Spring Street & Elizabeth Street Car Park Buildings

As part of Tauranga's broader Playful City vision, this project reimagined two overlooked pieces of civic infrastructure — turning car parks once seen as dark, unsafe, and uninspiring into intuitive, joyful public spaces.

The brief went beyond aesthetics. Poor perception of the buildings was actively shaping behaviour, pushing drivers toward kerbside parking and adding to congestion. The challenge was to change that behaviour by changing the experience — making the car parks feel safe, engaging, and welcoming for people of all ages and abilities.

The design response centred on a suite of tessellated patterns, each parking level drawing on a different local ecology — Astrolabe Reef, Tauranga Harbour, Mount Maunganui Foreshore, and Waikareao Estuary. Bold and abstracted, these patterns work as both wayfinding cues and storytelling devices, grounding each level in a distinct sense of place tied to the region's landscape and cultural heritage.

Graphics are concentrated at key pedestrian points to support intuitive navigation, using repeatable, scalable patterns for high-contrast visibility. Native flora and fauna silhouettes are tucked throughout as playful moments of discovery for younger users, while integrated lighting strengthens safety and wayfinding after dark.

The result reframes civic infrastructure as a platform for storytelling and placemaking — supporting safer, more efficient movement through the city, reshaping public perception of these spaces, and reinforcing Tauranga's identity as a city that values creativity, accessibility, and play.