public artwork for the department of conservation

'combined design project'

The Department of Conservation commissioned us to produce and install an artwork in their new head office here in Wellington. This project was to be a combined design project between the Izzat team and interpretive staff at D.O.C (Department of Conservation).

D.O.C wanted us to help turn their concept into reality and we quickly developed a close working relationship involving brainstorming sessions, research and regular progress reports on various aspects of the job, which included the management of a number of specialist contractors.

The concept intends to represent an abstract exploration of New Zealand’s unique landscape it does this through the exact reproduction of a variety of objects from a number of conservancies around New Zealand that would be recognized as being particular to those areas and an abstract map to tie all these together as well as imparting other relevant information to the viewer. I think the result is spectacular and rather engaging.

The national office opened early in 2007 and is the first fully refurbished equivalent 5 star ecologically sustainable office building in the country, and has a large wall of concrete in the atrium, which works as a thermal mass storage device, and it is on this wall that the artwork is located.