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By William Van Zyl
Published in March 2024
Are you interested in incorporating contemporary Māori shapes, forms, patterns, and colours into your art, architecture, or product design? This article explores a modern approach to integrating these elements and showcases AI-generated images, including a design for a modern museum with an artistic façade. For instance, it demonstrates how tukutuku panels can be used in a contemporary museum’s exterior design.
KEYWORDS: tukutuku panels, NZ flounder, NZ stingray, Māori-inspired, architectural design, museum design, product design, museum facade. Māori pattern, Māori shapes, Māori form, Māori colours, NCEA Level 1, New Zealand New Curriculum Level 1, Grimshaw Architects, DVC (Design and Visual Communication), art, contemporary architecture, The City Rail Link – New Zealand
This article explores the potential applications of contemporary Māori shapes, forms, patterns, and colours in art, architectural design, and product design. It offers valuable insights for artists, architects, and designers interested in incorporating traditional Māori patterns into their work. The New Zealand NCEA Level 1 curriculum now encourages students to integrate Māori culture into their designs, making a contemporary approach to Māori art increasingly relevant and rewarding. An excellent example of this integration is seen in the work of Grimshaw Architects, who have incorporated contemporary tukutuku patterns into the proposed new City Rail Link Building. This innovative technique can serve as a model for students and teachers looking to enhance their understanding of aesthetic principles and the practical application of Māori art in building and product design.
Furthermore, this approach aligns with the broader goal of improving energy efficiency and sustainability in design.
Table of Contents
What is a tukutuku panel?
Tukutuku panels are a traditional Māori art form. They are decorative wall panels that were once part of the conventional wall construction used inside meeting houses.
IMAGE: Typical Tukutuku Patterns (weaving of flax/Harakeke). Look closely at the white and black patterns. Diamond shape = flounder fish. Tears of the Albatros bird – when they see the hunters coming. See the position of the arms of the Māori man = specific patterns. See details below. Link: https://artsonline.tki.org.nz/Planning-tools/Teacher-Resource-Exchange/Maori-Tukutuku-Poster
What does tukutuku mean?
Tukutuku are decorative Māori latticework – usually of flax or kiekie stems – and in the form of panels used especially between the carved posts of communal buildings (as a meetinghouse).
What are tukutuku panels made of?
Tukutuku panels consist of vertical stakes (traditionally made of kākaho), horizontal rods (traditionally made of stalks of bracken-fern or thin strips of tōtara wood), and flexible material of flax, kiekie and pīngao, which form the pattern.
Grimshaw Reveals Design for New Zealand’s Largest Infrastructure Project: The City Rail Link (CRL)
Grimshaw Architects has unveiled the final design for the City Rail Link (CRL), a significant infrastructure project in Auckland, New Zealand, focusing on the Māori creation story. The project encompasses four new train stations and a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail system, reaching depths up to 42 meters below the city centre. Developed in collaboration with WSP as part of the Link Alliance, a consortium of seven companies, this partnership delivered the project’s main stations and tunnels.
Additionally, the station design was crafted in conjunction with Mana Whenua, the local tribal authority, to integrate the narrative of the Māori creation story, Te Ao Marama, into the architecture. Each station’s image and identity reflect this collaboration, responding to the unique characteristics of their locations as defined by Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), the Māori name for the geographical region of the city. The facades feature modern and contemporary Māori art patterns that tell a story, adding depth and cultural significance to the project’s design.
IMAGE: Can you identify the stingray (or flounder) pattern (Māori tukutuku panel) on the façade of the building? Pātiki = Flounder.
IMAGE: Triangular shapes: ‘Teeth of the Taniwha’ = kaokao. The teeth-like triangular shapes of niho taniwha are ‘dragon’s’ teeth; they are usually arranged in vertical rows with the apex at the top.
All four CRL stations are designed around the creation story with Ranginui (the sky father) and Papatūānuku (the earth mother). The design for Karanga a Hape Station also references their son, Tāne Mahuta, God of the forest, who pushed his parents apart to create light (day). Allusions to the Kauri tree are shown through the large snail shells (pupurangi) on the entrance ceiling of Karanga a Hape Station.
The station’s entrance, called Maungawhau, which translates to the mountain (maunga) of a cork tree (whau), features floor-to-ceiling walls made from patterned precast concrete basalt inserts. The 53 lava-colored glass tringles are organized to represent a map of the volcanic field. The design references the atua Mataoho, the deity recognised as the creator of the basaltic volcanic field in Tāmaki Makaurau.
