the City’s emerging relationship to the harbour and the importance of new and historic urban planning and civic markers. Though strongly iconic in componentry, the approach was not so explicit so as to be simplistic or clichéd. This has imbued the practice’s work in this precinct, and aligned Waterfront work, with a deep degree ofmeaning.

This space and these buildings are all now seen as iconic Wellington landmarks and feature large in the lives of residents and visitors. They are regularly used in publications and images to promote the virtues of thiscity.

Athfield Architects have maintained an interest in the buildings it has helped produce in the Square and worked on seismic design for the Town Hall; and with McIndoe Urban, Isthmus and WCC worked on an urban design review for theprecinct.