What Wraight + Associates does

Wraight + Associates is a landscape architecture and urban design practice based in Aotearoa New Zealand, with studios in Wellington (headquarters) and Auckland. Founded in 1998 by Megan Wraight as a sole practitioner and restructured into Wraight + Associates Limited in 2003, the firm delivers landscape and urban design services across public, institutional, commercial, and residential project types in New Zealand. The current principal cohort — Nicole Thompson, Diccon Round, and Nick Jones — has led the firm since 2020 following the death of the founding director.

The firm's core offering is professional landscape architecture and urban design services, grounded in rigorous research, ecological analysis, cultural mapping, and frameworks such as Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) and the Living Building Challenge. Project work spans public parks, waterfronts, civic and memorial spaces, educational campuses (including university and wānanga settings), commercial precincts, and bespoke residential properties. The practice is sales-led, acquiring projects through competitive public-sector tenders and direct commissions from developers, architects, and private landowners, with relationship-based referrals from Tier-1 NZ architecture and engineering firms (Tennent + Brown, Jasmax, Architectus, Athfield Architects, Monk McKenzie, BECA, Dunning Thornton) function as a key channel. The portfolio includes nationally significant projects such as Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, Waitangi Park, Taranaki Wharf, the Wynyard Quarter, and campuses such as Te Wānanga o Raukawa and the University of Waikato.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional fees with no public pricing, no external funding, and no disclosed parent company. The firm is privately held under New Zealand law (Wraight + Associates Limited) and has accumulated more than 40 national and international awards, including the IFLA Rosa Barba Award and recognition from the World Architecture Festival, NZIA, and NZILA. Customer mix is primarily government and public sector (city and regional councils, Crown entities, ports) and educational institutions, with a smaller share of commercial developers and private residential clients.

Name

Wraight + Associates

Legal name

Wraight + Associates Limited

Website

https://waal.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Wraight + Associates is a New Zealand landscape architecture and urban design practice founded in 1998, with studios in Wellington and Auckland. It serves government, educational, commercial, and private residential clients across Aotearoa, delivering award-winning public realm, campus, and waterfront projects.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Landscape Architecture & Urban Design Services

NAICS

Landscape Architectural Services (54132), Landscape Architectural Services (541320), Architectural Services (541310)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Landscape Architecture & Site Design (BPAHAKAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Engagement & Participatory Planning (BPAHAKAO), Regional & Land Use Planning (BPAHAKAE)

Keywords

• Landscape architecture services
• Urban design consulting
• Master planning services
• Public realm design
• Streetscape and park design

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Landscape Architecture and Urban Design Services: The firm generates revenue through professional fees for landscape architectural design services on a project-by-project basis. Projects span public domain design, institutional campuses, waterfront/harbour developments, residential estates, civic/memorial spaces, and ecological restoration. Revenue is earned through competitive tender wins, direct commissions, and ongoing client relationships with government agencies, developers, iwi/hapu entities, and private landowners.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Wraight + Associates provides landscape architecture and urban design services to public sector, institutional, and private clients across New Zealand. The practice delivers site analysis, master planning, concept and detailed landscape design, planting design, streetscape and public realm design, and design collaboration within multidisciplinary project teams. Services are delivered from offices in Wellington and Auckland, with work spanning civic, educational, commercial, and residential developments.

