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By William Van Zyl (Published 2 September 2023).
Modern Māori architecture in New Zealand blends traditional Māori design principles, cultural values, and contemporary architectural approaches.
The new New Zealand curriculum for Design and Visual Communication (NCEA – DVC Level 1) focuses on Māori architecture in a Mātauranga Māori context. This article provides a brief overview with some examples of such contemporary buildings.
Table of Contents
Keywords:
Modern Māori Architecture, Contemporary Māori Architecture, Māori shape form pattern and colour, Design and Visual Communication New Zealand, DVC NCEA Level 1, Māori spirituality, Māori culture, Mātauranga Māori, whare, Marae, kowhaiwhai patterns
Mātauranga Māori
Mātauranga Māori literally translated means ‘Māori knowledge’. It’s a modern term that broadly includes traditions, values, concepts, philosophies, world views and understandings derived from uniquely Māori cultural points of view.
Mātauranga Māori. Credit Sandy Millar.
Here is a list of some common modern and contemporary features found in Māori architecture:
- Cultural Symbolism: Modern Māori architecture often incorporates cultural symbols and motifs, such as the koru (unfurling fern frond), tukutuku (woven panels), and poutama (staircase pattern). These symbols connect the architecture to Māori identity and traditions.
- Wharenui and Wharekai Design: The wharenui (meeting house) and wharekai (dining hall) are traditional Māori structures that have influenced modern designs. These structures emphasise communal gathering spaces and have distinctive pitched roofs, intricately carved panels, and symbolic carvings.
- Carvings and Artwork: Traditional and contemporary carvings are significant in modern Māori architecture. These carvings often depict important ancestors, stories, and cultural elements. They can be integrated into building facades, entranceways, and interior spaces.
- Sustainability: Modern Māori architecture often incorporates sustainable design principles, reflecting the Māori value of kaitiakitanga (guardianship of the environment). This can include using renewable materials and energy-efficient systems and focusing on minimising the building’s ecological footprint.
- Marae Complexes: Marae are traditional Māori communal meeting places, and modern Māori architecture incorporates marae complexes that include not only wharenui and wharekai but also other facilities like administration buildings, accommodation, and contemporary amenities.
- Contemporary Materials: While traditional materials like wood, stone, and flax continue to play a role, modern Māori architecture also embraces contemporary construction materials and technologies to create functional and aesthetically pleasing spaces.
- Integration of Landscape: Māori architecture often respects the natural landscape and seeks to harmonise buildings with the environment. This might involve site-specific designs that work with the land’s contours, vegetation, and water features.
- Storytelling Through Design: Modern Māori architecture often tells stories through its design elements. The architecture can communicate the history, values, and aspirations of the Māori people, creating a sense of cultural continuity.
- Cultural Centers and Museums: Contemporary Māori architecture is seen in cultural centres, museums, and educational institutions dedicated to preserving and showcasing Māori heritage. These buildings often employ a fusion of traditional and modern architectural elements.
- Public and Civic Buildings: Modern Māori architecture can also be found in public and civic buildings such as government offices, educational institutions, and community centres. These spaces incorporate cultural elements that reflect Māori identity within broader society.
- Collaborative Design Processes: Māori architecture often involves collaboration between architects, designers, and Māori communities. This ensures that the architectural designs respect cultural values and meet the needs of the people who will use the spaces.
- Digital Fabrication and Innovation: Some modern Māori architecture incorporates digital fabrication techniques and innovative technologies, allowing for intricate carvings and designs that might have been more challenging to create using traditional methods alone.
Māori architecture is a dynamic field that continues to evolve, incorporating new ideas and influences while maintaining a strong connection to cultural heritage.
Several modern and contemporary buildings in New Zealand draw inspiration from Māori Architecture and Culture.
Here are a few examples:
Tennent Brown’s latest educational building at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki:
The symbolism, shape, form pattern, and colour relate to Māori cosmology and local history. In Māori communities today, this reverence for nature continues, with karakia (prayers) offered for harvesting food or flax for weaving, as well as for the use of wood. While timber will often be felled and harvested commercially from a plantation forest, and its use will often take on a more minimalist aesthetic, echoes of these traditional elements are also evident in the design and specification of timber in modern Māori architecture.
