Trails and tribulations : a journey through mountains
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Other Title
Authors
Ryley, Matthew
Author ORCID Profiles (clickable)
Degree
Master of Architecture (Professional)
Grantor
Unitec Institute of Technology
Date
2020
Supervisors
Byrd, Hugh
Hall, Min
Hall, Min
Type
Masters Thesis
Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori subject headings)
Keyword
Nōti Raureka (Southern Alps, N.Z.)
Browning Pass (Southern Alps, N.Z.)
Southern Alps (N.Z.)
New Zealand
Aotearoa
huts
tramping
hiking
trails
alpine shelters
mountaineering
Ngāi Tahu
Browning Pass (Southern Alps, N.Z.)
Southern Alps (N.Z.)
New Zealand
Aotearoa
huts
tramping
hiking
trails
alpine shelters
mountaineering
Ngāi Tahu
ANZSRC Field of Research Code (2020)
Citation
Ryley, M. (2020). Trails and tribulations : a journey through mountains. (Unpublished document submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Architecture (Professional)). Unitec Institute of Technology, New Zealand. https://hdl.handle.net/10652/5237
Abstract
RESEARCH QUESTION:
How can architecture be used to reinterpret the backcountry hut as a contemporary response to its localised conditions and its historical and cultural significance?
ABSTRACT:
New Zealand’s backcountry is wild, rough and unforgiving; harsh, but beautiful. It can mean the end of human life, or it fosters emotions of wonder, joy and excitement. Shelters in the form of backcountry huts are beacons of hope for the weary and tired. Historically they are also a reference to the vernacular architecture of the time, the local materials and the people that built them.
In a time where humans have realised the need to value the wilderness and the joy it brings people, there is an opportunity to use architecture as an educator, a destination and a tool for tourism. A journey of great importance to locals, bridging the extremes of New Zealand’s wilderness, from West to East, would allow for a cultural awareness of the trials and tribulations of Ngāi Tahu and their quest for pounamu.
Construction methods can be developed that touch lightly on their environments and be respectful of the way they interact with nature; contemporary society is capable of looking after the land much more then we have been for the last thousand years. This project seeks to find new solutions, educate and give the respect the natural environment deserves.
Place is an element made up of three parts, natural structure, historical and cultural context and the way we use that ‘site. Architecture can be wholly driven by place and reflect everything, from the stories to the climate: a place of the place.
Māori did not use maps on paper like Europeans did, they used their aural language to describe places, something colonisers have all but destroyed. The maps and stories were told through walking and through experiencing the place. They make sense when you think about their translations. Through tramping we, as a nation have an opportunity to celebrate our image, our story and our diversity. Mahi kotahitanga means to work together, and tramping, giving yourself to nature in all her moods, is doing just that. The great leveller for all diverse nationalities that call this place home.
The designs that are the result of this research project, attempt to do just that. To embody the place that reflects all of our history in a way that respects and takes care of our land, our people and our tales. We may be a small nation, but we have big stories to tell.
Site: Nōti Raureka (Browning Pass) (Southern Alps, N.Z.)
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