The new Hotel Novotel at the Auckland Airport was designed to combine New Zealand?s unique cultural heritage with modern architecture. The Auckland Airport Novotel’s website states “The Square Restaurant & Bar at the Auckland Airport Novotel brings together exquisite cuisine, fine design and impeccable service with an unmistakably New Zealand sense of hospitality.” Open 24 hours a day, the Square Bar is located “by a stunning ‘living wall,’ the perfect place to relax with friends or colleagues. Enjoy an extensive selection of New Zealand wines and beers, artfully mixed cocktails and gourmet snacks as you soak up the relaxing atmosphere.”

In keeping with the hotel?s New Zealand theme, our green wall features an array of native New Zealand flora, including cascading ferns and pan-pacific creepers. The wall also has special significance to the local Tainui people, who were a partner in the hotel?s development. Nestled within the wall is Winika cunninghamii – an epiphytic orchid. Previously called Dendrobium cunninghamii, it was renamed Winika, the Maori name.

This indigeneous orchid grows on native Podocarpus totara trees, one of which was used to make the hull of a sacred waka (great ocean-going canoe) belonging to Tainui people. They named the canoe “te winika” after the orchid. The Novotel Hotel marks the vicinity of the landing place of the legendary Tainui Waka, in which Polynesians migrated to New Zealand approximately 800 years ago.

Completed on May 30, 2011, the two-story green wall was designed, built, and installed by Natural Habitats. Intended to complement the hotel?s distinctive New Zealand theme and act as a focus for the popular Square Bar area, it is nurtured by a hydroponic system. The new Auckland International Airport’s Novotel Hotel was recently awarded silver in the Spatial Design category at the 2011 Best Awards. Also, “the hotel is the first in New Zealand to achieve Accor?s new Planet 21. It was recognised because of its innovative design, which incorporates New Zealand?s largest internal living green wall, timbers from certified sustainable forests, low-energy fittings and a unique facade that optimises acoustic and thermal insulation,” Trends eNews, 2012.

The swathe of green that envelops the Square Bar from floor to ceiling improves the bar?s indoor air quality by removing air pollutants and raising humidity levels. The 60m2 of vertical vegetation provides both visual interest and environmental benefits, creating a more comfortable environment to work and relax in.