Towards a cultural revival | Architecture Now

Having suffered firstly throughout the 1820s’ musket raids after which once more throughout colonisation — the Crown had acquired most of West Auckland by 1854 — the iwi was left virtually landless by the Fifties. Its final kāinga and marae at Kōpironui (Woodhill) and Waiti (Te Henga) have been misplaced throughout this time.

The Monk Mackenzie-designed Te Henga Kāinga Whakahirahira marae and papakāinga represents a big milestone within the iwi’s cultural revival; the challenge is made up of a collection of each residential and communal buildings, in addition to an in depth ecosystem revitalisation scheme to regenerate whenua at present overrun with launched species.

“The buildings have been designed with an ecological focus, leaving a lightweight contact on the whenua and inspiring renewed relationships between tangata and taiao,” explains challenge architect Raukura Turei. “A powerful emphasis has been positioned on resilience with a view to safeguard the iwi’s self-determination and scale back its reliance on exterior infrastructure.”

Te Henga Kāinga’s timber construction and understated metal roofing see it recede visually into the panorama whereas subtly acknowledging the encompassing Waitākere Ranges and ngāhere, and the moana past. Architectural designer Tane Pamatatau says the overarching design emphasis, developed via wānanga with the iwi, is on the formation of significant and helpful collective areas which are protected for tamariki and kaumātua alike. “Automobiles are relegated to the positioning edges, leaving its centre as a vibrant māra of native planting, with meandering pathways round landscaped mounding making a neighborhood hub intertwined with the whenua.”

The marae features a wharenui, a wharepaku, a whare ako and a whare kai. The wharenui is adorned with rammed earth as an instance the notion of surrounding the iwi in its personal whenua and its roof drains on to the bottom. “This motion of wai highlights the connection between Ranginui and Papatūānuku,” says Turei, “and the wharenui inside traces the journey from Te Kore to Te Ao Mārama via using pure gentle and honours Ngā Rau Pou ā Maki via slot home windows that draw within the taiao.” The beneficiant whare kai will allow Te Kawerau ā Maki to practise manaakitanga and host occasions, with a commercialscale indoor kitchen and an outside kāuta and mahinga kai space for getting ready hunted kai, kai moana and hāngi.

The papakāinga consists of 4 two-bedroom, singlelevel kaumātua houses and 4 four-bedroom spatially beneficiant whānau houses, that are accessible and versatile for the intergenerational wants of whānau.

The challenge acquired useful resource consent and accomplished developed design in 2024. Te Kawerau ā Maki is now making use of for constructing consent and is fund-raising to assist realise the challenge. 

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