Structures like Te Ara a Tāwhaki in Otaki and Kōtukutuku Papakāinga in Auckland bring the timeless elegance of marae (meeting house) and other whare (buildings) aesthetics into the present era. They achieve this through innovative modern interpretations, where contemporary renditions of cross-hatched kowhaiwhai patterns (the painted scroll ornamentation frequently seen on meeting house rafters) and intricate woven textures are crafted using materials like Abodo Vulcan fins and screening.
See the contemporary renditions of cross-hatched kowhaiwhai patterns (the painted scroll ornamentation frequently seen on meeting house rafters) to the front of the building. Credit: Tennent Brown Architects NZ. https://tennentbrown.co.nz/projects/Māori/te-ara-a-tawhaki. See the original patterns in the next image. The straight lines in the image below could have inspired the designers of this contemporary building.
Typical Māori kowhaiwhai patterns – Marae (Māori Meeting House). Godber, Albert Percy, 1876-1949 :[Drawings of Māori rafter patterns]. 35. From Menzies Collection; 39 and 40. [1939-1947]. Credit: National Library of New Zealand. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/22804937
The more minimalist aesthetic – simple kowhaiwhai patterns on the facade (straight lines) – echoes the traditional wood elements of a Marea (meeting place). Credit: https://archipro.co.nz/article/Māori-powerhouses-tennent-brown-architects
MORE ABOUT Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Ōtaki. The traditional language of Māori architecture finds its voice in the timber medium. Throughout history, wood has been carefully sourced from the forest, an act accompanied by deep reverence. Before felling a tree for practical use, karakia (prayers) were dedicated to Tanemahuta, the Forest God. Subsequently, the timber underwent a metamorphosis through carving and adorning, giving life to depictions of taniwha (supernatural entities) and other intricate motifs. These designs graced the wood and wove tales of the region’s history and people. Credit: Abodo. https://www.abodo.co.nz/resources/articles/modern-Māori-architecture
Te Papa Tongarewa – Museum of New Zealand (Wellington):
Te Papa is a significant cultural institution that showcases New Zealand’s history, art, and Māori culture. The building’s design reflects Māori motifs and architectural principles, incorporating carvings, tukutuku panels, and other traditional design elements.
Te Papa Tongarewa. Credit NZ Herald.
Auckland War Memorial Museum (location Auckland):
This museum blends neoclassical architecture and Māori design elements. The entrance is flanked by two carved pou (posts), and the interior houses a Māori meeting house called “Wharenui.”
The Auckland War Memorial Museum. Credit: Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Inside the museum – A typical Māori building. Credit: Auckland War Memorial Museum.
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito (Christchurch):
This Māori immersion school is designed with Māori architectural principles in mind. The building incorporates traditional motifs and carvings, creating an environment that reflects the school’s cultural and educational values.
Māori school: Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Rito.
Te Wharewaka o Poneke (Wellington):
This cultural facility is located on Wellington’s waterfront and serves as a space for Māori cultural events and activities. The building’s design draws inspiration from traditional Māori waka (canoe) forms.
Te Wharewaka o Poneke (Wellington). Credit: https://ltmcguinness.co.nz/project/wharewaka/
Credit LTM McGuiness Building Contractors. https://ltmcguinness.co.nz/project/wharewaka/
Te Kaitaka – ‘The Cloak’ (Auckland):
Part of the Auckland Airport, Te Kaitaka is a striking building inspired by Māori weaving patterns. Its unique shape and exterior design pay homage to traditional Māori artistry.
The Cloak. Credit greenroofs.com.
Greenroof – sustainable design – The Cloak. Māori-inspired building. Credit greenroofs.com.
Plan view of The Cloak. Credit ArchDaily.
Te Oro Music and Arts Centre (Auckland):
Te Oro is a community facility designed with a contemporary architectural approach while incorporating Māori cultural references. The exterior features a distinctive design inspired by Māori weaving patterns.
Te Oro Tāmaki (Auckland). Credit: Auckland City Council. Credit: NZ Insitute of Architects.
