Dead reckoning : curating the currents of Oceania on a journey towards rediscovery
Date
2018Citation:
Posala, C. (2018). Dead reckoning : curating the currents of Oceania on a journey towards rediscovery. (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)). Unitec Institute of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10652/4559Permanent link to Research Bank record:
https://hdl.handle.net/10652/4559Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION:
How might we elevate our understanding of indigenous cultures through refining an architectural artefact in a progressive society?
Indigenous Samoa is the subject of this research project.
Thousands of years ago ancestors of oceanic people were the first to journey across the largest body of water in the world. Through observing the natural environment oceanic people created systems for navigating Oceania. Settling every island in Oceania they established flourishing societies that remain today.
Approximately two hundred years ago these oceanic people encountered cultures outside of Oceania and subsequently were colonised and their indigenous way of life dismissed. The significant shifts that occurred in the cultural landscape jeopardised the connection to oral history and the relevance of indigenous knowledge in contemporary society.
This research investigates how an architect can contribute to safeguarding this legacy and explores how architecture can become an artefact that reconnects people to their underrepresented history in a contemporary setting.