Product overview

Wraight + Associates (Wā) is a landscape architecture and urban design practice based in Aotearoa New Zealand, operating as a multi-studio company with offices in Wellington and Auckland. The firm offers a unified portfolio of services spanning landscape architecture and urban design, organized into three project categories: Live (residential properties), Work/Learn (institutional and commercial facilities), and Public (civic and public spaces). The practice emphasizes rigorous research, ecological integration, and meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration to create places that are spatially complex, programmatically flexible, and rich with cultural narrative. Key projects include Pukeahu National War Memorial Park, Hayman Park Playground, Te Wānanga O Raukawa campus, Waitangi Park, and numerous waterfront, educational, and residential landscapes across New Zealand.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Landscape Architecture Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Designed and delivered landmark public projects recognized by over 40 national and international awards including IFLA, World Architecture Festival, NZIA, NZILA, and NZ Concrete Society.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Tennent + Brown (Architects)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing architectural collaborators on multiple Te Wānanga o Raukawa projects including Te Ara a Tāwhaki (2018, library and learning facilities) and Pā Reo (2023, Stage 2 campus buildings). Also collaborated on Ngā Purapura (2011), Waiwhero Farm (2007), and Lake Matheson (2013). Tennent + Brown is a Wellington-based architecture firm with deep experience in culturally significant educational and civic projects.
• BECA (Engineering)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-disciplinary engineering consultancy frequently engaged as structural and civil engineer on Wā projects including Lakeview Master Development Plan (Queenstown), Tīramarama Way (Auckland), Centreport Master Plan (Wellington), Te Kaaroro Nature Precinct (Hamilton), and multiple other projects. BECA is one of New Zealand's largest engineering firms.
• Dunning Thornton Consultants (Structural Engineering)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStructural engineering collaborators on multiple significant projects including Te Ara a Tāwhaki, Pā Reo, and Lake Matheson visitor centre. Specialises in architecture-aligned structural design for complex buildings and public infrastructure.
• Architectus (Architects)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitectus collaborated on Lakeview Master Development Plan (Queenstown) and The Pā at University of Waikato (Hamilton). Architectus is a major New Zealand architecture firm with expertise across commercial, education, and public sector projects.
• Monk McKenzie (Architects)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on Lakeview Master Development Plan (Queenstown) alongside Architectus and Dunning Thornton. Also collaborated on Wynyard Crossing project (2019, World Architecture Festival Highly Commended). Known for distinctive architectural language in New Zealand's built environment.
• Jasmax (Architecture)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of New Zealand's largest architecture firms, collaborated with Wā on The Pā at University of Waikato (as architecture lead alongside Wā's landscape architecture). Also collaborated on the 2019 World Architecture Festival nomination for Wynyard Crossing. Jasmax brings expertise in large-scale institutional and public sector projects.
• Edward White Architects (Architecture)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture partners on Te Kaaroro Nature Precinct at Hamilton Zoo (completed 2023, NZIA Public Architecture Waikato/Bay of Plenty Awards Winner). Won the project through a design competition as part of a multi-disciplinary team with Designwell.
• Studio Pacific Architecture (Architect)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerArchitecture collaborator on Centreport Master Plan / Harbour Quays redevelopment in Wellington (completed 2010). Studio Pacific is a Wellington-based architecture firm with expertise in urban, civic, and commercial projects.
• Athfield ArchitectssecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the Wynyard Crossing project (2019, Highly Commended – Infrastructure Future Project, World Architecture Festival 2019 Awards) alongside Monk McKenzie, BECA, EADON, and Wraight + Associates. Also collaborated with Wā as part of WALA (Wraight Athfield Landscape and Architecture) joint studio on Hayman Park Playground.
• Designwell (Branding, Signage)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerBranding and signage collaborator on Te Kaaroro Nature Precinct at Hamilton Zoo (2023), forming part of the award-winning multi-disciplinary team with Edward White Architects and Wā. Won the project through a design competition.
• Wellington City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary government client and collaborator on multiple landmark Wellington waterfront projects including Taranaki Wharf, Waitangi Park, Cenotaph Precinct, Centreport/Harbour Quays, and Vogelmorn Precinct. Wellington City Council is both a project client and collaborative stakeholder in public realm design.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Isthmus Group: Auckland-based landscape architecture, urban design, and planning firm, comparable in size and specialisation. Overlaps on waterfront, public realm, and residential projects across NZ, often co-bidding on the same government tenders.
• LandLAB: Auckland-based landscape architecture practice with comparable public-sector and waterfront portfolio. Similar size and proposition in NZ's mid-sized landscape design market.
• Boffa Miskell: New Zealand's largest landscape architecture practice with offices across NZ and Australia. Directly comparable as the most established domestic rival offering landscape architecture and urban design to the same government, institutional, and developer clients.
• Resist Studio (Wayne Silver): Wellington- and Tāmaki-based emerging landscape architecture practice with overlapping public-sector and residential commissions in NZ. Comparable boutique scale and design-led positioning.

Regional players

• TONKIN ZULAIKHA GREER Architects: Australian architecture and landscape architecture firm with award-winning public-realm portfolio (e.g., Barangaroo). Comparable design philosophy and trans-Tasman award recognition across similar cultural and public project categories.

Broad incumbents

• AECOM (Landscape Architecture): Global infrastructure consultancy with significant landscape architecture and urban design capability operating in NZ. Competes for the same large public-sector and infrastructure master-planning tenders as Wā but with vastly greater resourcing.
• SWA Group: Internationally renowned landscape architecture and urban design firm with a portfolio spanning waterfront, cultural, and ecological projects comparable to Wā's marquee work. Functions as a global benchmark for award-winning public-realm design.
• Sasaki Associates: Boston-based multi-disciplinary design practice spanning landscape architecture, urban design, and planning. Comparable on large-scale public-realm and university campus projects; represents the global scale of competition Wā faces in marquee tenders.
• Opus / WSP Landscape Architecture: WSP's landscape architecture practice (formerly Opus International) operates within a global engineering and design consultancy. Comparable in targeting NZ public-sector infrastructure clients but with broader multi-disciplinary scale and pricing power.

Others

• Jasmax (Architectus): One of NZ's largest architecture practices (formerly Jasmax, now Architectus). A long-standing Wā collaboration partner on projects like The Pā at University of Waikato, representing the architectural lead counterpart Wā frequently teams with.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/wraight-associates-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wraight + Associates