IMAGE: Facade during nighttime. Can you identify the resemblance of tukutuku panels? Poutama?
IMAGE: See the triangular (diamond shapes – stingray [or flounder] tukutuku) panel design on the interior of the building. Credit: Grimshaw Architects). Link: https://www.archdaily.com/983910/grimshaw-reveals-design-for-new-zealands-largest-infrastructure-project/62afb2153e4b313df2000013-grimshaw-reveals-design-for-new-zealands-largest-infrastructure-project-image?next_project=no
Link to the article: https://www.archdaily.com/983910/grimshaw-reveals-design-for-new-zealands-largest-infrastructure-project?ad_campaign=normal-tag
IMAGE: Typical Tukutuku Panel. Can you see the pattern in the Grimshaw Architect’s building (see the facades)? Poutama: Pūawaitanga o te Ringa – Fruits of our busy hands. One of a series of tukutuku panels that were specially woven as a community project for the new Nga Pounamu Māori Centre was created due to the 2001/2002 refurbishment of the Central Library (Christchurch). Credit: https://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Photos/Libraries/Central/TukutukuPanels/panel-04.asp
IMAGE: Range of Tukutuku Panels. Christchurch Libraries. Credit: https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/puawaitanga-o-te-ringa/the-tukutuku-panels/
The Tukutuku Panels:
Tukutuku patterns are different from one iwi to another. Some designs are linked to specific iwi and may have different names or spellings in other places. These patterns often have stories from mythology attached to them, but these stories can vary between iwi. Some of these traditions are recorded in works by Te Rangi Hiroa and John M. Mepham. Hiroa suggested that simpler designs are probably older, with more complex patterns developing later, like pictures of ancestors or shapes. The Pūawaitanga o te Ringa designs are inspired by traditional patterns, with only the Aoraki panel showing a simple image. (Credit: Christchurch Libraries)
IMAGE: TukuTuku Panel – Aoraki. The Aoraki panel was crafted to honour Ngāi Tahu as Tangata Whenua. Chevrons featuring the niho taniwha pattern form the shape of the Aoraki mountain, which could be perceived as a taniwha by those who are disrespectful or unprepared. White kiekie stitches symbolise the mountain’s snowy peak, while the repeated chevrons represent its geological layers. The mountain extends to the purapura whetu stars in the sky. Two small white niho taniwha triangles on either side of the mountain reference the Southern Alps, and in the foreground, three triangles of pīngao depict tussock-covered foothills. Credit: https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/puawaitanga-o-te-ringa/aoraki/
Link: https://youtu.be/iND9zYSk_2w?feature=shared
Here are the links to several Tukutuku Panels and their meaning:
* Credit: Christchurch City Council Libraries – https://my.christchurchcitylibraries.com/puawaitanga-o-te-ringa/the-tukutuku-panels/
Features of Modernist Architecture (referring to Le Corbusier & Mies Van De Rohe.
IMAGE: House Farnsworth by Mies Van de Rohe (famous USA building- modernist architecture from 1950 to 1960s).
Modernist architecture, as exemplified by architects like Le Corbusier, Philip Johnson, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, is characterised by several key features:
- Simplicity and Minimalism: Modernist architects emphasised simplicity in form, often reducing buildings to basic geometric shapes and eliminating unnecessary ornamentation.
- Functionalism: Buildings were designed to serve their purpose efficiently, focusing on practicality and functionality. This often led to open, flexible floor plans and a rejection of traditional, decorative elements.
- Use of Modern Materials (Man-made): Modernist architects embraced new materials like reinforced concrete, steel, and glass, allowing for innovative construction techniques and creating lighter, more open spaces.
- Open Floor Plans: Modernist buildings often feature open, flowing interior spaces, breaking away from the compartmentalised layouts of traditional architecture.
- Emphasis on Light and Air: Large windows, glass walls, and open facades were common in modernist architecture, allowing natural light and ventilation to penetrate deep into the building.
- Honesty in Materials and Structure: Modernist architects believed in revealing the true nature of materials and construction methods, often exposing structural elements.
- Flat Roofs and Horisontal Lines: Modernist buildings frequently featured flat roofs and emphasised horizontal lines, reflecting a break from earlier architecture’s traditional, vertical orientation.
