Wakatu House

Commercial Electrical / Exterior Feature Lighting Design

GRE Services was engaged to design and install a bespoke exterior lighting scheme for Wakatu House, a prominent cultural and commercial building in central Nelson. The project centred on illuminating the building’s seven significant concrete columns, each representing one of the seven iwi of the region, giving the façade both visual presence and cultural resonance.

Our team created a carefully considered lighting design that enhances the artwork carved into each column without overpowering or distorting its detail. The scheme provides a dramatic yet respectful night-time effect, ensuring the illuminated columns remain true to their cultural intent while elevating the building’s architectural identity after dark. Working with the building’s form, materials, and cultural symbolism, the lighting solution was designed to highlight the artistic panels with precision and sensitivity, maintain the integrity of the iwi representations, complement the nine-metre-high Pou that stands at the entrance and enhance the building’s strong urban presence.

This project received recognition from the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA) with a Jury’s Citation acknowledging the success of the building’s design, cultural expression, and refined detailing.

NZIA Award Jury’s Citation
“With its dominant position and the nine-metre-high Pō guarding its entrance, Wakatu House has a confident presence and provides its owner-occupiers with an operational base at once subtle and well-defined. The tastefully applied art on the facades adds to a sense of identity and purpose that is important to the client. Internally the materials’ palette is clean and simple with considered, elegant detailing.”

Respectful illumination, cultural significance, and architectural precision — lighting that honours both people and place.