Tākina | Your Host Venue
The 2025 SESOC Conference will be held at Tākina Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Situated across the road from the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa and in the heart of the vibrant capital, it's a short walk from most hotels and just a 15-minutes drive from the airport.
Tākina has been designed and built in a way that reduces negative impacts on the environment. It has been awarded Five Green Star Design certification – the first convention centre in the country to achieve this standard. The rating represents New Zealand excellence for environmental sustainability, energy efficiency and green building.
Designed by Studio Pacific Architecture, Tākina’s iconic design draws inspiration from a wide range of sources, including its maritime location and Wellington’s dramatic and sometimes wild weather patterns and landforms. The Māori mythology of Te Upoko o Te Ika - the head of the great fish of Maui - is also represented within the architecture.
The Meaning of Tākina
Tākina means to invoke, to summon, to connect, to bring forth. And in Wellington, the most powerful force that is summoned here is the wind. It shapes and defines so much of our identity as a city, Tākina draws amazing and very personal encounters our way.Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington harbour) is renowned for its unique and diverse winds. Some days they rage across the harbour, blowing everything before them. At other times, they are soft, welcoming, calm. We treasure and invoke all of them, and each of them, because together they make Wellington a unique place.Those winds are a metaphor for magic, exuberance, sharing and ideas. The winds express the shift of knowledge from one generation to another. They move things forward. They carry truths and viewpoints here from the universe and move them on, like dust, to others thousands of miles away.
Sustainability at Tākina
Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre is a landmark for Wellington’s sustainable future. The building is targeting a 5-Star Green Star custom Built Rating, representing New Zealand excellence in environmental sustainability.
The use of sustainable materials, initiatives to reduce energy and water use, and the inclusion of renewable energy capability will result in a 60 percent reduction in energy use at the venue and a 66 percent reduction in operational carbon emissions when benchmarked against a comparable new build.
The convention centre is designed to operate efficiently at all levels of use – from large conferences to smaller events.
Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre
50 Cable St
Te Aro
Wellington