Westpac’s signature store at 79 Queen Street opened to rave reviews on 24
October 2012. With its innovative design, café
caravan, knowledge zones and the amazing 45,000 piece Lego Helicopter kids’
playzone – the largest Lego model in New Zealand - the new branch represents
the future of banking in Australasia. The branch literally lights up
Queen Street, drawing people in with its ever-changing Auckland foreshore
imagery on 14 LED and high definition screens –representing the largest digital
display on Queen Street. Context’s design won out against some of the
biggest retail designers in the country primarily because it is all about values
and people, and aligning Westpac’s values with those of Aucklanders.
“The design is all about engaging the customer within the entire space
so that they feel like they own the space and can relax into it,” says Context’s
Head of Retail & Interiors Natalie Snowden.“The branch sits on the
threshold of Auckland’s original foreshore, and the concept is driven from
Aucklanders’ love of their beaches and waterfront,” says Natalie. “In
design terms, you cross the edge of the foreshore into the branch, and then you
are on a wharf leading you in as a wave-inspired ceiling wraps around the
interior and literally draws you through to different zones."“There is a
tendency for people not to feel they have ‘permission’ to enter certain spaces
in traditional banks, whereas the wave concept is designed to invite people to
move through to the next space so that they feel they can experience and inhabit
every part of the branch – from the chat zones at the back to the knowledge zone
where people can read the paper on iPads while they enjoy a flat white, to the
tellers and self-service area at the front of the branch.” The chat zone
at the back is a key focal point with a flock of 1000s of Westpac ‘W’ red birds
circling above informal meeting areas where people can sit down and discuss
banking – or really anything. The birds represent Westpac’s network and amid the
red birds are 202 white doves – each white bird representing one of the 202
Westpac branches throughout New Zealand. The branch design is contrary
to what most people associate with banking. By opening up the entire front of
house and making nothing ‘off limits’, it invites customers in and lets them
‘own’ the space they are in. The branch offers free Wifi, use of iPads,
tablets and a technology help zone for online and mobile banking. Advances
in technology and Westpac’s unique operational model with their team of
concierge customer service representatives allow this model and design to work.
Wespac Head of Retail Banking Gai McGrath says it’s less about bank
operational activity and more about creating a space that customers want to be
in. “The branch is built around Westpac’s main value, ‘we’re here to
help’,” says Context director Stephen Voyle. “It is all about people, people,
people, and aligning Westpac’s values with their customers”.
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