GreenAir was founded by Simon Chamberlain with a straightforward conviction: that greenery in commercial buildings should be designed with the same rigour as the architecture around it.

That was over twenty years ago. Since then, GreenAir has grown from a single nursery in Kumeu to a team operating across five New Zealand cities, with more than 300 living installations in commercial spaces from hotel lobbies to corporate towers. Over 90 percent of the plants we install are propagated and grown in-house, in our Kumeu nursery, specifically for each project. We don’t buy stock from a supplier. We grow it to specification.

Simon’s background is in horticulture, but the work has always been about buildings. Understanding how light shifts across a lobby floor throughout the day. How airflow patterns change between seasons. How humidity varies between a ground-floor entrance and a fifth-floor atrium. Every GreenAir installation starts with that understanding, because plants that are selected for their actual growing conditions don’t just survive. They establish and thrive.

That approach hasn’t changed in two decades. What has changed is the evidence. Peer-reviewed research now confirms what we’ve seen across hundreds of projects: that well-designed greenery measurably improves air quality, reduces stress, and changes how people experience built environments. GreenAir is now building its own evidence base, with smart sensor data, species performance tracking, and occupant feedback from active projects.

The philosophy stays. The proof makes it undeniable.