What if a hospital wasn’t a cold, sterile place, but an environment rich with life and fantastic guardians that kept kids safe and nurtured wellbeing? Following a $50M donation from philanthropist Mark Dunajtschik, the Capital & Coast DHB seized the opportunity to completely redefine Wellington’s Child Heath Service. Everyone™ was approached to work alongside Weta and SDA Architects to create a brand identity, that built on a ‘Tree of life’ concept, for a state-of-the-art space solely dedicated to healing and caring for our future tamariki.

In-depth stakeholder engagement revealed strong support for a Te Reo Māori name for the service. Through collaboration with the Maori Partnership Board, we developed the brand narrative around the name ‘Te Wao Nui.’  Te Wao Nui is derived from Te Wao Nui a Tāne, which translates to ‘the great forest of Tāne’. The name reflects the symbiotic relationship between the health of young people and the wider environment. Based upon Weta Workshop’s forest murals, we created a whānau of kaitiaki (guardians). Each kaitiaki plays a special role in helping look after tamariki during their hospital journey. All have made their home in the incredible ‘tree of life’ at the heart of the building.