GreenAir indoor plant installation at New Zealand International Convention Centre Auckland showcasing large-scale biophilic design in premier event venue

CASE STUDY

NZICC

Auckland CBD · Convention Centre

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The New Zealand International Convention Centre is a significant architectural destination for Aotearoa, defined by scale, materiality and a strong sense of place. For many international visitors it is one of their first major interior experiences of New Zealand, so the planting needed to do more than introduce greenery. It needed to contribute to the story the building tells about who we are.

We approached the project as a chance to create a living connection to Aotearoa, drawing on the country's landscapes and botanical identity. Rather than competing with the architecture, the planting sits within its language, and at its centre is the punga, New Zealand's native tree fern, sourced from true New Zealand provenance and set in the building's key arrival and transition spaces.

A Living Connection to Place

Ancient in form and unmistakably of this place, the punga was chosen for its provenance as much as its presence. Positioned through the arrival and transition spaces, it brings the vertical structure of the forest indoors and becomes a living thread between the architecture, the culture of Aotearoa and the landscape beyond the walls.

GreenAir specimen plant display at NZICC Auckland entrance foyer with large-format Ficus and Strelitzia creating dramatic biophilic welcome

The Punga Moss Gardens

The hero feature is a series of carved Punga Moss Gardens, inspired by the layered character of New Zealand's native forests. Punga logs form the sculptural foundation of each garden, their carving a crafted dialogue between nature and culture. Each is finished with hand-composed preserved mosses that recreate the texture and irregularity of a forest floor, so the gardens read less as objects than as fragments of the landscape brought indoors.

Carved punga log moss garden by GreenAir at NZICC Auckland, hand-composed preserved moss recreating a native forest floor

32,000m²

OF EVENT & EXHIBITION SPACE

The NZICC is New Zealand’s largest convention and exhibition facility. GreenAir’s planting scheme covers multiple levels and event spaces, ensuring that every area — from intimate meeting rooms to the grand exhibition hall — benefits from the presence of living plants.

Nature, Culture and Materiality

The NZICC already makes a strong architectural statement, so the planting's role was to reinforce it rather than compete. This moves beyond the idea of biophilic design as simply bringing plants indoors, and asks instead which nature is brought in, where it comes from and what it represents. Plants of genuine New Zealand provenance, alongside carved punga and preserved moss, give the scheme a specificity that could not be replicated anywhere else.

Resilient indoor plants selected by GreenAir for NZICC Auckland convention centre withstanding high foot traffic and variable event conditions

A First Impression of Aotearoa

As an international convention centre, the NZICC welcomes people from around the world, so its interior becomes part of their first impression of New Zealand. The planting rewards discovery throughout the building, from large-scale punga in the arrival spaces to intimate moss gardens that repay a closer look. More than greenery, it becomes a living connection to Aotearoa, encountered before a visitor has even stepped outside.

Statement plant installation by GreenAir at NZICC Auckland VIP lounge area with large-scale botanical features creating living landmarks