thl Waitomokia Campus

Transforming a winery into a world-class tourism gateway

Bringing a light-touch to an iconic brand’s New Zealand head office

thl, Aotearoa New Zealand’s premier tourism company and the world’s largest commercial recreational vehicle (RV) rental operator, has consolidated its New Zealand head office, Group Support services and RV Super Centre onto the former Villa Maria Estate winery in Māngere. Just minutes from Auckland Airport, the iconic site sits on the rim of the Waitomokia volcanic crater and overlooks the Manukau Harbour – creating a majestic gateway for travellers beginning their New Zealand journey.

Situated on a large area of land, the award-winning Villa Maria winery, with three substantial existing buildings, required minimal architectural intervention. It proved an ideal fit for thl’s unique and diverse requirements, co-locating its workplace, sales and rental operations for the first time. Adaptive reuse of the original wine-making structures – a bottling plant, wine room and office building – have proven a far more sustainable solution than building new facilities from scratch, with significant savings in embodied carbon emissions, cost and construction time.

Jasmax’s architectural and interior design brief was to deliver a premium customer experience while repurposing as much of the existing infrastructure as possible. The bottling plant has been transformed into the RV Super Centre, featuring a new glass-fronted showroom, retail space and a large-scale service centre for motorhome owners, and the former wine room has been repurposed into a naturally lit RV workshop.

Celebrating the brand and enhancing the customer experience

Interior design features reflect thl’s origins, drawing inspiration from nature and evoking the freedom of RV travel as a way to explore the country. Flowing, organic forms in lighting and décor were inspired by the contours and tones of New Zealand’s natural environment. Architecturally, a handful of well-placed interventions, such as a new glazed entry into the RV Super Centre, result in a light-filled showroom able to display up to 22 RVs internally and 30 externally.

With a focus on sustainability, the design team prioritised waste reduction and restored, reused and repurposed materials within the project. Around the buildings, large RV parking spaces provide travellers with safe, generous zones to load and unload vehicles, along with washdown areas which protect the natural environment and surrounding waterways.

Embedding sustainability through connection to place

From the project’s outset, thl and Jasmax worked closely with Mana Whenua, in particular three iwi – Te Ahiwaru Taiao, Te Ākitai Waiohua and Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua – who generously shared the history and cultural significance of the site, which is now integral to the functional design and mahi toi (artworks) adorning the campus. Waitomokia crater and wetland were once home to puna (springs) and a source of tuna (eel) and kai moana (seafood), cherished by the first peoples of the area. Artists Ryco Wilson (Te Ahiwaru Taiao) and Chrissy Morehu (Ngaati Te Ata Waiohua) created site-specific artworks inspired by the wai (water) of the many natural aquifers of Waitomokia, embedding the site’s whakapapa (genealogy) into the campus design and celebrating kaitiakitanga (stewardship of nature). Signature pieces include decorative panels at the entry creating a korowai (cloak) wishing manuhiri (visitors) a safe journey, and the wai touchstone, also at the entry, featuring tuna caught in a hinaki (net) representing abundance.

A focus on the protection of waterways and the harbour is embedded in thl’s sustainability strategy, with improved stormwater management being a key priority for iwi. The campus now includes storage for 200,000 litres of rainwater harvested on site which is repurposed for irrigation and RV washing.

This area has a long history of occupation, as it was the area of earliest settlement of Taamaki Makaurau, Auckland in approximately 1100AD by Te Waiohua hapuu

— Te Ākitai Waiohua, 2015