Megan Wraight facts for kids

Megan Mary Wraight (born 12 December 1961 – died 31 August 2020) was a New Zealand landscape architect. She made a big difference in how public spaces were designed. Megan started her own company, Wraight + Associates. Her company worked on many large city projects across New Zealand. These projects included making waterfronts new, designing school areas, transport hubs, and improving old city parts.

About Megan Wraight

Waitangi Park in 2007, showing some of the plants Megan Wraight chose.

Megan Wraight was born in a town called Rangiora. She grew up in country areas in Rangiora, Havelock North, and Motueka.

Megan studied Landscape Architecture at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. She finished her degree in 1992. In 2006, she won a major international award from the International Federation of Landscape Architects. This is one of the highest honors in her field. Then, in 2013, she became the first landscape architect to receive the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award. This was a very special achievement.

Her project, Waitangi Park in Wellington, showed how to design parks in a way that helps the environment. It focused on saving water. Her work on the Wynyard Quarter in Auckland also shows how to make old waterfront areas new and exciting. Wraight + Associates also designed Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in Wellington. Her company won many awards from the New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects. In 2017, they won four of the top awards.

Amazing Projects and Awards

Wraight + Associates worked on many important projects. Here are some of them:

• Wellington Waterfront: They helped develop Waitangi Park, Taranaki Wharf, CentrePort, and the Lambton Harbour Masterplan.
• Hamilton City: They improved Hood Street in Hamilton.
• Waitomo Caves: They worked with Architecture Workshop on the Visitors' Centre at Waitomo Caves.
• Christchurch: They designed the Christchurch Coastal Pathway.
• Auckland Waterfront: They worked on Wynyard Quarter, Jellicoe Street, North Wharf, and Silo Park.
• Pukeahu National War Memorial Park: This important park in Wellington was designed by Wraight Athfield Landscape + Architecture Ltd (WALA). It won the Parks category at the NZILA awards in 2017.
• Victoria University of Wellington Hub: Wraight + Associates Ltd worked with Athfield | Architectus on this project. It won an NZILA Award of Excellence in the Institutional category in 2017.
• Cenotaph Precinct Upgrade: Wraight + Associates Ltd and the Wellington City Council Urban Design Team improved this area. It won the Urban Spaces category at the NZILA awards in 2017.