- Integration with Nature: While not always explicitly stated, modernist architecture often sought to harmonise with the natural environment through careful site selection or by incorporating natural elements into the design.
Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe were instrumental in shaping these features, with Le Corbusier’s “Five Points of Architecture” and Mies van der Rohe’s “Less is More” philosophy serving as guiding principles for many modernist architects.
Tukutuku Panel as inspiration for the façade of a Museum: AI-GENERATED FACADES
PROMPT: Use Maori tukutuku panels as a facade. Include white walls with large glass windows. Focus on the openings in the façade (Created in March 2024 – Discord).
AI-generated.
AI-generated.
AI-generated.
AI-inspired museum design (Māori -inspired – Waitere, The Enchanted Stingray)
Prompt: Modern museum with a simple rectangular shape. The façade is covered with a Māori -inspired pattern. Use a diamond shape for the pattern. Use the stingray shape in a modern, contemporary way, which repeats a diamond shape that covers the façade. Use the typical Māori colours for the pattern. Include large glass windows. Make it a tall building.
*Created on 2 March 2024. Discord.
Māori-inspired Facades:
AI at work. March 2024.
AI-inspired. March 2024.
AI. March 2024.
IMAGE: Can you see the stingray patterns? Can you see the Māori -inspired story ‘Waitere, The Enchanted Stingray’ story in the facades? AI-generated. March 2024.
Why not consider using Minecraft Education to create a museum (or house)? You could consider translucent panels or special openings (punched through to let light into the building). Use a Māori pattern (tukutuku panel) as inspiration. See the Minecraft design below – square apertures in the facade.
IMAGE: Blocks used in Minecraft to create a facade with openings will allow light through, saving energy (lighting). Choosing steel reinforcing and concrete for the facade will act as a heatsink, absorbing the Sun’s heat. Store it and release it in Winter, saving power to heat the building. YOUR CHALLENGE: How could the facade contribute to the sustainability of the building?
Minecraft Education: Modern Museum
See how small openings (simple square and rectangular patterns) could provide interest and additional light into a building (sustainable—less electrical lighting required). During the day, lots of natural light will flood the building, coming through the openings into the home (or museum). See the examples below.
Application: Think about tukutuku panels – tell a story or symbolise something or convey meaning – for a pattern to cover the walls of a house (or a museum)—materials: Steel-reinforced concrete. The facade could act as a heatsink (thermal mass). During the cold winter, the heatsink absorbs energy from the sun and heats the building for free. This means that the building will be more energy efficient. However, the house would be a ‘boiling pot during the hot summer months.’ To ensure the house (or museum) is cool during Summer, the architect has to include deciduous trees at the front of the building (facing the Sun). Deciduous trees shed their leaves in Winter and have full foliage during Summer. It means the large trees would screen the Sun in Summer, keeping the house (or museum) cool.
IMAGE: Deciduous Trees – The functional benefits of shading help make homes energy-efficient by creating a cooling effect during the hot summer months and by allowing passive solar gain during the cold winter months. However, proper selection and placement are critical to make the tree work for your site. Choose wisely, and plant properly. Credit: https://www.purdue.edu/fnr/extension/plant-for-the-sun/
IMAGE: Correct placement is critical for an energy-efficient design and reduced maintenance as the tree grows and matures. Be sure the mature height and spread fit the location before purchasing and planting the tree. This allows the tree freedom to spread into the design space naturally without excessive pruning needed to prevent conflicts with the home. However, the tree still must be close enough to the house for the canopy to provide shade. A good rule of thumb is to begin placing the tree at least 20 feet from the house. For larger shade trees, you may need to plant as far as 40 feet from the house to ensure room for growth.
Application of apertures in a facade: Minecraft Education Design
IMAGE: “I started making this house (or a museum) taking inspiration from real-life Japanese Architecture,” says Omar. “So I created a minimalist pattern around the house which functions as a punctured wall and allows natural lighting to get through it – improving the house’s energy efficiency (less electrical lighting required during the day). The square and rectangular openings act like the apertures of a camera. At different times of the day, these apertures create extravagant and exciting patterns inside the building. This structure makes the house look minimal and simplistic from the outside – the minimalism continues into the inside with unexpected sunlight patterns on the floors, walls and ceilings.” Credit: Omar De Gante
Are there any specific Japanese architects? “Shintaro Fujiwara and Yoshio Muro are noteworthy architects,” says Omar.
