Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland Council) has launched a refreshed Māori Design Hub to help Māori communities and agencies, private and public developers and design educators bring Māori design thinking to the shaping of the built environments of Tāmaki Makaurau.
Te Pokapū Whakatairanga Tikanga Māori (The Māori Design Hub) is a speciality area within the Auckland Design Manual, a resource that celebrates and advocates for good design practice in Tāmaki Makaurau.
Phil Wihongi, Auckland Council’s Māori Design Leader, comments on this project.
“The Māori Design Hub upgrades and new resources bring fresh Māori design thinking, resources and exemplars that place Māori design and identity at the heart of our collective move from Auckland to Tāmaki Makaurau.”
The 2020 refresh of the Māori Design Hub introduces new Māori design case studies based on two major projects within the Downtown Programme: Te Wānanga (the new downtown public space) and Quay Street Enhancements. Located at the meeting point of the city centre and Te Waitematā, these important public realm projects have introduced new approaches to collaborative design between Mana Whenua groups, leading Tāmaki Makaurau design practices’ and Te Kaunihera (council) whānau.
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Chair of the Planning Committee Councillor Chris Darby is encouraged by the emphasis given to Māori design in these key city-centre projects.
“I’m thrilled that Māori design has been front and centre in the development of our new downtown public space, Te Wānanga, and Quay Street.
"A thriving Māori identity is Auckland’s point of difference in the world. It’s crucial we work with Mana Whenua kanohi ki te kanohi to reflect our unique identity in our design processes and finished projects,” says Darby
Te Wānanga and Quay Street will be completed by mid-next year and will provide open and accessible streets and beautiful spaces for people to gather and enjoy. These enhancements will also provide better connection between our city centre and waterfront.
The 2020 refresh also introduces a new Māori housing resource, with resources on papakāinga (housing/living on Māori land) and design solutions for urban Māori housing on general title land, which have been titled Kāinga Hou. Kāinga Hou provides design thinking for urban Māori housing, and includes fresh design concepts for infill and terrace housing typologies.
The design concepts have been created to stimulate thinking on higher density Māori housing as a way to provide affordable homes and make better use of land as Tāmaki Makaurau continues to intensify.
Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau partnered with Tāmaki Makaurau Office Architecture Limited (TOA) to create the Kāinga Hou housing concepts.
Nick Dalton the founder and Director of TOA comments on the project.
“Kainga Hou innovatively and purposefully enables tikanga Māori in a very contextual way.
“It is significant as a contemporary instrument of design and encourages design practitioners to create spaces that are conducive to the ongoing sustainability of whanau, hapū and iwi lifestyles.”
The hub also includes information on Māori housing research, providers, policies and toolkits. This information has been assembled to assist users of the Māori Design Hub in their exploration of a Māori design kaupapa for Tāmaki Makaurau.
