Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency

DGSE worked with Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency to deliver their new national premises, located within Bowen Campus in the heart of Wellington’s parliamentary precinct. The circa 9,000m² project spans seven interconnected levels to form a new consolidated home for the organisation. Integrating emerging workplace design thinking and exploring the limits of activity-based working, spaces are arranged to provide a spectrum of collaborative settings, focused working environments, gathering spaces, and end-of-trip facilities. Overlooking Wellington’s iconic elevated State Highway artery, a central café is bedded into the centre of the building as a unified place for people to come together and recharge.

The project is a turning point within the organisation, with an emphasis on sustainable outcomes, social responsibility, and sense of place. The project marks a new brand expression for Waka Kotahi, shaping a bespoke Te Ao Māori narrative of local whenua and Aotearoa alike. Working in partner ship with DGSE’s Indigenous Design Rōpū (IDR) and Waka Kotahi, a narrative was developed around Ki Uta Ki Tai – from mountains to sea. This acknowledges the balanced natural order of ecosystems – a foundational characteristic that speaks to the essence of Waka Kotahi’s role within Aotearoa New Zealand. The narrative is expressed within tactile architectural surfaces and through variation in earthy tonal variation – gradually revealed as users transition from floor to floor.

In addition to the building’s Green Star accreditation, DGSE worked alongside Waka Kotahi to target WELL Certified status, with an emphasis on environmental consciousness and holistic end-user well-being.

Through a focus on embedded cultural integration, innovative space planning, and challenging organisational norms, the new national premises offers a fresh, dynamic, and immersive environment for staff, partner agencies and visitors to converge.

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