Look at “Junya Ishigami with the Kanagawa Institute and from Takeshi Shikauchi Architect Office.”
IMAGE: See the reflection of the large trees on the exterior glass of the building. More about this building: Junya Ishigami and Associates‘ amazing studio + workspace where students of the Kanagawa Institute of Technology spend their days designing. The studio is about the closest you can get to the feeling of working outside while being indoors. The floor-to-ceiling glass makes the building appear weightless and elegant, and the open plan preserves the building’s sense of transparency as the viewer’s eye can shoot directly across the uninterrupted space. 305 columns of various sizes support the stripped roof of skylights, yet their white colour focuses on the space and the view, not the structure. Credit: https://www.archdaily.com/66661/66661?ad_medium=gallery
IMAGE – The Interior of the Architects’ Studio: The columns, although seemingly random, are precisely placed to create the sensation of zoned spaces, but their nonrestrictive quality provides a flexible layout to suit the changing needs of students. Open plan = Modernist feature. Sustainable Feature: Slanted flat roof – warm air rises and can escape from the high end. Fresh air will enter from the lower openings (passive ventilation). Air & Light = Modernist feature. Combined with LED lights (nighttime use), the building will be very energy efficient (save on power for lighting). Passive Solar: Concrete floor absorbs the heat of the Sun during Winter (heatsink). The warm floor releases the heat during Winter, warming the building (high energy efficient feature). Photovoltaic panels on the roof could provide power (large 12-volt DC batteries, combined with an inverter, could provide electricity to the building. Credit: https://www.archdaily.com/66661/66661?ad_medium=gallery
Aperture concept: Punctures concrete facade to screen the front of the building.
I researched these modern Japanese Architects myself (I googled them), and it’s not hard to see how their blocky style influenced Omar—a style that naturally translates well to Minecraft.
“I like the little and big details. Modern architecture is making simple things into complex things working with the interior.” – Omar De Gante
Japanese Architects: Shintaro Fujiwara and Yoshio Muro. See more brilliant architectural design work here: https://aplan.jp/works/category/select/
Vertical aperture house – 3D View: House design by architects Shintaro Fujiwara and Yoshio Muro (Japan). The long vertical apertures allow sunlight to enter the building during the day. During the day, the ‘vertical ribs’ act as louvres to screen the sun. Another concept not included in this house is biomimicry (Jack Rabbit’s ears): Pockets and tubes of water could be installed in the long vertical ‘fins or ribs and filled with harvested rainwater. The Sun would preheat the water and send it to the hot water cylinder – saving precious energy (improving sustainability and energy efficiency). ‘At night, the interior lights exit the building dramatically and excitingly. Note the cacti (plants) – chosen as xeriscaping for this house (requires minimal maintenance and little water). Xeriscaping is designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation. This means xeriscaped landscapes need little or no water beyond what the natural climate provides. Xeriscaping has been embraced in dry regions. Credit: https://www.dezeen.com/2013/03/27/house-in-muko-by-fujiwara-muro-architects/
Biomimicry (ask nature): The Jack Rabbit’s Ears.
IMAGE: How Hot-Blooded Jackrabbits Keep Their Cool. The large ears of rabbits and hares are good for more than just hearing the approach of predators. In the case of jackrabbits (which are hares: taller, live in more open country, and flee instead of hide), they also help them to keep their cool––literally. When overheating in the desert environment, jackrabbits can widen the blood vessels in their ears, allowing a much greater volume of blood to fill the vast surface area of those large, thin appendages and transfer body heat to the surrounding air. Credit: Biomimicry Institute (Instagram). Link: https://www.instagram.com/biomimicryinstitute/
Plan view of the ‘Vertical Louvre House.‘ Credit: https://www.dezeen.com/2013/03/27/house-in-muko-by-fujiwara-muro-architects/
INTERIOR: “The movements of the sun can be felt inside the house throughout the year,” explain architects Shintaro Fujiwara and Yoshio Muro. See more details here: https://www.dezeen.com/2013/03/27/house-in-muko-by-fujiwara-muro-architects/
Tukutuku Toi Kit (for sale in NZ):
Link: https://youtu.be/NeO7CSAokVA?feature=shared
Tukutuku kit sets for sale:
Whatu Creative.
https://www.whatucreative.com/
Using tukutuku panels to inspire creative ideas in a contemporary and innovative way:
Design Idea: Use tukutuku toy sets to tell a story or symbolise something. The concept or meaning could be embedded in art, architecture, and product design. Use the shapes, forms, and patterns to inspire a work of art, a building, a product, and more!
