The Winter Gardens Wayfinding

V I S U A L I S I N G I N F O R M AT I O N

The

WINTER GARDENS S2 / 2016

WINTER GARDENS

ABOUT The Winter Gardens is a historic site designed by William Henry Gummer and Charles Reginald Ford and was opened to the public in 1913.

The greenhouses were built as means of entertainment during the winter months and were part of the gentrification of the Auckland Domain.

Each structure within the Wintergardens was designed to display different types of flora with a combination of both exotic flora and native New Zealand plants.

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WINTER GARDENS

PURPOSE The Winter Gardens has been a popular heritage sight since the early 1900’s and is an integral part of the Auckland City Domain, attracting tourists and providing a distraction for locals from city life.

Our intention was to create a wayfinding system for the Winter Gardens that reflects Auckland City’s rapid development and modernisation over recent years.

The existing signage was dated and lacked the elegance needed for the European ‘Arts and Crafts’ inspired architecture.

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We have created a system that is timeless and sustainable, incorporating new technology with trusted materials we aim to provide vital information not only about the site but also about the various plant life inhabited.

Our wayfinding is to be simple and direct, supplying the public with all the information they need without overshadowing the beauty and importance of the flora.

WINTER GARDENS

AUCKLAND CONTEXT MAP The Winter Gardens is situated in Auckland City near the center of the Auckland Domain on Wintergarden Road and is in close proximity of the Auckland Museum and Auckland Hospital.

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SITE MAP The Winter Gardens is composed by three main buildings, the Temperate House, the Tropical House and Fernz Fernery all connected by the central courtyard and pond.

There are three main entrances, two from Wintergarden Rd and one from Kiosk Rd with a connecting pathway around the side of the Temperate House.

Toilets are located near the rear entrance by the Fernz Fernery.

Key

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Temperate House

Court yard & P ond

Tropical House

Entrances & Exits

Fernz F ernery

Toilet s

WINTER GARDENS

1. Macro Level - Directional Signs

WAY F I N D I N G SYSTEM Our wayfinding system is broken up into three different levels, with each level communicating different forms of information.

First is the Macro level which contains the directional and identification signs. The directional signs help the user navigate the space with a map that displays public facilities while the identification signs identify the buildings within the space.

Secondly we have the Meso level which contains the plant information signs, these signs display the name and origin of the plant life with a trigger symbol to activate our third Micro level. This level uses A.R (Aurasma App) and supplies extra information about the plants including videos, audio and web links.

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Winter Gardens 冬季花园

Temperate House Tropical House Fernz Fernery

Key Temperate House

Courtyard & Pond

Tropical House

Entrances & Exits

Fernz Fernery

Toilets

From 1st December 1913 until 18th April 1914 the Auckland Domain was the site of the Auckland Industrial, Agricultural and Mining Exhibition. Up the steps are the Temperate House, built in 1921 (on left) and Tropical House, completed in 1929 (on right). Connecting the two is a formal courtyard, with a central sunken lily pond, statuary and surrounding pergolas, reflecting late Victorian tastes in landscape design.

WINTER GARDENS

1B. Macro Level - Building Identification Signs 2. Meso Level - Plant Information Signs

Temperate House 温带的房子

1921

Temperate House was built in 1921. Plans for the complimentary tropical house and connecting courtyard were also completed at this time but funding didn’t permit their completion until 1928. William Elliot and the Chairman of the Bank of New Zealand initiated and encouraged the contributions which allowed the project to be completed. The official opening was on 2 May 1928.

Coralberry Ardisia crenata Myrsinaceae Japan

3. Micro Level - AR Plant Information

Fernz Fernery 蕨类植物

1930

Designed by Auckland architects Gummer and Ford in 1930. The Fernery celebrates New Zealand’s unique flora and fauna. It contains common and rare ferns, including remnants of the native plant collection which won the first Loder Cup, a continuing competition in New Zealand horticulture.

Coralberry Ardisia crenata

This small, mound-shaped, deciduous shrub with shredding bark on older wood and brown to purplish branchlets covered with short hairs visible under a 10x hand lens, usually grows to 4 ft. but can reach 6 ft. Its smooth, dull green leaves are opposite and roughly oval, tapering about equally to tip and base, up to 2 inches long but often less than 1 inch, with smooth, turned down margins and a rounded or broadly pointed tip. The greenish-white flower clusters are not as showy as the clusters of coral-pink to purple berries up to 1/4 inch in diameter which remain on the plant through winter.

Read more here...

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WINTER GARDENS

Yogurt Plastic (Recycled from Yogurt pots)

Bamboo Wood (Sheets)

Stainless Steel Spacers

P R O P O S E D M AT E R I A L S Our goal for our wayfinding was to use materials that were Eco-friendly and durable for outdoor conditions. We also wanted the materials to compliment the existing architecture and brick walls. The yogurt plastic has a marble quality which we believe adds some elegance against the earthy bamboo wood. The stainless steel spacers will be hidden from the front surface and act as a divider between the plastic and bamboo to create more dimension and complexity.

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WINTER GARDENS

Winter Gardens

Laser cut Bamboo (Top Layer)

冬季花园

Yogurt Plastic (Bottom Layer)

Temperate House Tropical House Fernz Fernery

Laser etched Key Temperate House

Courtyard & Pond

Tropical House

Entrances & Exits

Fernz Fernery

Toilets

From 1st December 1913 until 18th April 1914 the Auckland Domain was the site of the Auckland Industrial, Agricultural and Mining Exhibition. Up the steps are the Temperate House, built in 1921 (on left) and Tropical House, completed in 1929 (on right). Connecting the two is a formal courtyard, with a central sunken lily pond, statuary and surrounding pergolas, reflecting late Victorian tastes in landscape design.

Stainless Steel Spacers PAGE 08

WINTER GARDENS

PROCESS MAP

Main Entrance - Directional Sign

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Entrance (Temperate House) - Building Identification Sign

WINTER GARDENS

Entrance (Fernz Fernery) - Building Identification Sign

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Entrance (Tropical House) - Building Identification Sign

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WINTER GARDENS

Coralberry Ardisia crenata

This small, mound-shaped, deciduous shrub with shredding bark on older wood and brown to purplish branchlets covered with short hairs visible under a 10x hand lens, usually grows to 4 ft. but can reach 6 ft. Its smooth, dull green leaves are opposite and roughly oval, tapering about equally to tip and base, up to 2 inches long but often less than 1 inch, with smooth, turned down margins and a rounded or broadly pointed tip. The greenish-white flower clusters are not as showy as the clusters of coral-pink to purple berries up to 1/4 inch in diameter which remain on the plant through winter.

Read more here...

AR Interaction - More Plant Information

Inside (Tropical House) - Plant Information Sign PAGE 12

WINTER GARDENS

E N V I R O N M E N TA L MOCKUPS Environmental mockups help to visualise as close as possible what the final product will look like in their various environments.

We first used SketchUp to mock a 3D digital illustration then used Photoshop to place our final signage designs within real locations of the Winter Gardens.

Temperate House 温带的房子

1921

Temperate House was built in 1921. Plans for the complimentary tropical house and connecting courtyard were also completed at this time but funding didn’t permit their completion until 1928. William Elliot and the Chairman of the Bank of New Zealand initiated and encouraged the contributions which allowed the project to be completed. The official opening was on 2 May 1928.

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THANKS FOR WATCHING!

By Siobhon, Maddi and Hattie