8 Willis St

Across 12 levels, 8 Willis Street brings Stats NZ and the Ministry for the Environment together into a shared, collaborative workspace in central Wellington designed to support cross-disciplinary teams working side by side.

Early consultation with the cultural team uncovered a strong feminine narrative running through the project's whakapapa. In Te Ao Māori, weaving is traditionally a female art form, symbolising the unity of people and place. The structured, grid-like logic of Tāniko weaving became the guiding reference point, a pattern language that could also speak to data, structure, and system.

From there, the wayfinding narrative wove together three threads: Tāniko weaving, the abacus, and Fibonacci sequences each reflecting an aspect of the building's purpose. Tāniko grounds the design in whakapapa and place. The abacus speaks to Stats NZ's core function of counting and measuring. Fibonacci patterns nod to the natural world, echoing the Ministry for the Environment's work within it.

These three concepts are expressed through bespoke typography, a custom icon set, and distinct sign types that carry the narrative consistently through the building. Level identification signage goes further, becoming site-specific artwork in its own right, using Fibonacci patterning and colours drawn from the interior palette to create landmarks unique to each floor.