The End!

So yesterday I had my final exam for my degree!!!!! Pretty much finished now apart from grad show so thats exciting 🙂 On reflection of my three years at Unitec, I must say its been a huge learning experience. I have met life long friends, have a much larger understanding of the world that we live in and most importantly have learnt a lot about who I am. 

Being Maori I believe has been a huge advantage during architecture school as it is my point of difference. The fusion of Maori culture and architecture is becoming more and more apparent in NZ contemporary design and it is intriguing to imagine where it will go in the future.

So what now??

Not masters yet thats for sure! But I had planned on doing a certificate in te reo maori, however it turns out to be a very popular pathway and hence I have missed out the opportunity to study at my chosen institution. So a plan B is in order and I’ll admit at this stage I’m unsure as to what that looks like but am I overly worried? No way! I believe I now know who I am now and who I want to be in the future and that excites me more than anything!! 

 

 

 

Poetry

Its been a long time since I’ve written anything because I’ve been so busy working on my studio project so I thought it was about time I posted. I thought I’d share a poem I wrote for my final studio project. The project focused on poetry and the bigger voice that speaks both within us and around us. I based my project on the whakatauki “Whatungarongaro te tangata, toi tu te whenua”. Translation – “As man disappears, the land still remains”. Will probably post some photos or drawings and explain my concept further later on but for now here’s the poem :

The Land Still Remains

As man disappears

The land still remains

Allowed to breathe and live

Continue untouched, unscathed

I cannot intrude on her

Not cover her skin with stone

I must lie with her

Wrapped neatly without a groan

Stay still and quiet

So that she may listen

To the sounds of Tane’s children

And the waters of Tangaroa that glisten

By day my form may be seen

A piece made by man

Influenced by those who have been

But at dusk I will embrace her

Disappear into her depths

As I become a part of her

And she a part of me.

Nano Whare – Maori Studio 2012

This year in Maori Studio, we were asked to design a nano whare for actor Manu Bennett. He wanted to produce several to form a collection of whare that would effectively create a papakainga environment located on his land on Waiheke Island.

After coming up with individual concepts initially, we were put into groups with like minded classmates and combined our ideas to create a final concept together which we then presented to the client, Manu. My groups design was selected and then simplified to meet the budget and construction restraints.

These photos are of my initial design (the brown ones) and my groups final design (the white ones) both done on Sketch Up.

Whare Taonga

http://www.maoritelevision.com/ajaxservicepage.aspx?templatename=richvideo&progid=2793. C

Check out this programme called Whare Taonga on Maori Television that tells the story of our most treasured buildings. The whole series is in te reo maori and delves into the spirituality and mauri of the construction and finish of each building. Check it out!!

The Roots South Pacific Architecture

Earlier this year I was involved in a programme called The Roots run by two architecture graduates Waikare Komene and Martin Leung-Wai. The aim was to get maori and pacific island students from South Auckland thinking about following an architectural career path. The students were split into groups and had mentors who were young grads or post grad students. The four groups were given 2000 plastic bottles each and were asked to design and build a pavilion using the bottles in the Otara town centre. It was an amazing weekend and incredibly inspirational.

 

Whai Ake Video

Heres a bit of a snap shot about the kinds of things we do in Whai Ake. I think it captures what it is to be a maori student in tertiary education!

John Scott

John Scott is a well known Maori architect. He has been a great influence in my studies. This video’s from 1994 but his architecture is very contemporary.

Project Mātauranga on Maori TV

Project Mātauranga.

My boss told me about a programme she watched on Maori Television called Project Matauranga. Presented by Victory University lecturer Dr Ocean Mercier, the series focuses on science and its connection to matauranga maori. Last night the episode was about housing and the idea of reintroducing the whareuku or earth house and using rammed earth as a technique for low cost housing development. Check it out, link above !

Architecture and Poetry

Last Studio project for my degree!!! And its a goodie. Using poetry, emotion, spirituality, balance and intuition to create a home for myself. We have been asked to step out of reality and logic and use a whole different source of inspiration to present our projects to a silent jury. The photo is of our site near the Unitec campus. While being in central Auckland and surrounded by modern day life, it is tranquil, beautiful and unique. Excited!!!! Looking forward to exploring the unknown.

Maori Studio

This is a photo of one of the projects we did in Maori Studio in 2011. The brief was to redesign an unfinished buddhist retreat into a papakainga for a family in Kaiaua near Thames. We spent a week in Kaiaua working on several projects including this one, a mezzanine space above the living area. We wanted to create a contemporary but traditional maori atmosphere in already characterized building. Other projects completed in this time were a vegetable garden, bio toilet and water tank with stand. Because of the sites location, it was important to make the building habitable and self sufficient.