Stats NZ | Wellington

Proving that scale shouldn’t compromise sustainability.

Location: Wellington | Size: 13,000m²

Stats NZ, New Zealand’s official data agency, recently relocated to its new home at 8 Willis Street in Wellington’s CBD. The co-location, shared with the Ministry for the Environment, will house approximately 1000 staff over 11 floors with a variety of spaces designed for people to do their best work.

The brand-new facility reflects a modern working environment designed to support agile ways of working. Built with an eye to the future of workplace vision, Stats NZ has moved away from the traditional assigned and hot-desking models and is empowering its employees by letting them decide when, where and how to work.

The co-location utilises a range of shared work settings that have been designed to support different working styles. Stats NZ identified that this new working environment required entirely new behaviours, leadership styles, culture and workplace practices. Thus, it was crucial our furniture solutions be flexible, collaborative and innovative.

Stork and Platform leaners manufactured in solid timber bring warmth to the space, with the beauty of the timber bringing a residential feel to the communal areas.

A key consideration of the client was the use of products that hold a Green Star accreditation. Sustainability was a top priority for the new site, with a 6 Green Star rating build and aspirations to achieve a 6 Green Star rating fit out. Aspect was able to help Stats NZ achieve their sustainability goals by providing an extensive range of repurposed and modified furniture. A total of 382 workstations were relocated and 214 of those were resized to fit the design brief.

The project is the first to feature Aspect’s most recent innovation, Habitat. We installed 98 Habitat focus pods, which have a recycled content of a staggering 21,840 single-use plastic bottles!

In addition to its significant environmental credentials, this project was also unique due to its specialised project management. Led by our Regional Project Manager, Aspect was responsible for coordinating all involved suppliers, providing Stats NZ with the convenience of having one point of contact for all logistics and programming. This required the coordination of lift bookings, quality control on site, and ensured a seamless installation experience for each supplier.

Studio Pods are used throughout the building and serve as formal meeting rooms or quiet places to focus without disruption from the main working areas. In the design phase, Aspect worked closely with the interior architects, service engineers and main contractor to resolve compliance matters such as fire protection, seismic requirements and ventilation. Our in-house design team created a ceiling mockup where the relevant consultants could trial and troubleshoot their respective componentry to ensure a seamless installation on site.