40 Automated Wicking Beds in a Commercial Atrium
Majestic Centre, Wellington, New Zealand
Zero missed waterings → healthy, vibrant plants → fewer and shorter maintenance visits
- Customer
- GreenAir
- Location
- Majestic Centre, Wellington, New Zealand
- Project
- 40 wicking gardens across a two-storey indoor atrium
- Products
- 4 NimbusVerde, 40 NimbusNode, Castellatus, Substrate Moisture Sensors, Water Level Sensors, Flow Sensors, Solenoid Valves
- Recognition
- IPA Large Installation of the Year 2025
The challenge
40 micro-climates that a timer can’t solve
The atrium at the Majestic Centre – Wellington’s tallest building – wraps around a two-storey escalator. Forty custom-fabricated aluminium wicking planters line both sides.
The design, by GreenAir and Unispace Wellington, recreates the layers of a New Zealand forest: canopy trees, understory shrubs, and trailing groundcovers cascading between levels.
Each planter sits in its own micro-climate. Cold drafts at ground level. Fluctuating temperatures through the day. Light conditions that change from garden to garden. A fixed watering schedule would have meant some plants waterlogged while others dried out – increasing plant replacement costs and requiring constant technician visits to adjust timers.