Commercial Bay

Client:
Precinct Properties
PwC
InterContinental
Deloitte

Studio:
Warren and Mahoney

Year:
2018 - 2023, ongoing

Location:
Auckland, New Zealand

Services:
Creative strategy
Design direction,
Interior design
Digital activation
Brand activation
Experiential design
Signage and wayfinding
Art direction.

A pivotal mixed-use, $1billion NZD city-block development featuring open-air, laneway-based retail environments, dining halls, PwC and Deloitte office towers, private suites, and a five-star InterContinental Hotel.

As design and experience strategy partner we provided a range of services right across the entire development - inspired by its commercial, heritage and waterfront context.

Commercial signage and artwork integration

Brand activation and experiential strategy

The experiential strategy for Commercial Bay has ensured consistency of user experience and brand presence across all touch-points within the precinct. Digital activation, signage and wayfinding and brand activation.

The ambition for the identity of this project was to establish the building as a beacon for innovation, technology, new ways of working, living, shopping and eating.

The biggest challenge for this project has been the integration of multiple large named tenancies such as PwC, Deloitte, Zurich, InterContinental and NZX. We have developed a clear brand architecture and wayfinding strategy that converts this challenge to an opportunity, bringing clarity to user journey’s while elevating the audience’s experience and sense of place.

Through an established sense of identity and place, these integrated projects cement Commercial Bay as front and centre:

of Commercial Bay
of Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland
as a gateway to Aotearoa, New Zealand
as a sustainable benchmark
as a technological benchmark
as a leading innovation for new ways of working, living, shopping, dining, connecting
for its leading audience experience offering.

Our design approach visually represents the identity of Commercial Bay, the surrounding harbour and urban context. It injects sustainably sourced natural materials and highly reflective glass to embody the surfaces and textures of the Waitematā/Auckland Harbour.

Artwork integration and collaboration

As part of our partnership with Precinct Properties, we also collaborated with local artists to co-define creative briefs, design integrated setouts and further embellish Commercial Bay’s identity of place. These artworks are located throughout Commerial Bay, and contribute to Precinct Properties art collection.

Cindy Leong - Commissioned artist underway with the next series for One Queen, Commercial Bay

Artworks by Meigan Ellis

Art direction - Commercial Bay

The sheer scale of this project, the complexity of the spaces and the interaction between different functions required a careful approach to art direction. We invited multiple photographers including Samuel Hartnett, Simon Devitt, Hamish Melville, Barry Tobin, Jono Parker and videographer Aidan Rodgers to capture different perspectives and elements of the city block precinct. This allows us to showcase the full range of offerings, tailor the content for different audiences and showcase a powerful sense of identity.