Scion campus at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua, NZ:
IMAGE: Scion’s striking three-storey building, Te Whare Nui o Tuteata, is open daily.
The building is named “Te Whare Nui o Tuteata”, which means the great house of Tuteata. Tuteata is the ancestor of the three hapū who are the tangata whenua here: Ngāti Hurungaterangi, Ngāti Taeotu and Ngāti Te Kahu. The name was gifted to Scion by those three hapū to acknowledge Tuteata and the connection to the land, Te Mingi. Scion and the hapū are building a strong partnership together.
The architects were sure they had created a sustainable building, especially regarding the embodied carbon used in the construction process and its materials. To find out just how sustainable it is, they employed the eTool software life-cycle assessment methodology that enables the calculation of the entire environmental impacts of buildings. Credit: https://architecturenow.co.nz/articles/the-technology-of-the-trees/
Link: https://youtu.be/vvSamoEFEs4?feature=shared
LEAVES IN THE CANOPY OF THE FOREST: The tinted prints on the glass have been designed to reduce solar energy gains (screen the Sun) and, therefore, reduce the need to cool down the building during summertime. The colours are connected with the forest and the surrounding environments. The prints provide shadows internally. They resemble the projection or shadow of the leaves in a forest.
Product Design (Furniture – Couch): Bauhaus and Tukutuku Panels
AI-generated images (2024)
What is Bauhaus?
The Bauhaus is a German artistic movement which lasted from 1919-1933. Its goal was to merge all artistic mediums into one unified approach, combining an individual’s artistry with mass production and function.
Maori-inspired couch design: Tukutuku Panels
Materials: Wood & soft furnishing
PROMPT: Bauhaus-style couch combined with tukutuku panel art.
Maori-inspired couch design (Materials wood and soft furnishing):
PROMPT: Maori tukutuku panel-inspired couch. Combined with the Bauhaus style for a modern, contemporary couch design.
IMAGE: Important—Maori art should not be on the seats (culturally inappropriate). It is best not to include any Maori art on the seats!
Artwork: Bauhaus and Tukutuku panels (Modern Art)
AI-generated images (2024).
PROMPT: Maori-inspired art combined with Bauhaus shapes and forms in watercolours. Include Maori tukutuku patterns in the design. See the 4 x AI images below.
INK & WATERCOLOURS
ABOVE FOUR IMAGES: Can you identify the Bauhaus and tuktuku patterns (art) in these images? Can you identify the Bauhaus and tuktuku shapes, forms, patterns, and colours in these AI-generated images? Use it as inspiration. Build on it for your design work.
TWO ABOVE IMAGES. A more refined prompt: ‘Maori-tukutuku panel art combined with Bauhaus shapes and forms in watercolours. Focus exclusively on linear tukutuku patterns in the artwork.’ AI-generated—22 April 2024.
Now it is your turn:
What will you design? Living in New Zealand? How will you tell a story using tukutuku panels in a contemporary context? Which design era (e.g. Bauhaus, Art Deco, and more) will you combine with tukutuku panels? How will you embed Maori stories and folklore into your architectural design or product design? How will you embed tukutuku art combined with your chosen design era into your artwork? Are you living in a different country? How will you embed your cultural symbols, stories, folklore, beliefs, values, art, shapes, forms, patterns, and colours into your design work?
Citation:
Van Zyl, W.N. (2024). Modernist Art & Architecture: Museum Design (Contemporary Māori Patterns). New Zealand – ‘The City Rail Link Building.’– Published to Five House Publishing.
Copyright © 2023 by William Van Zyl
Modernist Art & Architecture: Museum Design (Contemporary Māori Patterns). New Zealand – ‘The City Rail Link Building.’
All rights reserved. This eBook/article or any portion
thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner
without the publisher’s permission, except for using brief quotations in a book review.
Published by Five House Publishing (New Zealand)
First Publishing, March 2024
More eBooks and articles are available at https://fivehousepublishing.com/
More about the author at http://williamvanzyl.com/