Tūranga – Christchurch Central Library (Christchurch):
While not exclusively Māori-inspired, Tūranga incorporates Māori design elements and cultural references within its architecture and interior spaces, reflecting the local community’s identity.
Tūranga – Christchurch Central Library. Credit: Lewis Bradford Consulting Engineers.
Credit: Tūranga, Flickr New-Central-2018-09-18-029, Photo by Pam Carmichael Photography.
ABOUT – Tūranga – Christchurch Central Library: The design was developed in discussion with Ngāi Tahu and the Ngāi Tūāhuriri rūnanga. Terraces and openings on upper floors face culturally significant points in the Canterbury landscape and beyond:
- Kā Tiritiri o te Moana – Southern Alps
- Aoraki / Mt Cook
- Horomaka / Pātaka o Rākaihautū – Banks Peninsula
- Maungatere – Mt Grey
- Hawaiki – according to oral traditions, one of the places of origin of New Zealand’s earliest settlers
The building’s gilded aluminum facade, often likened to veils, mirrors the undulating contours of the adjacent Port Hills. This dynamic design incorporates warm hues and interplay of shadows, drawing inspiration from the natural folds of the hills. Additionally, it resonates with the triangular forms reminiscent of native harakeke flax leaves, which once thrived in the marshy surroundings of the site.
Camera Obscura interactive sculpture in Whangarei:
Camera Obscuras have been employed for centuries to observe solar eclipses safely. Their use gained popularity among European artists during the Renaissance, and in November 2020, Whangarei welcomed its own.
The Camera Obscura Timatatanga Hou is a collaborative creation involving photographer Diane Stoppard, architect Felicity Christian, sculptor Trish Clarke, and artist Poutama Hetaraka. It found its home beside the Hātea River, adjacent to the distinctive Te Matau ā Pohe Bridge.
This building’s elegantly curved outer shell derives its inspiration from a rich tapestry of cultural and historical sources in New Zealand, emphasising Whangārei’s maritime legacy and its modern-day relevance. The complex steel lacework on the front panel embraces the Camera Obscura’s lens, which seizes and redirects ambient light into the interior, casting the walls into obscurity while unveiling captivating visual spectacles.
Timatatanga Hou Camera Obscura. Created in 2020. Credit: NZ Herald. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/go-nz-eight-things-to-explore-in-whangarei/VMYELLX5RQXXMTSI7JTH2CGY2Q/
Indigenous shapes, forms, patterns and colours:
The photographer Diane Stoppard, architect Felicity Christian, sculptor Trish Clarke, and artist Poutama Hetaraka have collaborated to produce a contemporary landmark for Whangarei (NZ). See the rich use of Māori symbolism and art in the flowing patterns.
The detailed design on the front of the camera obscura weaves together the Māori and European stories of this environment and is the work of artists Trish Clarke and Poutama Hetaraka. Credit: Trish Clarke. Source: Waikato District Council (NZ). https://www.wdc.govt.nz/files/assets/public/v/1/documents/community/facilities/timatatanga-hou-camera-obscura.pdf
Credit: Trish Clarke. Source: Waikato District Council (NZ). https://www.wdc.govt.nz/files/assets/public/v/1/documents/community/facilities/timatatanga-hou-camera-obscura.pdf
Credit: Trish Clarke. Source: Waikato District Council (NZ). https://www.wdc.govt.nz/files/assets/public/v/1/documents/community/facilities/timatatanga-hou-camera-obscura.pdf
Read more about the Camera Obscura below: In-depth article on the features and design.
Architectural Design: Māori, Christian, and Modernist Influences – A New Zealand Perspective.
Citation:
Van Zyl, W. (2023). Contemporary Māori-inspired Architecture in New Zealand. Five House Publishing. https://fivehousepublishing.com/2023/09/01/contemporary-maori-inspired-architecture-in-new-zealand/
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Copyright © 2023 by William Van Zyl
Contemporary Māori-inspired Architecture in New Zealand
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Published by Five House Publishing (New Zealand)
First Publishing, September 2023
More eBooks and articles are available at https://fivehousepublishing.com/
More about the author at http://williamvanzyl.com/
