Description:

Opportunity
Tauranga City Council saw an opportunity to radically shift perceptions of car parking buildings—from dark, utilitarian, and underused spaces to safe, vibrant, and welcoming urban infrastructure. As part of the city’s broader ambition to become a "Playful City," the upgrade of the Spring Street and Elizabeth Street Car Park Buildings aimed to support a more walkable, family-friendly city centre by encouraging people to use structured parking rather than congesting main streets with kerbside parking.
The buildings' existing conditions presented common challenges: poor lighting, confusing layouts, lack of identity, and little appeal to pedestrians or families. These perceptions deterred usage and contributed to underutilisation. The Council’s vision was to deliver a fundamentally better experience—uplifting, intuitive, safe, and appealing for all ages and abilities—through creative environmental design. At its heart, this project became a unique opportunity to reframe parking buildings as civic assets and storytelling platforms.
Approach
The creative strategy centred on a bold, immersive pattern language rooted in local ecology. Each level of the Spring Street Car Park was themed around a unique natural environment within the Tauranga region—such as Astrolabe Reef, Tauranga Harbour, Mount Maunganui Foreshore, and Waikareao Estuary. These ecosystems inspired abstracted, tessellated patterns that serve both a functional and expressive role.
The patterns were applied at scale, creating highly legible and memorable visual identities for each level. This approach helps users easily remember where they parked while also embedding local storytelling and references into the environment.
Lighting design was integrated throughout the scheme to enhance visibility, promote safety, and reinforce the wayfinding experience. Key access points were illuminated with bright, low-glare lighting to create a sense of welcome and comfort both day and night. Accent lighting highlights pathways, entrances, and key decision points, making navigation intuitive and secure.
The design balances functionality with emotional connection—providing bold visibility, intuitive cues, and visual delight while contributing to a distinctly Tauranga sense of identity and care for place.
Outcomes
The environmental graphics transformed the perception and usability of the Spring Street Car Park, making it easier to navigate, safer to use, and more enjoyable to experience. The integration of storytelling and ecological references connects users—residents and visitors alike—with the natural heritage of Tauranga, reinforcing a sense of place and pride.
The project supports Tauranga City Council’s wider goals: increasing use of structured parking to reduce inner-city congestion, contributing to safer and more accessible urban environments, and aligning with ongoing placemaking efforts like the Playable City strategy, the new Waterfront Park, and weekend market activations.
By turning a necessary civic facility into a playful, educational, and design-led experience, the Spring Street Car Park now operates as more than just a place to leave your car—it’s a gateway into the city, and a celebration of the landscape that defines it.